2011 Holiday Rambler Ambassator with the Maxxforce engine. The Regen light is on - Now what.

[rcpilot1]

I have not started the motorhome for about a month and I went out to start it to take it to the Loves to fill up and the ReGen light on the dash is on. I looked it up and it said it needs to regen. So I drov e it about 40 miles at 65mph and it never went out. I got back home and hooked a scan gage up to it and it said it did not need a regen. It only has about 17,000 miles on it. I tried to do a regen by pushing the regen rocker switch. I would blink while I was holding it but when I let go it blibked a couple of times then stopped. Still no regen. Could I possibly have a sensor that is bad ot whould it be in the dash. Attached is a picture of the dash. 

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Dave

 

[Gary M]

You need to drive it at highway speeds till it finishes it’s cycle. 

[Tom Cherry]

Your system is slightly different from the 09 ISL, but it still has a DPF. Monaco opted during the transition years NOT, at least on the ISL, to offer the “Regen on Demand” switch.  Most major OTR and commercial vehicles had a switch that was tied into the ECM.

I drove for 2 hours at highway speeds on a 70 MPH interstate and mine never went off.  I exited and at the second traffic light, it went off and they cycle never started again… for 120 hours. There is a parameter in your ECM for periodic (say 100 hrs) regen.  There are also some parameters that measure the emissions and the engine. If you drive around on country roads or in suburban traffic at lower speeds, you might, if you are keen eyed and quick, see the light flash on and then back off.

My TAKE.  You are fine.  I hate it when the idiot light is on.  I have 67K on my engine.  I did pull the ISM, which Monaco conveniently left out of the owners manual.  

The frequency of the Regen cycle, assuming that no “out of range” parameters were hit, is PROBABLY every 100 hours…. But It you want to know exactly, then Cummins or someone with the InSight software will to go in and look that up in the ECM.  The light staying on….that happens as I said.  You probably drove enough to make it happy.  As long as you did NOT get the flashing signal to perform a ReGen, the ECM is satisfied….and it says….ignore the DO IT command.  

If you start it up and drive in some traffic or such, it MIGHT flash….mine has….but once I got out of slow area and on an interstate, it never flashed again.

My engine was analyzed by a member around 40K….no error codes or anything,  I will admit that when it happened the first time, I got out and measured temperatures and such…Enginners need data to calm their nerves.  I got Cummins on the line as I drove and the tech support told me to calm down….there was no abnormal conditions with temperatures and flashing lights or “STOP NOW”.  He said to drive it…and if the light comes on….drive it for a while.  I once pulled into a CG and the light had not been on but say 30 miles….I bumped the engine up to “high idle” using the cruise switch.  When I came out….the light was OFF and it never came back on until around 100 hours.

NOW…call Cummins and ask….or have the engine scanned.  Your device will NOT tell you anything significant…..get a laptop and scan with InSight….but the danger is….what do you see and what does it mean.  Unintended consequences happen when there is a diagnostic tool that lets you “change” things….and I fully admit that I am not qualified to change anything in the ECM.

My money is that all is well.  If you had a bad sensor, then there would be other indicators and you would be getting warning lights.  I’d drive it….and let the ECM do its job….and if you get a warning light….heed it…

Hope this helps….let us know if you find out something that would be of value.
 

 

[jacwjames]

After years of dealing with Diesel Particulate Filters in large underground equipment my standard advice for owners with this equipment is to not baby it, run it hard to get the exhaust system up to temp.  This helps burn off the soot buildup in DPF's.  

The equipment we had that worked best with the DPF systems were trucks and loaders, these were run hard during the whole shift. 

We ended up removing a number of systems on equipment that were never put under high load, this included utility rigs, pipe rigs, etc. 

[Bliksem]

Dave you are on the right track, a failed sensor will not allow the engine to regen. The most common sensor to fail on the maxxforce engines is the air intake temp sensor. You might need to find somebody with a more advanced scanner or I hate to say this take it to a "stealership"

 

[rcpilot1]

Thanks for the infomation. Sounds like a good place to start. I am taking it to a local Diesel mechanic that works on most anything. This all started when I had an International dealer change the oil, filter and fuel filter. Then they tell me that they had never worked on a motorhome. It came on when I started it up to leave and they hooked thier laptop to it and reset it. So if he can fix it I will put it up here. I agree I think I am on the right track with your help.

 

Thanks

 

 

[Frank McElroy]

A lot of folks get confused when they see the regen light come on.  What it is telling you to do is to drive the coach under conditions so it can do a DPF regen.  The light does not mean that a regen is actually being done.  If the check engine light is on, in many cases, if the engine needs a regen, the light will turn on but it will never do a regen until the check engine light code is resolved.  This is a bad situation because eventually the DPF will completely plug and you will get a Stop Engine light and engine shut down.  So, don't run these engines with a check engine light on and expect a DPF regen to work.  Also, conditions like driving under about 40 MPH, driving with the exhaust brake on, driving under full throttle, or low coolant temperatures will suspend the regen cycle.  It's best to drive at highway speeds for the 30-60 minutes until the Regen light goes out.

On a Cummins engine, the engine computer decides when to do a regen based on either high exhaust pressure deltas before and after the DPF or about 100 hours of engine operating time since the last regen cycle whichever comes first.

Using the Cummins Insite software, you can see the history of the last ten regen cycles.  When I did this on Tom's coach, they were all Normal soot loadings and about 100 hours between regen cycles.

One of the worst things you can do on a DPF engine is to idle them for long periods especially on slow idle.  Start the engine, select fast idle to warm up and once up to temp, leave.  Don't let the engine idle while you take 15 minutes checking into your campground or pulling into a rest stop and letting the engine idle for 30 minutes.  Sure, a few minutes after a hard pull when stopping at a rest stop is what you should do, but once the oil in the turbo cools, shut off the engine.

Now, if you are driving primarily at highway speeds and you are seeing the regen light come on every 20-50 hours of engine run time, that is not normal and it should alert you to a problem that the engine is generating too much soot likely due to a potential fuel injector, EGR, or sticking VGT turbo even though the check engine light is not on yet.  There are many shops out there that will focus on fixing a plugged DPF problem without first running the diagnostic tests to be sure that you don't have an injector, EGR or sticking turbo problem.  They will say that no other codes came up and fail to do the complete diagnostic testing to be sure that other failures aren't generating soot without a check engine code showing up.

Keep in mind, that when driving at highway speed and feeding it the onions, the exhaust temps go up and you are in a mode of passive regeneration that actually is burning off some of the soot on the DPF.  This doesn't happen at low idle where in many cases, not all cylinders are firing and soot builds up due to lower exhaust temps.  That's why you don't want to idle a DPF engine for long periods.

[Frank McElroy]

10 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

Your system is slightly different from the 09 ISL, but it still has a DPF. Monaco opted during the transition years NOT, at least on the ISL, to offer the “Regen on Demand” switch.  Most major OTR and commercial vehicles had a switch that was tied into the ECM.

I drove for 2 hours at highway speeds on a 70 MPH interstate and mine never went off.  I exited and at the second traffic light, it went off and they cycle never started again… for 120 hours. There is a parameter in your ECM for periodic (say 100 hrs) regen.  There are also some parameters that measure the emissions and the engine. If you drive around on country roads or in suburban traffic at lower speeds, you might, if you are keen eyed and quick, see the light flash on and then back off.

My TAKE.  You are fine.  I hate it when the idiot light is on.  I have 67K on my engine.  I did pull the ISM, which Monaco conveniently left out of the owners manual.  

The frequency of the Regen cycle, assuming that no “out of range” parameters were hit, is PROBABLY every 100 hours…. But It you want to know exactly, then Cummins or someone with the InSight software will to go in and look that up in the ECM.  The light staying on….that happens as I said.  You probably drove enough to make it happy.  As long as you did NOT get the flashing signal to perform a ReGen, the ECM is satisfied….and it says….ignore the DO IT command.  

If you start it up and drive in some traffic or such, it MIGHT flash….mine has….but once I got out of slow area and on an interstate, it never flashed again.

My engine was analyzed by a member around 40K….no error codes or anything,  I will admit that when it happened the first time, I got out and measured temperatures and such…Enginners need data to calm their nerves.  I got Cummins on the line as I drove and the tech support told me to calm down….there was no abnormal conditions with temperatures and flashing lights or “STOP NOW”.  He said to drive it…and if the light comes on….drive it for a while.  I once pulled into a CG and the light had not been on but say 30 miles….I bumped the engine up to “high idle” using the cruise switch.  When I came out….the light was OFF and it never came back on until around 100 hours.

NOW…call Cummins and ask….or have the engine scanned.  Your device will NOT tell you anything significant…..get a laptop and scan with InSight….but the danger is….what do you see and what does it mean.  Unintended consequences happen when there is a diagnostic tool that lets you “change” things….and I fully admit that I am not qualified to change anything in the ECM.

My money is that all is well.  If you had a bad sensor, then there would be other indicators and you would be getting warning lights.  I’d drive it….and let the ECM do its job….and if you get a warning light….heed it…

Hope this helps….let us know if you find out something that would be of value.
 

 

There are some very good reasons why Monaco made a very smart decision in not having a "Regen on Demand" switch on the dash. 

The DPF units are very close to the fiberglass side wall and in order to do a stationary regen, you must have external cooling fans to remove the heat so as not to damage the fiberglass.  The other issue is that a stationary regen is not nearly as effective as a regen at highway speeds.  A forced regen is designed to clean up the DPF enough to get you back on the highway so the engine can do a complete regen cycle under conditions of highway high exhaust temperatures.  In addition, ISL engines do not have a regen fuel dosing injector on the exhaust manifold like the OTR ISX engines do.  This means that the ISL dumps in extra fuel from the cylinder injectors with the potential of washing down cylinder wall oil during a long stationary regen on an ISL engine.

Yes, in my opinion, Monaco made the right decision in not having a "Regen on Demand" switch on the dash.

Now, all of this can be overridden using the Cummins Insite Software to do a forced stationary regen and adding extra cooling fans to protect the fiberglass from overheating.

I know of at least one case a few years ago where a member had a sticking VGT turbo that caused soot to plug the DPF and it resulted in a stop engine and tow situation.  The turbo was replaced and a stationary DPF regen was performed (vs removing the plugged DPF and replacing it with a reman where carbon was baked out).  This got him back on the road and in about 10-20 hours later a full highway regen was completed.  He was then back to the normal 100 hour regen cycles.  The root cause of the problem was a sticking turbo that caused high soot plugging of the DPF.  Fixing the turbo solved the high soot loading.  Then normal highway regen cleaned out the rest of the carbon soot from the DPF.

[birdshill123]

The op has one of the infamously Force engines. There are problems with the emission systems specific to the Maxforce. You might try posting your problem on IRV as there are Maxforce owners that understand that engine who frequently post.

[Gary M]

14 hours ago, Frank McElroy said:

A lot of folks get confused when they see the regen light come on.  What it is telling you to do is to drive the coach under conditions so it can do a DPF regen.  The light does not mean that a regen is actually being done.  If the check engine light is on, in many cases, if the engine needs a regen, the light will turn on but it will never do a regen until the check engine light code is resolved.  This is a bad situation because eventually the DPF will completely plug and you will get a Stop Engine light and engine shut down.  So, don't run these engines with a check engine light on and expect a DPF regen to work.  Also, conditions like driving under about 40 MPH, driving with the exhaust brake on, driving under full throttle, or low coolant temperatures will suspend the regen cycle.  It's best to drive at highway speeds for the 30-60 minutes until the Regen light goes out.

On a Cummins engine, the engine computer decides when to do a regen based on either high exhaust pressure deltas before and after the DPF or about 100 hours of engine operating time since the last regen cycle whichever comes first.

Using the Cummins Insite software, you can see the history of the last ten regen cycles.  When I did this on Tom's coach, they were all Normal soot loadings and about 100 hours between regen cycles.

One of the worst things you can do on a DPF engine is to idle them for long periods especially on slow idle.  Start the engine, select fast idle to warm up and once up to temp, leave.  Don't let the engine idle while you take 15 minutes checking into your campground or pulling into a rest stop and letting the engine idle for 30 minutes.  Sure, a few minutes after a hard pull when stopping at a rest stop is what you should do, but once the oil in the turbo cools, shut off the engine.

Now, if you are driving primarily at highway speeds and you are seeing the regen light come on every 20-50 hours of engine run time, that is not normal and it should alert you to a problem that the engine is generating too much soot likely due to a potential fuel injector, EGR, or sticking VGT turbo even though the check engine light is not on yet.  There are many shops out there that will focus on fixing a plugged DPF problem without first running the diagnostic tests to be sure that you don't have an injector, EGR or sticking turbo problem.  They will say that no other codes came up and fail to do the complete diagnostic testing to be sure that other failures aren't generating soot without a check engine code showing up.

Keep in mind, that when driving at highway speed and feeding it the onions, the exhaust temps go up and you are in a mode of passive regeneration that actually is burning off some of the soot on the DPF.  This doesn't happen at low idle where in many cases, not all cylinders are firing and soot builds up due to lower exhaust temps.  That's why you don't want to idle a DPF engine for long periods.

Hi Frank

Quick question. My regen came on as I was heady out of mountains. Once I turned on exhaust brake (5000’ down to 1500’) light went out. Then came back on as I entered freeway. Stayed on for 15 miles then off. 15 miles at 60mph equals only 15 minutes. Is that enough time for a regen? 
PS you deciphered my ECM recently. 

[Frank McElroy]

4 hours ago, Gary M said:

Hi Frank

Quick question. My regen came on as I was heady out of mountains. Once I turned on exhaust brake (5000’ down to 1500’) light went out. Then came back on as I entered freeway. Stayed on for 15 miles then off. 15 miles at 60mph equals only 15 minutes. Is that enough time for a regen? 
PS you deciphered my ECM recently. 

Gary, yes I remember getting either your Cummins Insite EIF file or a PDF file and talking you through the 59 page report.  I think this was about a year ago.  The report showed that you had a history of ten completely normal regens and then a problem developed and the shop had to do a forced regen and then a DPF reset.  But the problem of high soot loads and regens started all over again.  I think you even had issues with high heat shutting down the engine ECM because one of the shops doing a forced stationary regen didn't use fans.  The next shop found and replaced a sticking VGT turbo.  After fixing the turbo and letting the engine go through a regen at highway speeds, you haven't had a problem since.  Is that about the correct summary?

I searched and found where we had a similar discussion about DPF regens and how long they can take.  And the short answer is - it depends.  The full explanation is in the link to my reply from last year.  In your case a 15 minute regen tells me that you reached the 100 hour trigger for a regen and the soot loading was so low that the cycle completed in just 15 minutes - completely normal and it means the engine is generating very little soot.

 

 

[Tom Cherry]

16 hours ago, Gary M said:

Hi Frank

Quick question. My regen came on as I was heady out of mountains. Once I turned on exhaust brake (5000’ down to 1500’) light went out. Then came back on as I entered freeway. Stayed on for 15 miles then off. 15 miles at 60mph equals only 15 minutes. Is that enough time for a regen? 
PS you deciphered my ECM recently. 

Ditto what Frank said.  I have had a short cycle when I did a lot of urban driving. But I have also had long Regens on trips, 5K or longer, the Regen would stay on….and then, after a stop, go off.  I have 67K on it.  My “gut analysis”.  When it comes on driving on an interstate, it just stays on.  Regen has probably completed….but there needs to be something like a stop, or perhaps in your case, the exhaust break, to “trigger” the ECM and it says….”OK, take the cake out of the oven….turn off the oven”.  It depends is definitely the key phrase.  I still don’t like the idiot light, so I try to block it out when. I drive…..as I scan the Instrument panel.

Drive on….don’t sweat it.

[dandick66]

On 8/28/2022 at 3:02 PM, rcpilot1 said:

I have not started the motorhome for about a month and I went out to start it to take it to the Loves to fill up and the ReGen light on the dash is on. I looked it up and it said it needs to regen. So I drov e it about 40 miles at 65mph and it never went out. I got back home and hooked a scan gage up to it and it said it did not need a regen. It only has about 17,000 miles on it. I tried to do a regen by pushing the regen rocker switch. I would blink while I was holding it but when I let go it blibked a couple of times then stopped. Still no regen. Could I possibly have a sensor that is bad ot whould it be in the dash. Attached is a picture of the dash. 

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Dave

 

That is NOT the regen light.  The light that’s illuminated is the MIL.  That’s why your scangauge didn’t show a regen was necessary.  The regen light is the one on the left.  The one to the right is HEST (high exhaust temp).  
Since this happened immediately after the service, you should go back there and talk to them.  If they reset it, how long did it take to come back on?  They should be able to connect their NEDS (Navistar Engne Service Diagnostic) software and find the code.  More than likely your scangauge won’t pick up on the proprietary fault.

 

[Frank McElroy]

Dan, that is a very good observation and one I missed.  It's the first time I've seen a MIL light image like that. Do you know if the MIL light on a Maxxforce engine is equivalent to a check engine light on a Cummins engine?  On my dash there isn't a MIL light and I don't see a check engine light on the dash in the OP's picture.

[dandick66]

Frank, according to the Navistar documentation (owner’s manual), the MIL is for emissions related problems.  There is a separate “check engine” light.  Having said that, when my ACM (after treatment control module) went bad, the check engine light came on, but not the MIL.  You’d think the ACM was an emissions related item.  As far as I can tell, Medallion controls which sensors control what they want to display on the dash.  Unfortunately, there is little to no documentation available from Medallion.  
I purchased the International Servicemaxx  software (predecessor to NEDS) and I can pull more info than I know what to do with.  I can even reprogram a bunch of parameters.  In fact, I reprogrammed the engine brake.  Originally, it was setup to only engage when the service brake was applied.  It didn’t make any sense, because you’d have to ride the brakes to keep the engine brake engaged.   I think Servicemaxx is similar or equivalent to the Cummins Insite software.  

[Frank McElroy]

Thank you for sharing that info.  On my Cummins that MIL light is not used.  But there is a blank spot on the display for it.   It will be interesting if those coach owners with newer Cummins engines have that MIL light.  My ISL engine was the first year with DPF.

On my engine, if there are exhaust aftertreatment issues, the system will flash the DPF light to let you know if the filter is clogged to the point of doing an engine power derate and if it still isn't resolved the check engine light will also come on and if still not resolved, the red stop engine light will come on.  But there is no MIL light on my display.

I looked through the Cummins Insite software for my engine and there is no MIL light option.  Any exhaust related issue will turn on the check engine light.

Let's see if others with newer Cummins engines have that light or maybe it's only Maxxforce engines that use it.

[Gary M]

On 8/30/2022 at 5:29 AM, Tom Cherry said:

Ditto what Frank said.  I have had a short cycle when I did a lot of urban driving. But I have also had long Regens on trips, 5K or longer, the Regen would stay on….and then, after a stop, go off.  I have 67K on it.  My “gut analysis”.  When it comes on driving on an interstate, it just stays on.  Regen has probably completed….but there needs to be something like a stop, or perhaps in your case, the exhaust break, to “trigger” the ECM and it says….”OK, take the cake out of the oven….turn off the oven”.  It depends is definitely the key phrase.  I still don’t like the idiot light, so I try to block it out when. I drive…..as I scan the Instrument panel.

Drive on….don’t sweat it.

I did shut off the exhaust brake once getting down the the 5 fwy. Just curious with exhaust brake on, does that have anything to do with the initial stopping of the regen cycle?

[Frank McElroy]

Gary, using the exhaust brake will suspend the DPF Regen cycle.  If the cycle is basically completed, and the pressure deltas across the DPF sections are low enough, the computer will end the Regen and turn off the light.  In actuality the Regen might have been already done and in the cool down sequence anyway and using the engine brake cooled it down faster.  Don't worry about it.  Just make a mental note and if you go about 100 hours before the next Regen, all is good.

[dandick66]

The Maxxforce has both an engine brake (compression brake/Jake brake) and the PAC Brake exhaust brake.  There are controls on the Smartwheel for the engine brake, but the PAC Brake is somehow wired into the emissions system.  I have no idea how it works in conjunction with the emissions system, but there’s no way to activate it from the driver’s area. 

[Tom Cherry]

7 hours ago, Frank McElroy said:

Gary, using the exhaust brake will suspend the DPF Regen cycle.  If the cycle is basically completed, and the pressure deltas across the DPF sections are low enough, the computer will end the Regen and turn off the light.  In actuality the Regen might have been already done and in the cool down sequence anyway and using the engine brake cooled it down faster.  Don't worry about it.  Just make a mental note and if you go about 100 hours before the next Regen, all is good.

Pulling up files out of the mental hard drive from 2011.  I was on a flat, are there any other kind in NE, for close to 2 hours….or at least 1-1/2 with the REGEN ON - with mid 90 dF temps.  I typically let off the accelerator and then engage the Exhaust brake and coast up the off ramp.  My memory says the light was on and there was a stoplight after I turned left and crossed over the interstate.  I was probably more focused on traffic.  But when I was at the stoplight, the light was OFF. I never suspected any issue, but the yellow light just made me nervous as each time I glanced down, the orange/yellow glow said…”idiot light on…oh Feces”….even though I knew it was the REGEN.

That would have been about 13K or so and the first one was right on schedule at 6.5K and startled me and I read and reread the manual and called Cummins.  Coincidentally I had done some 40 miles of 30MPH driving right before.

I agree.  Drive it.

[rcpilot1]

Well I still do not have this fixed. I had a local diesel mech do a forced regen but they still had to use their scanner to turn off this light. It did not come back on on the way home, but just yesterday after sitting for awhile I started it up let it warm up and took her for a drive 100 ft. down the road the light came back on and the red stop sign with the ! mark lit up for about 10 sec. and then went out. The yellow malfunction lndecator lamp came back on and stayed on. could this be a bad sensor. This all started after having the oil and filter, anf fuel filter changed. It never happend before the oil change. Im thinking the guy who did it (oh and it was the first time he had worked on a motorhome) might have messed up the sensor or the wiring. What do you all think. When I first wrote this I thought it was the DPF lamp that was lit but now I see it was a solid bar witch is the MIL indicator. Any idea's?

 

[dandick66]

You said the International dealer reset the light.  They should have looked at the code to see WHY the MIL was illuminated, not just clear the code.  What about your mechanic?  Did he just clear the code without any troubleshooting?  Why did you think you needed a forced regen?  The DPF lights did not come on, so no need for the regen. Obviously, you have a recurring problem.  The light has come on 3 times now since you took it to the International dealer.  It’s probably too late to talk to them now.  They either 1) won’t remember the problem, or 2) will you it was too long ago.  The MIL is not a big deal if it comes on.  However, the red triangle is not good.  
                                
You said this happened after the oil and fuel filter change.  There are no sensors or wires any where near the oil drain plug or the filter.  Did they change the centrifuge filter as well?  If so, to access it, you need to slide the battery tray out and contort yourself to get to it.  I know it has an air line going to it.  I’m not sure of any other wires or connectors on it.  There are a bunch of wires near the centrifuge.  Lastly, did they change the secondary fuel filter?  If so, it’s on the top of the engine near the valve cover.  To access it, you need to remove the engine cover in the back.  There are a bunch of connectors, wires and sensors near it.  I’ve read that Maxxforce engines are known for wiring harnesses going bad because Navistar used very small gauge wires.  I have not had any problems with mine.  Look at the paperwork from the dealer.  It should list what they changed and it should have a bill of materials.  How far away is the dealer?  Go there and talk to them before this drags out any longer. Like I said earlier, they might not even remember.  But, if they’ve never done a motorhome before, I’m sure they talked about it among the mechanics.  I don’t believe in coincidences.   I have a gut feeling they messed something up when changing the secondary filter.  You didn’t say what the local mechanic did other than the forced regen.  
Sorry for all the questions, but there’s a lot of  stuff unanswered. 

[rcpilot1]

Thanks for the reply Dan,

Let me lay out exactly how things went and maybe that will help. I could not find anyone close by to do the oil and filter changes. The local International dealer would not touch it because it is a motorhome. The closes one I could find was over 2 hours away. 

1. So I took it there because they said they do motorhomes. 

2. I brought the oil filter, the big fuel filter, the top fuel filter.

3. They changed the oil and filter and the big fuel filter. 

4. They did not change the top fuel filter because gee we have never done a motorhome like this, and they had no clue how to take the hatch out to change the top fuel filter. So they did NOT change the top fuel filter.

5. It took me most of a day to figure out how to get the two hatches off in the bedroom. So now I know how and will have them ready to take out next time.

6. After the work was done, I started the motorhome and it gave me a MIL light. They came back and hooked up their laptop to it and said oh that was from having low fuel pressure after changing the fuel filter. Seemed reasonable to me and they cleared the code. 

7. The code did not come back on again until after I got home. It came back on as I was parking it.

8. Not being very familiar with this dashboard and the lights I looked it up and I thought it was the DPF filter light. 

9. I found a diesel mechanic locally and took it to them and told them I thought it was the DPF regen. (my mistake)

10. They did a force regen and said it looked good. 

11. A half mile from the shop the light came on again. I took it back. They hooked their laptop to it and he said the DPF was good did not really know why it was on so he cleared the light (thinking it was a DPF error).  All was good, or so it seemed. 

12. The motorhome sat for a month while we were overseas. When I got it out to take it for a drive, I did not get but a 1/4 mile and the light came on again, so back to the house. I did more research and discovered that it was not the DPF light but it was the MIL light. 

13. I just got back from their shop and they said to bring it in and they will do some deep scans and troubleshooting. He agrees it may have a bad sensor or a wiring problem.

So that is where I am now. I will post what they find. I think it is a sensor that was disturbed when they changed the oil. Anyway we will see.

Thanks for the help Dan,

 

[dandick66]

Dave,

Based on what you’ve said it looks like we can rule out anything getting moved/damaged in the vicinity of the secondary fuel filter or the oil filter centrifuge.  The oil filter is accessed by opening the cargo door that covers the AC condenser.  You might want to open that up and take a look at any wires/connectors.  I don’t think there are any near the filter.  As far as the oil filter, they could have pulled in the DPF sensor wires, but that would be a pretty far reach.  You could slide under the coach and take a look. 
I feel your pain as far as getting anyone to work on the MH.  I try to do as much as I can by myself.  If your local diesel mechanic does not have NEDS (Navistar Engine Diagnostics Software), or a good scanner, they won’t be able to pull the code.  You might want to go to the local International dealer and explain to them what happened.  Even though they “don’t work in motorhomes”, you might be able to talk them into connecting their software and pulling the code.  I would think your engine and chassis is configured like mine.  If so, there are 2 diagnostic plugs - one is on the firewall by the steering column, the second is in the rear battery compartment.  They could hook up to  that one and not worry about getting your coach dirty.  The nice thing about that software is that it will show both current and previous faults.  
Good luck and keep me updated.

[rcpilot1]

I ended up taking to my local guy, and hw does have the NEDS software because he works on a lot of this engine that is in farm trucks. They did diagnos a bad sensor in the emissions ayatem and they have it on order. No clue when it would be in. (figures) and they will get back to me when they have installed it and scanned it again.

 

The big question is. What would be a good scanner for me to have so I can check the engine. So that way I would know whats up and I can reset the code if needed. Would that be something that is afordable. I would rather diagnos it my self then take it to someone that can fix it of fix it myself.

Thanks again for all your help Dan.