Question for David. Do you think all the extended idling you did contributed to that problem? You idled for like a week straight didn't you? Those trucks can't be designed for that.
That is a "yes and no" wysrob. Working on trucks and cars is easier now that it ever was. The difference is the tools and knowledge you have to have. You plug in a computer and it points you to a possible issue. Then you start swapping parts till all the codes go away. In days past you had to "know" what the problem was and start swapping parts on your own.
Agreed but those computer programs either aren't available or cost too much for a 1 truck operation to buy. There are a lot more things to swap out/go wrong these days. Not as much room to work under there either.
I don't know, the problem ended up being that the def injector nozzle was clogged and not spraying properly. The way the guys at the dealership made it sound it was related to the cold. I suppose that could have been aggravated by sitting and not having the system hot like it is under a load. In addition to that I gelled up sitting overnight at the gate to the dealership. I had howe's and everything in there. The guy at the service counter said that Howe's isn't really an anti gel, and to run #1 when it get's really cold (I'll have to see if our Comdata cards will work for #1) or try to get fuel in Canada. He also said a winterfront would help keep it from gelling as it keeps the engine warmer, so I told him to put one on. So the total damage was $0 for the scr problem because it was under warranty and I think <$500 for the gelling and the winterfront they put on to help keep more heat in the engine bay. As for the breakdown pay question, I'm not sure whether I'll get hourly pay while the truck was in the shop or layover pay. I think it will work out to be about the same either way.
Oh, and for the record I think the technology is fantastic. Obviously it isn't going to catch all problems as some come on suddenly, but if it can catch a lot of them and get you into a dealer close by before warning lights and buzzers go off it is a good thing.
Ya that is great that it detects it, I am saying that it should (if the problem isn't serious, which it sounds like it MIGHT be easy to do yourself) that it should direct you to an owner's manual. Or simply say "add more DEF fluid", instead of crawling you to a service center.
I mean there's a def gauge just like a fuel gauge. You'd have to ignore the needle moving toward E, the low def light, and god knows what else to run out.
Being under warranty puts a new spin on the tin foil hat conspiracy theorists. Mack wouldn't call you into a dealership for a warranty repair that they lose money on would they?
I'm old school, obviously, and I've always said, these things are great when they are new and under warranty. The real nightmares begin when the warranty runs out.
