Kubota F3990 Diesel Regen Problems -- how to delete this technology from the ECU?

[Lawn Mower Guy]

I am looking for help with the Diesel Regen Technology on my Kubota F3990 that has only 324 hrs, new in 2014, and over those years there have had to be four forced regens by the dealer, two this year, an expensive remedy.

I think the dealer suspects this is my fault because the ECM shows that there have been some instances of the engine being stopped during a regen, which is a no no. He says this bumps the regen up to the next level of severity, and in the end the owner has no choice but to ask for the help of the dealer to do the forced regen.

This has happened twice so far this year even though I have become very vigilant to not allow the engine to stop and also to follow all recommended steps for each stage of the regen [engine at low idle, parking brake on, PTO disengaged etc]. Both times this year the on board system went from the lowest stage with only the regen icon lit up, to the highest stage with the engine warning light flashing, in one jump. That is bizarre.

But the first time the dealer came out to do another forced regen in march he said he could find nothing wrong with the technology. Of course, he is able to disable and to subdue embedded bugs in the technology, do his thing, and then all is well, and he feels vindicated. I do not think that Kubota Regen technology is exonerated.

I call this temperamental technology because it does not come out and shut me down all the time. There have been enough times when I can remember that I have hopped off the machine to unplug the grass chute and the engine has stopped, and nothing else has happened. Why does it only happen sometimes?? Furthermore, can Kubota not design some technology that is able to recover from the engine being shut off and go back to a restore point and continue to do its regen? That is how my home computer works.

Very long story short......I would like to be rid of this technology and delete it from the ECU module. So far I cannot find someone who can do that even though there are enough people who remap ECU's on other machines.

Has anyone out there got any good suggestions for me please? :thumbsup:

 

[Roadworthy]

I think pollution devices are warranted for something like ten years. Your problem may be partially with the dealer. See if he can dump the compute software and reload it. There seems to be a glitch in your system, or it could just be an early version. I had enough trouble during warranty that when it neared its end I traded off my Dodge diesel pickup. Somebody else can deal with the technology - it's too expensive for me. My Kubota is an L2501, thereby escaping any regeneration problems I might have has with the L3301 I was considering.

 

[LouNY]

I am surprised that your engines procedure calls for low idle for a regen.
On my pickup when it gives the message that it needs regen the procedure is to take it out on the highway and drive at highway speeds.
I actually got the warning message that the particulate filter was at 90% full just a week or so ago, I drove it about 9 miles on the highway
I did down shift the transmission to 6th gear so the engine was turning 2000 rpm at 55 mph and it performed the regeneration smoothly.
Have you let it run at high idle or close to it while it was regening?

As far as removing it to my knowledge most of the particulate filters use a pair of pressure sensors to monitor the DPF's condition.
If you could unbolt the DPF and build up a Test pipe (could even have bungs installed for sensors)to run your mower and see how it ran,
that would give you a starting point to work from.

 

[Lawn Mower Guy]

The Kubota Regen has three or four stages. On the first stage you need to work it hard, highest possible rpms to see if it can burn off the particulate and soot. If it works, fine, if not, you go to stage two, a parked Regen and the ECU takes over and you need to stand by and wait 45 mins.

I have heard about the idea of just disconnecting the sensors but I am afraid the technology will react and hold me hostage.

No, the engine procedures do not call for low idle for regen, you are actually supposed to run it at highest rpms for the first regen stage, if that fails, then you go go parked regen and the on board controller takes over and manages the engine rpms, usually up to 2500 rpms for a long period, then down to 2000 rpms and then back up again, back and forth.

 

[Lawn Mower Guy]

My machine is about five yrs old and several yrs ago the dealer came to reprogram the ECU and to replace the filter under Kubota warranty, I think they were doing it to all these machines. Obviously the old software must have had a glitch for them to do this. But I suspect they still did not get it right.

Right now I am trying to find someone to just delete the technology but if it does not work I will have to go back to the dealer and see if there are any goodwill dollars that Kubota may want to donate to solve my problem. The dealer has nice enough people but I think they do not want to alienate this corporate giant.

 

[Rich B1]

Removing the DPF can get you into warm water with the EPA. The fine can be up to $33k/day.

Most engine ECU痴, software, and emissions hardware are so tightly interwoven that any disconnect or alteration results in engine de-rate.

You may want to talk to your dealer again and see if there is any further software or hardware updates available. They may actually have to contact Kubota for guidance.

 

[Jackfr]

Yours is another reason for the "Right To Repair" movement that is pushing for change in laws in States across the US, that will allow individuals to repair their own equipment. Search online there might be someone selling the equipment you need to manage the software on your tractor. I know there are laptops, interfaces and software kits available for NH, Deere, Cat and others. When you add up what it costs you to have the dealer continue to come to work on that EPA imposed software on your tractor it will be much cheaper to buy a package to manage it yourself.

 

[dusty3030]

Weird for you to be having this problem for sure. On a mower like that I'm assuming you are running it wide open throttle most of the time? No long periods of idling?
The regens should be almost invisible to you other than the regen light coming on while you are mowing and even this wouldn't happen very often. If you aren't letting it sit idling often, then it really shouldn't ever have to do a parked regen.
Problem might not be in the software itself but a bad sensor sending bad info back to the computer.
During your parked regens, does the engine throttle itself up to wide open after the regen starts?

 

[Lawn Mower Guy]

Yours is another reason for the "Right To Repair" movement that is pushing for change in laws in States across the US, that will allow individuals to repair their own equipment. Search online there might be someone selling the equipment you need to manage the software on your tractor. I know there are laptops, interfaces and software kits available for NH, Deere, Cat and others. When you add up what it costs you to have the dealer continue to come to work on that EPA imposed software on your tractor it will be much cheaper to buy a package to manage it yourself.

Thanks for the reply. I do run this machine wide open when I am working and it hardly ever is in idle mode for even a minute. Yes, I have been searching for someone to remap the ECU for me but the problem is to know the wiring diagram of the ECU in order for the connections to be made correctly. There is a fellow here in my city who does this kind of thing and he say that it is easy to do for JD but very difficult for Kubota.

Yes, the on board controller takes over for the parked regen and then it will vary the rpms which can go up to 2500 rpms for a long period of time, and then to 2000 rpms and then back up to 2500 rpms etc. I have monitored this and recorded what happens including the small icons on the control panel, which ones are on and/or flashing.

Please let me know if you run into any workarounds on this machine, thanks.

 

[Lawn Mower Guy]

I am not much worried about the EPA equivalent up here in Canada. Who is going to come after a farm machine? Would the dealer report me? I hear of many other people doing this to farm machines, diesel trucks, and there are businesses doing it openly too. How are they going to catch everyone?

The dealer has already updated software once several years ago, a tacit admission that this technology is flawed, and I think they still did not get it right. If I cannot get the DPF program deleted, I will have to go back to the dealer to see what he can do.