Regens at alarming rate!

[batman900]

Update on father's 2023. They gave it back and couldn't find anything wrong, asked him if he could document and get it on video then they would keep working on it. Only took him 2 days to get that and called them, they said they will replace some sensors but weren't specific. He went through 2 regens in less than 100 miles after getting it back. He got a trade appraisal but they only offered 48k "23 Tradesman with adds & 5k miles" so he's going to keep crossing his fingers for a fix.

 

[CaptainMike]

Update on father's 2023. They gave it back and couldn't find anything wrong, asked him if he could document and get it on video then they would keep working on it. Only took him 2 days to get that and called them, they said they will replace some sensors but weren't specific. He went through 2 regens in less than 100 miles after getting it back. He got a trade appraisal but they only offered 48k "23 Tradesman with adds & 5k miles" so he's going to keep crossing his fingers for a fix.

Keep a close eye on the engine oil level, he's likely getting some fuel dilution. Mine has had the boost tube and MAFS replaced with no change in frequent regens, perhaps a little worse even. I'm scheduled for a fuel system eval next month with suspicions pointing to injectors or fuel pump. They're still throwing darts, hoping one will stick.

 

[BighornHDRam]

I was having the same problems as all of you and my issue started at 6627 miles from new on my 2022, for about 9k miles regen after 100 miles and such. After documenting all the regens I convinced the dealer to dig into my truck and they found a faulty injector over fueling and face plugged the DPF filter error code something like P026b. The dealer ended up replacing all 6 injectors and DPF and has been fine for almost a year and 17k miles. I also added the Fleece PowerFlo® Lift Pump for 2011-2024 Dodge Ram Cummins last year while I was adding the S&B 52 gallon tank so I don't know if the fuel pump helped the issue or not but I have not had much of an issue since parts were replaced.

Note to anyone that adds the S&B 52 gallon tank and has the S&W turnover hitch you will have to modify the bracket that bolts to the hitch that attaches to the handle as mine was hitting the top of the fuel tank not allowing you to pull the handle out and forward locking it in for ball replacement.

 

[kfscoll]

Miraculously I made it to my second 24-hour timer-based regeneration since I’ve been tracking this issue more closely. The DPF gauge was on zero when the timer-based regen started so the DPF should be pretty well cleaned out now. I’ll of course keep monitoring it and driving it enough to cause passive regeneration if I start to see the DPF meter creep up.

All of these things may be pure coincidence, but it seems like things improved when I (1) stuck to using only BP diesel fuel, (2) added Hot Shot’s Secret EDT with every fuel up, and (3) drove locally at around 45-50 MPH so the truck was fully warmed up before getting on the highway. I ran into a few cases where the truck was still warming up when I got on the highway and the DPF filter would almost immediately increase one notch. So who knows, but that’s what seems to be working for me so far, fingers crossed. FWIW I have about 23K miles on the truck right now.

So right after my timer-based regeneration I drove approximately 30 miles and my DPF gauge went up three segments in that period of time. WTF? There’s no way that much soot can be generated in that period of time. Anyway, I took a nice long 200 mile drive and was able to passively regenerate all of the soot out and, thinking I might’ve got a bad tank of gas, I drove enough to get my remaining fuel range down to about 30 miles. I filled up with Marathon diesel this time around (their gasoline is Top Tier, and there’s a Marathon processing plant not far from where I live), so maybe the diesel is better/fresher. Anyway, I drove about 30 miles today before the DPF gauge went up one notch, but I had to drive about 100 highway miles anyway, so I was able to passively get the DPF gauge back down to zero in that period of time.

So, I’m able to keep the active regenerations to a minimum, but I’m using a lot of gas and putting a lot of needless miles on the truck in the process. My wife is getting sick of this and wants me to call the dealer, but with no codes thrown I’m not sure there’s a point. Anyway, I still think that there’s a programming issue somewhere for those of us who don’t seem to have obvious regen problems (i.e. DPF load increasing during highway driving after the truck is at full temp, constant regens every 150 miles despite a majority of highway driving, no codes thrown, etc). Once my truck is fully up to temperature, it’ll always passively regenerate if I’m driving on the highway (i.e. its soot load never goes up and eventually goes down). I sure hope Ram is still looking at this actively because at the rate at which I’m driving (24K miles in 16 months) my emissions system warranty will be up in another year and a half.

 

[AH64ID]

So right after my timer-based regeneration I drove approximately 30 miles and my DPF gauge went up three segments in that period of time. WTF? There’s no way that much soot can be generated in that period of time. Anyway, I took a nice long 200 mile drive and was able to passively regenerate all of the soot out and, thinking I might’ve got a bad tank of gas, I drove enough to get my remaining fuel range down to about 30 miles. I filled up with Marathon diesel this time around (their gasoline is Top Tier, and there’s a Marathon processing plant not far from where I live), so maybe the diesel is better/fresher. Anyway, I drove about 30 miles today before the DPF gauge went up one notch, but I had to drive about 100 highway miles anyway, so I was able to passively get the DPF gauge back down to zero in that period of time.

So, I’m able to keep the active regenerations to a minimum, but I’m using a lot of gas and putting a lot of needless miles on the truck in the process. My wife is getting sick of this and wants me to call the dealer, but with no codes thrown I’m not sure there’s a point. Anyway, I still think that there’s a programming issue somewhere for those of us who don’t seem to have obvious regen problems (i.e. DPF load increasing during highway driving after the truck is at full temp, constant regens every 150 miles despite a majority of highway driving, no codes thrown, etc). I sure hope Ram is still looking at this actively because at the rate at which I’m driving (24K miles in 16 months) my emissions system warranty will be up in another year and a half.

Using gas is probably the root of your issues. You’ll have better luck with diesel.

 

[kfscoll]

I am in the range of an active regen every ~200 miles if I am not towing anything. My commute to work is 14 miles (half highway at ~70mph and half two lane 55 mph roads). The last 10 days have been cold (about 10F in the AN and 20F in the PM) and I have been getting great passive regen (monitoring %DPF PID on my iDash) - what I noticed is that my EGT1, 2 and 3 temps are around 675 to 715 at these cold temps for my commute when before (warmer weather), I as between 550 and 615 which isn't enough for passive regen. During this cold snap, each morning, my %DPF is down in the 20s and gets to about 40ish when I shut if off. I am wondering if the cold weather is forcing more EGR and thus keeping my EGTs higher. Would be very interesting to know what EGR looks like for those that have a regen problem and those that don't (I keep forgetting to change one of my displays to monitor EGR).

I don’t have any hard data, but it seemed that my DPF loading also seemed to slow down when it was really cold a few weeks back — which is exactly opposite of what i expected. So weird.

 

[kfscoll]

Using gas is probably the root of your issues. You’ll have better luck with diesel.

Good catch and fixed! Man, saying “gas” is a hard habit to break!

 

[downsc123]

I don’t have any hard data, but it seemed that my DPF loading also seemed to slow down when it was really cold a few weeks back — which is exactly opposite of what i expected. So weird.

As soon as it warmed back up, EGTs dropped back to normal and I am right back to where I am normally. I really hate this emissions crap

 

[Jay P]

I don’t have any hard data, but it seemed that my DPF loading also seemed to slow down when it was really cold a few weeks back — which is exactly opposite of what i expected. So weird.

Cold air is more dense than warm air so you get better combustion. All of my diesel trucks over the years (no matter the make) have less regens in the winter than the summer.

 

[mbarber84]

I hope those of you who are experiencing this issue are taking the five minutes and reporting the issue on my tracking form. I’d like to get more data on these trucks

 

[Ram7]

I hope those of you who are experiencing this issue are taking the five minutes and reporting the issue on my tracking form. I’d like to get more data on these trucks

I’ve looked at your form and thought about filling it out. I’m regening an average of about 200 miles since I started tracking them. When I’m towing, my DPF will clear causing me not to regen for a while. Would this information still be helpful even though I wouldn’t consider it a problem if I’m towing and for a little bit after unhooking? I’ve talked with the dealer and they mentioned putting in the China MAFS but I held off since it seems some are still having issues. The majority of my driving is on the highway and I recently installed a block heater for my early morning cold starts so I’m waiting to see if that changes anything.

 

[mbarber84]

I’ve looked at your form and thought about filling it out. I’m regening an average of about 200 miles since I started tracking them. When I’m towing, my DPF will clear causing me not to regen for a while. Would this information still be helpful even though I wouldn’t consider it a problem if I’m towing and for a little bit after unhooking? I’ve talked with the dealer and they mentioned putting in the China MAFS but I held off since it seems some are still having issues. The majority of my driving is on the highway and I recently installed a block heater for my early morning cold starts so I’m waiting to see if that changes anything.

What kind of drive cycles does the truck see when you’re not towing? IE: what kind of driving do you do when you’re seeing 200 mile regeneration cycles? How many engine hours between those cycles?

 

[Ram7]

What kind of drive cycles does the truck see when you’re not towing? IE: what kind of driving do you do when you’re seeing 200 mile regeneration cycles? How many engine hours between those cycles?

Probably 85% highway around 60 mph(speed limit is 60) 30ish minutes, sometimes longer and sometimes less. Depends on where I’m going. Coolant gets up to temp, oil probably doesn’t but who knows since the oil temp display is an estimate. Correct air filter. 16% idle time. I had high oil level which I put up a little bit of a stink with the dealer, I have since started going to a different one, and they said it was fine and they took about 1 qt out anyways. I got home and took out almost 2 qts. Always let regens finish by continuing to drive on the highway. Sometimes it kicks into regen on my way to work so I can’t continue driving but I take the highway home so I just let it finish on the way back after work. I’m also not towing as much compared to summer.

 

[scdo]

UPDATE on my truck.

In my last update, I explained the dealer was going to try a DPF replacement (per direction from a field tech who visited my dealer).

I just got the call it was ready and headed down there eager for a test drive. I requested the dealer to verify oil while they had it (being worried about fuel dilution)... they confirmed it was at normal level.

Before starting the engine, I checked the level myself (in their lot)... it was about half an inch over the max fill line. Got into a little argument with the tech. The tech said that they drain and then refill with 12 quarts. He said in order for all the oil to drain, they'd have to wait over an hour -- they do not do that. It is my understanding that if they don't, it will be over-filled. He essentially admitted to bad technique but somehow I was in the wrong.

Long story short, the service manager took a look and completely agreed the level was outside of spec. They're going to let it drain over-night and refill.

 

[mbarber84]

Probably 85% highway around 60 mph(speed limit is 60) 30ish minutes, sometimes longer and sometimes less. Depends on where I’m going. Coolant gets up to temp, oil probably doesn’t but who knows since the oil temp display is an estimate. Correct air filter. 16% idle time. I had high oil level which I put up a little bit of a stink with the dealer, I have since started going to a different one, and they said it was fine and they took about 1 qt out anyways. I got home and took out almost 2 qts. Always let regens finish by continuing to drive on the highway. Sometimes it kicks into regen on my way to work so I can’t continue driving but I take the highway home so I just let it finish on the way back after work. I’m also not towing as much compared to summer.

60mph is likely not sufficient to produce much effective passive regeneration. I’ve found with my truck (2022 3500 HO DRW CC LB) that I need to be at minimum 70mph, and more like 75mph to achieve effective passive regeneration. I keep my truck religiously at 75mph on the interstate as much as possible (speed limits here are 55-70). Passive regeneration requires a decent amount of fuel. At 60mph my truck simply isn’t working hard enough, and is far too fuel efficient. At 75mph, I’m around 15mpg and that seems to be enough fuel burning and engine loading to generate the necessary EGT’s for passive regeneration to occur. I’m able to achieve 24 engine hours in between active regeneration cycles, which works out to around 900-1,000 miles between cycles.

 

[mbarber84]

UPDATE on my truck.

In my last update, I explained the dealer was going to try a DPF replacement (per direction from a field tech who visited my dealer).

I just got the call it was ready and headed down there eager for a test drive. I requested the dealer to verify oil while they had it (being worried about fuel dilution)... they confirmed it was at normal level.

Before starting the engine, I checked the level myself (in their lot)... it was about half an inch over the max fill line. Got into a little argument with the tech. The tech said that they drain and then refill with 12 quarts. He said in order for all the oil to drain, they'd have to wait over an hour -- they do not do that. It is my understanding that if they don't, it will be over-filled. He essentially admitted to bad technique but somehow I was in the wrong.

Long story short, the service manager took a look and completely agreed the level was outside of spec. They're going to let it drain over-night and refill.

If they’re not going to allow sufficient time for the oil to drain out, they’re setting themselves (and their customers) up for failure. You cannot overfill the crankcase in these trucks. It is a causal factor in regeneration issues. This is outlined directly in their own manufacturers documents.

 

[OLEJOE]

60mph is likely not sufficient to produce much effective passive regeneration. I’ve found with my truck (2022 3500 HO DRW CC LB) that I need to be at minimum 70mph, and more like 75mph to achieve effective passive regeneration. I keep my truck religiously at 75mph on the interstate as much as possible (speed limits here are 55-70). Passive regeneration requires a decent amount of fuel. At 60mph my truck simply isn’t working hard enough, and is far too fuel efficient. At 75mph, I’m around 15mpg and that seems to be enough fuel burning and engine loading to generate the necessary EGT’s for passive regeneration to occur. I’m able to achieve 24 engine hours in between active regeneration cycles, which works out to around 900-1,000 miles between cycles.

Mine is the same way. Have to run 75+ for passive regen to occur except when towing. Towing it doesn’t really matter how fast I run.

 

[Ram7]

60mph is likely not sufficient to produce much effective passive regeneration. I’ve found with my truck (2022 3500 HO DRW CC LB) that I need to be at minimum 70mph, and more like 75mph to achieve effective passive regeneration. I keep my truck religiously at 75mph on the interstate as much as possible (speed limits here are 55-70). Passive regeneration requires a decent amount of fuel. At 60mph my truck simply isn’t working hard enough, and is far too fuel efficient. At 75mph, I’m around 15mpg and that seems to be enough fuel burning and engine loading to generate the necessary EGT’s for passive regeneration to occur. I’m able to achieve 24 engine hours in between active regeneration cycles, which works out to around 900-1,000 miles between cycles.

Thanks for the reply. Makes sense to me but I feel like I shouldn’t have to speed 10-15 mph over the limit on the highway. If that truly is the case and that’s the fix then that’s rather unfortunate. If it’s something to do until something else is figured out then it’s a different story.

 

[mbarber84]

Thanks for the reply. Makes sense to me but I feel like I shouldn’t have to speed 10-15 mph over the limit on the highway. If that truly is the case and that’s the fix then that’s rather unfortunate. If it’s something to do until something else is figured out then it’s a different story.

It’s all a derivative of design. These trucks are designed to be worked. When they’re unloaded, they’re not working hard enough. Prior to the advent of DPF’s, that unloaded efficiency meant better fuel economy. That is still the case today. The side effect of that today, is that the EGT’s don’t get hot enough to burn the soot out when the truck isn’t loaded and isn’t working. When you push the truck to 75mph, it’s being labored enough moving its own mass at that speed, that there’s just enough load to generate high enough EGT’s. Those EGT’s are still lower than what they would be if the truck was towing, but high enough to burn out trapped soot. Its one of those, you can’t have your cake and eat it too scenarios. The little passenger car diesels can get away with it because they’re so horrendously underpowered, they’re labored enough just moving down the highway. These 420 / 1075 behemoths are overpowered when they’re unloaded and aren’t working. It’s like a body builder lifting empty cardboard boxes versus 600 pound dead lifts when towing.

 

[CaptainMike]

Having to drive a vehicle over the speed limit, or any other convoluted parameter for it to function properly is ridiculous. Yes, diesel engines need to be worked and thrive under loads, but they are robust by design and are, or should be, very tolerant of mixed driving techniques. We all know emissions ******** hampers that, but that doesn't adequately explain why these current batches of 6.7's are such crap.