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Will a Cummins shut down or go into derate mode if the coolant temperature gets hot?

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Fefanatic

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First off thanks for the ad.
Here is the issue. We were driving from South Dakota to Kansas in a '23 Ram with a 6.7 Cummins with 23k miles on it and still under warranty. Around Omaha the engine belt broke (or was destroyed somehow). We didn't notice until we got a warning about engine high temperature. That happened about 4/10s of a mile from a rest area and we pulled off at that exit. The engine was hot, the belt damaged wiring and other things when it broke. We called and had it towed to the dealer. We rented a car and finished our trip and left the truck at the dealership. So, we get a call from the service department and they claim we drove 11 miles after the high temperature warning and that the engine reached 1000 degrees. That didn't happen. We got off as soon as the high temp alert. So, I want to know if there are parameters in the engine computer that can make that claim about 11 miles after the temp alert. At 23k miles the belt shouldn't have destroyed itself and damaged other wiring. The wiring to the fan clutch and wiring in a harness on the front of the engine was toast. We couldn't see all the damage when in the rest area but it looked extensive. We also saw antifreeze all over the engine from it getting hot.
We are thinking that Ram is looking for an excuse to not warranty the damage.

So, if a overheat occurs would the engine go into derate mode or shut down? We did not notice the check engine light before the temp warning but I am sure it should have been on when the belt broke. Did we go 11 miles after the belt broke? I guess it's possible, but we didn't notice it. We did hear a noise about 4-5 miles before we got the high temp warning but at the time thought it was coming from outside the truck.

Any help is appreciated.
 
I would think that if you break the accessory belt, the dash should light up immediately with all sorts of warnings. When it breaks you lose the fan, the water pump, and alternator functions. I would think the noise alone with startle the heck out of you. It sounds like all you got was a CEL and eventually a overheat alarm several miles later? Seems all very odd, but maybe you had enough ambient noise (radio, windows down?) to not really notice.

As far at the motor goes, I agree, you should notice a decrease in performance when you have a failure of that nature.

Has the dealer denied the repair claim?
 
No, but they said they are going to check with Ram to see if they can proceed. We haven't heard anything since and that was last week. We are going to check with them today.
 
It's not possible for the coolant to get to 1000°, so you might want to ask what got to 1000°. It would take more than .4 miles in an overheated state to get the coolant to all boil off and have 1000° air in the coolant passages, but it would eventually happen if you didn't seize the motor first (SMH)... thou it's not likely the ECT sensor can even register 1000°.

AFIK the engine records miles with the CEL light on, which might be what the dealership is using to say how far you drove it. The check engine light likely came on quickly due to the lack of charging from the alternator.

The engine will not derate or shutdown from what I have seen based on coolant temps (there are derate criteria, I just haven't seen it based on ECT).
 
Fefanatic said:
First off thanks for the ad.
Here is the issue. We were driving from South Dakota to Kansas in a '23 Ram with a 6.7 Cummins with 23k miles on it and still under warranty. Around Omaha the engine belt broke (or was destroyed somehow). We didn't notice until we got a warning about engine high temperature. That happened about 4/10s of a mile from a rest area and we pulled off at that exit. The engine was hot, the belt damaged wiring and other things when it broke. We called and had it towed to the dealer. We rented a car and finished our trip and left the truck at the dealership. So, we get a call from the service department and they claim we drove 11 miles after the high temperature warning and that the engine reached 1000 degrees. That didn't happen. We got off as soon as the high temp alert. So, I want to know if there are parameters in the engine computer that can make that claim about 11 miles after the temp alert. At 23k miles the belt shouldn't have destroyed itself and damaged other wiring. The wiring to the fan clutch and wiring in a harness on the front of the engine was toast. We couldn't see all the damage when in the rest area but it looked extensive. We also saw antifreeze all over the engine from it getting hot.
We are thinking that Ram is looking for an excuse to not warranty the damage.

So, if a overheat occurs would the engine go into derate mode or shut down? We did not notice the check engine light before the temp warning but I am sure it should have been on when the belt broke. Did we go 11 miles after the belt broke? I guess it's possible, but we didn't notice it. We did hear a noise about 4-5 miles before we got the high temp warning but at the time thought it was coming from outside the truck.

Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Just curious, you didn’t notice the temperature rising on the gauge?
I’d want to see proof of what the dealer is telling you.
 
Well, right now we are back in Kansas and the truck is in Iowa. We are going to check with them in the morning. We're giving them time to check with the factory reps. But, when we raised the hood the engine was hot but not crazy hot. Did we notice the temp gauge rise? No, but we're not sure some of the wiring harness that was ripped out by the belt didn't have the sensor wiring in it also. That may explain a 1000 degree hot reading.
 
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