Yellow Engine Light

[pchicky]

Any of you folks have the yellow engine light come on? Mine comes on infrequently, but does sometimes. It runs just fine when the light is on though. If you shut off the engine and restart, the light is off and it may be off for hundreds or thousands of miles....there is no pattern to it. I had the codes pulled at Carolina International and they said it had something to do with a high pressure signal on the injectors, but that it isn't something to worry about. THey uploaded the latest software to the ECM to see if that helps. They also cleared the code out. Several hundred miles later, it came on again, but after a restart, hasn't come back.

It really is more of an annoyance than anything, but wonder if others have had this intermittent problem happen, and if so, what the issue was.

[Texas TC]

Paul,
Mine did that for the first few thousand miles and then, after an ecm update, never has done it again. The thing that always irritated me was that there was no code when the International dealer scanned it.

I agree it is irritating when you are going through it but if it is like mine, it will eventually stop coming on.

When I had a Kodiak chassis coach, I think I had every sensor on the coach replaced all over the country. The engine light came on every time we took a trip. Thankfully, my International chassis has not been that way.

[pchicky]

Yup, after the Colorado trip I had the ECM update done. It has only done it once since then (maybe 1000 miles), but like you said, no code in the system for the International folks to diagnose. When I have the oil changed in a few weeks I'll have them reflash the ECM with the latest update and see if that works.

It's just annoying from the fact that you don't know if the warning is one of these "ghost warnings" or a something that really needs checking. I figure that if I've got good oil pressure, coolant temp is OK, tranny temp is OK, and it's running great, then let it run unless a RED warning light comes on...then it's stop time.

[BTCruising]

I am assuming this is the Service Engine Soon light ? I've had one vehicle that had this light come on if I drove while it was raining. Another one had the light come on if I failed to tighten the gas cap. With both vehicles it was a temporary occurrence.

[pchicky]

It guess it could be similar to a service engine soon light such as you would find on a standard vehicle. After you cycle the engine off, then back on, it will be gone and there is no trace code in the system to decipher what triggered it.

I'm going to have mine serviced in the next couple of weeks and see if they will update the software in the ECM.

[Texas TC]

Those dang lights should come on sometimes when they don't. We are on a 10 day trip to Arizona to visit the kids. On Monday coming through Flagstaff, I lost a lot of my engine power and developed a severe vibration in the engine. The SuperNova has been in the International shop in Phoenix since Monday afternoon. It turns out I need three injectors, fuel pump, and an injector wiring harness.

Bottom line, there were no codes in the system and the engine light never came on. International had to do further diagnostic checks to find out that the problem was in the three defective injectors and the other parts required.

Those lights malfunction and come on for some really dumb reasons, unfortunately, when a real problem exists, they do not come on at all!

I hope to get the coach back tomorrow or Friday. I have prepaid for an RV park here in Arizona and, thus far, it is only being used as a place to store my motorcycle trailer. Quite expensive trailer storage I might add.

[pchicky]

Sorry to hear about your injector problem T.C......when you say "fuel pump" do you mean the injector pump? Seems surprising that the injectors and the pump would all fail at the same time.

And your right, the lights should come on for serious stuff, but it seems to be the mudane stuff that drives it.

Just curious....mind sharing what an injector pump and injectors cost for one of these things?

[mfa]

... It turns out I need three injectors, fuel pump, and an injector wiring harness.
...

Bad fuel? :?:

[Texas TC]

No bad fuel, just a slew of bad injectors. Turned out that I needed four injectors, a new injector pump, and new injector wiring harness to make it happy again. Picked it up today and it runs great! Apparently, it is not uncommon with the International VT365 to have bad injectors from time to time. Just glad to have the five year warranty on the engine.

[cd6400]

TC sorry to hear about your breakdown but glad they were able to get you back on the road.... When I turn the ignition on but before starting the electronic display says "Version 17.1" I'm thinking that this is the ECM software version you all are referring to. What does yours say? Curious if I have the latest version.

[Texas TC]

Yep, mine also says version 17.1 but I am not sure what this designation is in reference to. Keep in mind mine is one of the original Nova's. I wonder now if those with 2009 and beyond have a different version of whatever it is?

[cd6400]

Hmmm. My chassis is a 2009 with a build date of April 2008.....says 17.1. Come on others, what does yours say?

[michaelmangine]

got mine in feb. 2008 and it also has 17.1 version call international last week and there were no updates for it. there is a update that is to be released but it has to go through the feds first because of emiissions,

[swalter67]

texas tc, have you ever used a fuel additive ? i can see an injector or 2 ,but pump and wire harness? sounds like your mechanic was throwing parts at it till they fixed it ? these engines injectors are and pump require that you use a additive, i use the motorcraft ,very good

[Texas TC]

texas tc, have you ever used a fuel additive ? i can see an injector or 2 ,but pump and wire harness? sounds like your mechanic was throwing parts at it till they fixed it ? these engines injectors are and pump require that you use a additive, i use the motorcraft ,very good

Man, what to do? This International dealer was very stern against using any additive because it changes the viscosity of the oil. They said that engine oil changes along with a fuel filter change at every oil change was the suggested procedure and to never use additives under any circumstances.

International corporate determines what repairs are to be made. The dealer performs the diagnostics, sends the results to the warranty department and wait for desired repairs to be sent back. First, the diagnostics called for three injectors and pump. After that repair, the engine still ran rough. Another diagnostic check called for the fourth injector to be changed. Now the engine runs great. The wiring harness was changed because it had some spots that had ware over the 37000 miles on the coach. It was changed as a precautionary measure to keep from having issues in the future.

The test, send in and wait for repair orders is one of the reasons my coach was in the shop for three days. The warranty department does not seem to share the same sense of urgency as the dealer and the customer. That, along with having to tear down the engine twice was the most frustrating part of the process.

Now that you have brought up the additive solution, I would like to know how many others with the VT365 use oil additives and what brand.

[afterhours]

texas tc, have you ever used a fuel additive ? i can see an injector or 2 ,but pump and wire harness? sounds like your mechanic was throwing parts at it till they fixed it ? these engines injectors are and pump require that you use a additive, i use the motorcraft ,very good

Man, what to do? This International dealer was very stern against using any additive because it changes the viscosity of the oil. They said that engine oil changes along with a fuel filter change at every oil change was the suggested procedure and to never use additives under any circumstances.

International corporate determines what repairs are to be made. The dealer performs the diagnostics, sends the results to the warranty department and wait for desired repairs to be sent back. First, the diagnostics called for three injectors and pump. After that repair, the engine still ran rough. Another diagnostic check called for the fourth injector to be changed. Now the engine runs great. The wiring harness was changed because it had some spots that had ware over the 37000 miles on the coach. It was changed as a precautionary measure to keep from having issues in the future.

The test, send in and wait for repair orders is one of the reasons my coach was in the shop for three days. The warranty department does not seem to share the same sense of urgency as the dealer and the customer. That, along with having to tear down the engine twice was the most frustrating part of the process.

Now that you have brought up the additive solution, I would like to know how many others with the VT365 use oil additives and what brand.

I think he is talking about a FUEL additive, not an oil addy. On our E350, the ford idiot light came on and the diag code told me it was a bad #2 injector. Fuel addy (and resetting the computer by disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes) fixed it.

[pchicky]

I'm just catching up on some older postings and have an update on the yellow engine light problem I was having earlier.

The mechanics at Carolina International told me to definitely use a diesel fuel additive that helps lubricate injectors and pumps in the VT365. They have been recommending that for all the VT365's they get in the shop and they said it helps keep things clean in the injectors and pumps.

So, I started doing that....strangly enough, I haven't had a single yellow engine light come on, which it was frequently before that. Not sure if this is coincidence or not, but I haven't had any engine light problems since I started using the diesel additive, so I'm going to keep on doing it. Just thought I'd pass that along to the group.

[Texas TC]

I have continued to use it for the past 5000 miles. I put in a half a container of Power Service fuel additive every other fill up. I buy it at Walmart for about $15 per container. I have not had any code light issues but I cannot say that the coach is getting any better fuel mileage. It has run extremely well since I had four injectors changed out so I just want to keep it that way.

I just had my 40,000 mile service performed and all was well with my coach.