I have a Komatsu PC160LC-7eo Is there a scan tool that can be used to identify problems or is the diagnostic scanner built in to the machine and accessible with "secret" codes? Thank you, Joseph
Built in, what's going on with it? On the key pad , press and hold #4 then press 123 then release 4 .that should get you in.
Thanks very much! Well, a few weeks ago I had an E15 and discovered fuel wasn't exiting the tank well. Removed the clog and it worked. A week ago, oil started spitting out of the overflow. Thought maybe it was too cold and wouldn't circulate so Left it with a heater overnight. Still no good. Changed the oil & filter. Oil was very thin. Still no good. Also noticed fuel coming out from the lift pump area. Oil smelled like diesel and was way too much of it. Replaced all the injectors, which looked quite burned. JB Weld on the spot where the lift pump dripped. Put it all back together and it runs like crap, threw a CA553 and now an E15 code. When waiting for the injectors to come, rain might have gotten into the engine (yep, left the valve cover off). Changed oil and filter, and fuel filter. Lots of water in both. Took rail off and I think port 3 is clogged. Thinking it might be ice, so I brought it inside overnight. Took pressure sensor off and cleaned. Cleaned out the return lines (CA553 is abnormally high pressure). Cleaned the cylinder pressure relief valve (bolt). Will clean everything again this morning, reinstall and see where we stand -- and report back. Thank you!
Was your fuel compromised in the first place? Did your source fuel have water contamination? Is your fuel system Cummins or Komatsu? With Komatsu, there are snubber valves on the rail, they are serviceable. If you had contaminated fuel, they could be rusted in place. Might be worth taking another peek. Very frustrating indeed.
It has a Cummins SAA4D107e-1 engine I don't think the fuel source was contaminated originally. It could be that somehow fuel contamination started this whole thing. Lost 10 days of work so far -- super frustrating.
That's the crummy part about Komatsu. It's all Cummins, but they put their Komatsu twist to it. I'd still look at the rail. Aside from a snubber or a bad injector, there is no other reason you shouldn't be getting fuel delivery
Does the PC160LC-7eo have snubbers?
I don't have a parts catalog in front of me. So I wouldn't be able to answer till monday. Perhaps between now and then John C will chime in. That guy has forgotten more than I know about Komatsu.
Instead of pressing 4 and then 1,2,3 I think the Dash 7 had two triangles for moving up or down in the menu. Hold the triangle that points up and then 1,2,3 to get into the diagnostics. It should show you a new sub menu where you can go into electrical faults or mechanical faults and there is a lot of other stuff in there as well. I checked my notes and don't see the CA553 code. My stuff for the most part only shows codes related to the machine systems and not the engine. Dash 7 machines hadn't come out when I changed directions in my working life. Send me a PM and I can send you a file with all the codes that I have. I have a video that shows how to get into the Dash 8 monitors. The menus are basically the same with the big difference of using 4 instead of the up button.
So everything is cleaned and put back together. Rail spreads air evenly across all 4 outlets. Putting it back together, I get an E15 and CA553 code. The machine runs, but there is a ticking sounds that gets louder when I shut it off. Like maybe it's not firing on one cylinder? Tried to enter diagnostics with holding down 4 button, then pressing and releasing 1 then 2 then 3 (all while holding down 4), then releasing 4. But nothing changed on the screen.
The UP TRIANGLE worked! This doesn't look good: Fuel is still leaking from side of lift pump, almost where it bolts to block -- JB Weld did not do the trick.
That is a bit over 11,000 psi, not bad. Or are talking about Fpump?
Glad to hear the rail pressure is okay. I was referring to Fpump (which I admit I don’t know what it is). in the last hour or so I discovered the water separator had lots of water. I drained the tank and the fuel is dark, which I can’t explain. Here’s a pic:
Looks like you had a bad injector. Combustion gases in the fuel. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Maybe run off an alternate source of fuel for testing purposes.
Front pump pressure is the front hydraulic pump and it should be reading the same as pump 2 which is the rear hydraulic pump. I believe the rail pressure should be over 20,000 PSI on start as I was told these engines run in the 30,000 PSI range when running properly. I could very easily be wrong about that but a book spec would tell. I'm assuming you put the monitor in hold mode when the machine was running at low idle. I think you have big fuel problems with any amount of water in the system and if the dark fuel is a result of compression going back into the fuel system, you need some on site help of figuring out what is going on. How many hours are on this machine and engine?
I just went through a nightmare job. Had 600kg rail pressure when I got her running right at 1000 rpm. JohnC brings up a good point, frt & rear pump should both be online at similar pressure. I hope it's just a bad sensor. If you scroll down further, you can see desired rail pressure, it might say rail pressure command. Select that and rail so you can verify whether your fuel system is up to speed. You can also go into testing and cancel cylinders 1 at a time to see who's contributing and not.
I am in the midst of this nightmare. Emptied the entire fuel tank and found plenty of water and sludge. Cleaned it out pretty well, flushed it with diesel and with seafoam. Changed filters again (plenty of crap came out). Added some Diesel 911 and fuel and started her up. She ran for a few minutes then coughed and knocked and continue to exhaust white smoke. The water separator's contents is black again (dark like grape juice). A sample of fuel from the tank (taken from the top) shows it it pretty black. I'm concerned that engine oil got into the fuel again somehow. Is it possible a malfunction fuel injector pump could make this happen? Here's a pic:
Red Xs for pics
sorry -- fixed pics problem That was fresh clean fuel a few hours ago (30 minutes of engine time ago).
How many gallons of fuel would you guess? If you haven't lost significant oil, I'm still looking at injector allowing combustion gas in return fuel
Yesterday I put 15 gallons in and it ran like crap. So I thought maybe the concentration of remaining contaminants in 15 gallons of fuel was too high, so I put another 10 gallons in today. With newly replaced injectors, how would combustion gas into return fuel? And is there something I can check to narrow down what's going on?
Did you replace the copper seals at nozzle tips? Did you clean the bores? Did you blow out the hold down screw holes? Are the injectors tightened down properly? You said yourself its running rough, but your rail pressure is sufficient. It should be happy as a clam. I'm guessing you received a bad or failing injector. New or reman doesn't always mean good.
Take your return hose off, use another hose and run into a bucket, odds are you'll see foam, bubbles and/or mist.
If the fuel in the tank is already dark, will looking at the return line fuel help? sounds like we are looking for foam, bubbles and/or mist and not the color, right? And that will tell is if the problem is at the injectors?
Should give an indication as to what is going on
Here's where we stand today: 1) Coolant level is fine, so that rules out mixing and burning coolant 2) Changed oil (again) but it looked fine (a little thin) 3) Disconnected hose from pump that pumps the return fuel back into the fuel tank. With engine running, it was a total mist (80% air). Here's a video and pictures of the mist/steam that's coming out and what was collected (pretty black):
That is totally a bad injector or poor combustion seal. You'll need an old injector line nut and a ball bearing. You remove one pipe at a time. Cap rail with ball and nut. Start and check for that mist. If it's there, move on to the next. The one that eliminates the mist is your dud. First I would remove, clean and check combustion seal on each injector. Make sure you don't have a big wad of crap preventing a good seal to the head.
I'm guessing bad injector, thinking you received a reman dud.
Wow, that is great knowledge you have! Any chance you know (or can point me to) the diameter and thread for the rail cap needed? I don't have an old injector line nut. Thank you!
It's a tool you can purchase from Cummins. I don't know the specs on it. But it is made specifically for this task. Just be careful, the pressures are dangerous
Is there another way to test the injectors? Napa, Autozone, Home Depot all didn't have anything that fit.
The only option I can come up with is to order up a new fuel line and sacrifice one of yours or purchased a tool from Cummins. Whatever you get to cap off the fitting it will have to be steel, brass could simply blow off under the pressure
See if a local dodge dealer will rent or sell to you for the day.
That's interesting. Will a cap for a 5.9L Dodge Cummins fit my rail? Like this: https://www.amazon.com/AccurateDiesel-Cummins-Diesel-Injector-Block-Off/dp/B01A810K8M Or this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M1KXULM/ref=psdc_15707421_t5_B01A810K8M
Those are the ones I was speaking of. I don't know exactly which one you need though. What about this kit, seems to cover all the bases. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B079Z2DBGG/ref=psdcmw_15707421_t1_B01A810K8M
It's got a Cummins 4.5L engine, family 8KLXL0275AAG engine in it.
When I got the new injectors I bought 1 extra. What do you think about swapping that one alternative injector in, one cylinder at a time? It's not as complete of a isolation test, but if it's purely the injector, it'll work, no?
That would be ISB 4.5 it's the same as a 6.7 just 2 less holes.
That is a strong option, providing the other is good. If you're comfortable with it, go for it.
Pop all lines and crank it over should be able to see compressor shooting out
You know, that's simple as F@ck , wish I'd thought of it
We like easy (for a change). Pop the lines off of where exactly? Thanks!
Is it identifyable on this diagram:
Take off the pipes between the rail and connector tubes. The injectors should remain closed even while cranking. You should not get the forceful purge you were seeing out the return line.
just want to make sure I understand: Disconnect the pipes that come from the injectors where they attach to the rail? Isn’t that high pressure?
Yes, but it won't be because there is no restriction. The rail will just slobber out the ports. You can drape some clean rags over them to slow fuel and prevent dirt. You're disconnecting all of them and cranking it over to see which connector pipe sprays back. If none , it could be limited to return side where you'll have to employ your suggestion of chasing a suspected good one.
Wow, very interesting. So the injectors should (if working properly) remain closed and therefore nothing should come from the return side through the injector and spray out the pipes that normally bring the fuel to the injector? But wouldn't the injectors open and close during cranking the engine, thinking it was trying to be started? If fuel sprays out, then an injector is stuck open, right? I'm confused what we learn and what the next step is if nothing sprays out?
As I look over everything we've discussed. This may not be the best. Your first thought, chasing your spare injector seems to be the best option here. You aren't introducing gas to the rail, its purging out the return. Let's go back with that thought process . If we had gas aerating the rail, pulling pipes would have been the answer.
Pulled the first injector and it was covered in goop. Replaced it and no more mist. Checked the next injector as an inspection and it wasn't nearly as bad. I don't know if it was a bad injector or something else happened, but after replacing the goop'd injector, it runs well now. I really can't thank you all enough -- I am very grateful for your help! Here's a pic and a video.
Glad to hear. Did you clean that bore shiny before you put that injector in? Just dont want you to have to go through that again.