Engine Trouble

“Ding!”

What was that sound?

Was it the GPS?

No.

Was it one of the iPhones?

No.

It was the coach. Specifically, a warning sound from the dash, an amber engine warning light.

It came on during our drive from Port Huron, Michigan to Petoskey, Michigan. We had perhaps three hours of driving left before getting to our site.

But then this light. This yellow light with an outline of an engine. What to do?

We were on the Interstate and there was no safe place to pull over and stop the vehicle. And I really was not sure whether it was safe to drive the coach. Amber means proceed with caution. A red warning light would be far more serious. At least, that was my thinking.

We called Newmar and our dealer. And both returned our calls promptly. Unfortunately both provided different answers.

Our dealer told us that there wasn’t anything to worry about. Yellow warning lights come on and they come off. Nothing serious. Newmar told us to connect directly with Freightliner. Freightliner told us to pull over and run a diagnostic check. Well, we couldn’t do that on the Interstate and, to be candid, I would rather be stranded 1,000 or so kilometres from our house in Canada at a beautiful resort than on the side of I-75.

Freightliner reluctantly agreed that we could probably get to our destination without blowing up our engine. We could then run the diagnostics and plan next steps from the Petoskey Motorcoach Resort.

We ran the diagnostics check.

The specific code that came up on our engine diagnostic was: SPN 3216 FMI 2 OC 1.

I know. Helpful right?

The error code has something to do with the NOX sensors although I strongly suspect that it has a lot to do with a software bug in the Engine Control Module.

After a few calls between Freightliner and Cummins, I was advised to book an appointment at an authorized Cummins to get a software update for the engine.

It means having to stay an extra night in Petoskey as we couldn’t get an appointment until next Monday.

We were very glad to arrive safely at the resort. The engine did not blow up. We’ll see what happens on Monday.