OrioN
2008 2500 170" EXT
2008 & 28,000km/18,000miles
4 weeks back the Check Engine Light is on. That night I read here that it may be recall H44 and EGR related. Next morning light is intermittant. I head to dealer and they perform H44, light remains off as I leave dealer and head down street a mile and park for a few hrs. Start van, head down highway and after 30 minutes the light is on. I drive to next town and park overnight and next morning light is off. So far I chalk up the intermitant light to the fact that I actually overfilled the tank the night before and had the light comeon 10 minutes later which may have created breathing/starving issues(common issue) which disappear after 3-4 starts.
Last Thursday evening the light is back on. Next morning it is on, but as I drive to the dealer it goes off. The deisel technicion runs the diagnostic and gets codes 3130 & 2951. He then informs me that upon inspection, the 'sensor' and EGR system is sooty. He says, that the written proceedure for the diagnostic is to clean the sensor and reset. But, he also said that Chrysler has also instructed him to clean the whole EGR system as needed. He said that depending on the severity and needed replacement parts and availability it would take between 3-5 days in the shop.
.
I said "What?" He said it takes hours to disassemble, soak, clean & brush each component back to original, then reassemble. We detemined that it would be ok for me to drive away as I experience no other performance issues, plus he said that while I'm sooty I'm not as sooty as the recent systems that he's cleaned. I said I will do some inquiries and speak to Chrysler about putting me up for the time needed to clean the sytem if I choose to do it right away as I'm RV'ing and thousands of mile form home.
Refreshingly, he took some time to discuss the EGR sytem and issue with me. He asked about my driving habits and experiences. I said that I occasionaly do idle the motor, no more that 5-10 minutes perhaps once a month for the 11+ months I have the van. I told him I 'baby' the van, less than 100kph/60mph on the highways and very slow accelerations. He said that my low revving of the motor is not helping with soot accumation, as the slower flow of exhaust is allowing the soot to stick.
I leave the dealer with the light off, fasten everything down, and head into the mountains on a 50 mile twisty road up over the pass and back all the while using 2nd and 3rd gear, up and down shifting and revving nicely between 2000 and 4000. In other words, 'Clean it out' a bit. So the light stays off the whole time. But, later that evening the light is back on and stays on most of the next day(today), but finally turned off again.
It was also explained that EGR sootiness is a common problem with our deisels, as the temperture need to lower the NOX gas emission biproducts is right around the same temperature needed to keep the exhaust gas gaseous. Excess iding, low grade fuel, incomplete burn all contrbute to the amount of recirculated gas that can accumulate.
I guess my question is... what do I do next?
4 weeks back the Check Engine Light is on. That night I read here that it may be recall H44 and EGR related. Next morning light is intermittant. I head to dealer and they perform H44, light remains off as I leave dealer and head down street a mile and park for a few hrs. Start van, head down highway and after 30 minutes the light is on. I drive to next town and park overnight and next morning light is off. So far I chalk up the intermitant light to the fact that I actually overfilled the tank the night before and had the light comeon 10 minutes later which may have created breathing/starving issues(common issue) which disappear after 3-4 starts.
Last Thursday evening the light is back on. Next morning it is on, but as I drive to the dealer it goes off. The deisel technicion runs the diagnostic and gets codes 3130 & 2951. He then informs me that upon inspection, the 'sensor' and EGR system is sooty. He says, that the written proceedure for the diagnostic is to clean the sensor and reset. But, he also said that Chrysler has also instructed him to clean the whole EGR system as needed. He said that depending on the severity and needed replacement parts and availability it would take between 3-5 days in the shop.
.I said "What?" He said it takes hours to disassemble, soak, clean & brush each component back to original, then reassemble. We detemined that it would be ok for me to drive away as I experience no other performance issues, plus he said that while I'm sooty I'm not as sooty as the recent systems that he's cleaned. I said I will do some inquiries and speak to Chrysler about putting me up for the time needed to clean the sytem if I choose to do it right away as I'm RV'ing and thousands of mile form home.
Refreshingly, he took some time to discuss the EGR sytem and issue with me. He asked about my driving habits and experiences. I said that I occasionaly do idle the motor, no more that 5-10 minutes perhaps once a month for the 11+ months I have the van. I told him I 'baby' the van, less than 100kph/60mph on the highways and very slow accelerations. He said that my low revving of the motor is not helping with soot accumation, as the slower flow of exhaust is allowing the soot to stick.
I leave the dealer with the light off, fasten everything down, and head into the mountains on a 50 mile twisty road up over the pass and back all the while using 2nd and 3rd gear, up and down shifting and revving nicely between 2000 and 4000. In other words, 'Clean it out' a bit. So the light stays off the whole time. But, later that evening the light is back on and stays on most of the next day(today), but finally turned off again.
It was also explained that EGR sootiness is a common problem with our deisels, as the temperture need to lower the NOX gas emission biproducts is right around the same temperature needed to keep the exhaust gas gaseous. Excess iding, low grade fuel, incomplete burn all contrbute to the amount of recirculated gas that can accumulate.
I guess my question is... what do I do next?
Last edited:
