october2022 - 23

A
ftertreatment systems are responsible for some of the
most common faults found on commercial vehicles, and
problems with the systems can result in unplanned downtime
if they aren't addressed. Diagnostic tools, telematics,
and preventive maintenance can help, but technicians
often face challenges when servicing the systems, which
became mandatory for diesel trucks 15 years ago after the
Environmental Protection Agency introduced new emissions
regulations.
" It is very technical, and technicians jump to conclusions
and don't follow the best diagnostic steps, " said Dan
Carrano, VP of fleet maintenance for A. Duie Pyle. " The
biggest challenge is finding techs that have an in-depth
understanding of exactly how the
system functions, allowing them
to diagnose the issues properly. "
Daniel Mustafa, director of technical
service for TravelCenters of
America, said not having a clear
understanding of what components
in an aftertreatment system
do leads to poor diagnostics as well
as wasted steps, time, and money.
" The biggest challenges come
from the large amount of sensors
and the tight tolerances they must
operate in, as well as the escalating
amount of parts that can
be affected before problems are
addressed, " said Len Copeland,
Detroit product marketing manager,
Daimler Truck North America.
Bruno Gattamorta, chief
commercial officer for Cojali USA,
agreed that the growing complexity
of aftertreatment systems has
created more issues on the truck:
" They get dirty. There are a lot of
sensors. They can get clogged and
there can be short circuits. "
Getting to the
root cause
Finding the true cause, whether
that is a clogged diesel particulate
filter, wiring problem,
or something else requires a
good amount of detective work.
Aftertreatment
systems
" Upstream issues
are defined as issues
related to the proper
function of the engine
and related systems.
Fueling, cooling,
timing, and air handling
problems can all present
themselves disguised
as aftertreatment
problems. "
Chris Johnson,
marketing specialist, Diesel Laptops
can
generate multiple fault codes, but
technicians need to look beyond
those to diagnose the root cause.
" The technician ends up chasing
» By plugging into a truck's
OBD-II port, a technician can
pull relevant aftertreatment
data such as temperature
to troubleshoot issues.
Photo: Noregon
his tail because he is trying to solve
the effect, not the cause. You have
to know how to find those codes, "
said Chris Freeman, director
of heavy-duty
sales and training
for Autel North
America. " I think we,
as an industry, haven't
done a really good job of training the
technicians on how the system works
and how to troubleshoot it. "
Instead of looking to resolve the
issue, technicians may opt to conceal
» The Diesel Laptops Handheld Pro clears
DTCs, reads live data, and performs DPF
regens on most heavy-duty diesel trucks.
Photo: Diesel Laptops
October 2022 | FleetMaintenance.com
23
http://www.FleetMaintenance.com
october2022

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