1st Regen Mode and then to the Shop

[Midniteoyl]

how can a tractors starter already be bad after only 25 hours of use?

It's called the 'Bathtub Curve'. If a part is going to fail, it will either fail early (Infant Mortality) or later in it's life (Wear-out).

Bathtub curve - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[TractorGunn]

It's called the 'Bathtub Curve'. If a part is going to fail, it will either fail early (Infant Mortality) or later in it's life (Wear-out).

Bathtub curve - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Interesting.

 

[Squirrel's242]

OP glad you got it solved. I'd have suspected the starter or loose connection since the inconsistent starting was tied to physical movement and parts. Probably would have tried to get the starter exchanged vs taking the whole tractor in. But that's what is required during the warranty so their hands do the work.

No matter, old machines break too. The first year owning my 18yo 255k mile truck was spent tolerating a charging issue. After a marathon day of diagnostics on each component top to bottom, and replacement of those worn out parts, it's fixed.

Anyway, congrats on your new tractor, I bought my MT242 this year too. Old machines start out new at one point.


Oh, regren, my first was at 17hrs, then at 27 and 33. The 33hr one ticked me off. If regen is a result of the soot production and soot is high, seems the tractor is not hot enough or fuel is too much. I'm running my tractor in 100*+ weather @1700+ idle and 22-2500rpm for several hours of work. I didn't agree a regen should occur in those conditions. I've also noticed from the beginning my tractor's temp gauge stays low. Which seems odd to me for those conditions.

Am I not working this tractor hard enough? Is the thermostat compromised? Is the computer at fault? Don't know, but I'm watching. I've toyed with the idea of installing a 'winter front' to see if that affects the temp gauge reading at all. It should, especially n the summer. And if it doesn't, is the cooling system more robust than I think, or is it faulty? IDK, but those my thoughts.

At this point in time, on this specific property, my tractor may very well not be getting the workout it is capable of tolerating. If that's the case, I'll work it hard when I use it. Since the 33hr mark I've bumped up my idle rpm now to 19-2k after a brief wake up idle to get the oil flowing. Work rpm is still 23-25. I'm curious and waiting to see when the next regen cycle occurs.

But again, every old machine was new at one point. Takes time to break a machine in to really see how it'll be. You don't know long term results until you get through the long term time.

 

[TractorGunn]

OP glad you got it solved. I'd have suspected the starter or loose connection since the inconsistent starting was tied to physical movement and parts. Probably would have tried to get the starter exchanged vs taking the whole tractor in. But that's what is required during the warranty so their hands do the work.

No matter, old machines break too. The first year owning my 18yo 255k mile truck was spent tolerating a charging issue. After a marathon day of diagnostics on each component top to bottom, and replacement of those worn out parts, it's fixed.

Anyway, congrats on your new tractor, I bought my MT242 this year too. Old machines start out new at one point.


Oh, regren, my first was at 17hrs, then at 27 and 33. The 33hr one ticked me off. If regen is a result of the soot production and soot is high, seems the tractor is not hot enough or fuel is too much. I'm running my tractor in 100*+ weather @1700+ idle and 22-2500rpm for several hours of work. I didn't agree a regen should occur in those conditions. I've also noticed from the beginning my tractor's temp gauge stays low. Which seems odd to me for those conditions.

Am I not working this tractor hard enough? Is the thermostat compromised? Is the computer at fault? Don't know, but I'm watching. I've toyed with the idea of installing a 'winter front' to see if that affects the temp gauge reading at all. It should, especially n the summer. And if it doesn't, is the cooling system more robust than I think, or is it faulty? IDK, but those my thoughts.

At this point in time, on this specific property, my tractor may very well not be getting the workout it is capable of tolerating. If that's the case, I'll work it hard when I use it. Since the 33hr mark I've bumped up my idle rpm now to 19-2k after a brief wake up idle to get the oil flowing. Work rpm is still 23-25. I'm curious and waiting to see when the next regen cycle occurs.

But again, every old machine was new at one point. Takes time to break a machine in to really see how it'll be. You don't know long term results until you get through the long term time.

Thanks for the response, good to see another on here with the same tractor.

I don't know what to say about the temperature 'issue' (if it even is an issue) with your rig. Any developments or findings would be interesting to hear about. I kept an eye on mine while brush mowing due to some tall prairie grass that would clog the grill and radiator, and I saw the temperature come up slightly, which immediately resolved once I cleaned it out. My handy little Milwaukee Job Site blower does a good job taking care of this.

I'm glad my rig has only done the one regen so far. Every 30 would be great imo.

I also looked into how to maybe reduce the regen frequency and read that adding cetane boost may help. You may already being doing this, or maybe it's not a good thing, not sure. I did add some diesel kleen to this tank, and it runs notably smoother and quiter.

Thanks again for the good post.

 

[Squirrel's242]

Thanks for the response, good to see another on here with the same tractor.

I don't know what to say about the temperature 'issue' (if it even is an issue) with your rig. Any developments or findings would be interesting to hear about. I kept an eye on mine while brush mowing due to some tall prairie grass that would clog the grill and radiator, and I saw the temperature come up slightly, which immediately resolved once I cleaned it out. My handy little Milwaukee Job Site blower does a good job taking care of this.

I'm glad my rig has only done the one regen so far. Every 30 would be great imo.

I also looked into how to maybe reduce the regen frequency and read that adding cetane boost may help. You may already being doing this, or maybe it's not a good thing, not sure. I did add some diesel kleen to this tank, and it runs notably smoother and quiter.

Thanks again for the good post.

I haven't seen many MT242s out there Good to see another too. The blower on the grill is a good idea.

I agree that a 30hr regen cycle would be better. When the tractor regens I haven't parked it, just kept working. It de-rates(?) I guess but there was no work stoppage. It just smells funny, sounds different and gets hot, but goes back to normal once the cycle completes. Hopefully the ground work I have coming for it will break it in further and extend the regen cycle.

I have not run fuel additive yet and meaning to, the bottle of Diesel Kleen is there if I remember to grab it when I walk to the tractor. Are keeping track of your hours/gallons usage at all?

 

[Asteral]

we were recently told at the last class i took with LS, on the ls regens that you should be keeping you tractor at 2200 rpm or higher at all times for the passive side of the regen to function like it should, you will till have to preform regens but this is supposedly supposed to help keep them from having to occur as often.
The way they explained it to me was the engine are designed to run at high rpms at all times so LS is now asking us to inform all our customers when they call in regarding regen to follow this new guideline for rpms

 

[GS650GL]

Running at higher RPM, working it harder, and not idling excessively does help to keep the exhaust burning cleaner and reducing the frequency of regens, but it will still have to regen regardless. A regen every 25 to 50 hours used to be considered normal, but that was with Tier IV and Tier IV B emissions. We are now at Stage 5 emissions and LS is using Yanmar engines on these models and the Tier IV LS engines are discontinued. With Stage 5 and the software programmed into the ECU, they can now regen as often as every 6 to 12 hours instead of 25 to 50 hours. Not sure about what effect fuel additives have on the frequency of regens, but many people have told me they noticed a big difference if they used premium diesel fuel instead of regular or off-road diesel. Keeping the air filter clean and anything else that will help produce less soot will help. Every tractor and every situation is different, so there is no specific number of hours between regens and it can vary quite a bit.

 

[TractorGunn]

I haven't seen many MT242s out there Good to see another too. The blower on the grill is a good idea.

I agree that a 30hr regen cycle would be better. When the tractor regens I haven't parked it, just kept working. It de-rates(?) I guess but there was no work stoppage. It just smells funny, sounds different and gets hot, but goes back to normal once the cycle completes. Hopefully the ground work I have coming for it will break it in further and extend the regen cycle.

I have not run fuel additive yet and meaning to, the bottle of Diesel Kleen is there if I remember to grab it when I walk to the tractor. Are keeping track of your hours/gallons usage at all?

Yeah, I just kept on working too.

I think I've used about 15 gallons or so in 30 hours iirc.

 

[TractorGunn]

Running at higher RPM, working it harder, and not idling excessively does help to keep the exhaust burning cleaner and reducing the frequency of regens, but it will still have to regen regardless. A regen every 25 to 50 hours used to be considered normal, but that was with Tier IV and Tier IV B emissions. We are now at Stage 5 emissions and LS is using Yanmar engines on these models and the Tier IV LS engines are discontinued. With Stage 5 and the software programmed into the ECU, they can now regen as often as every 6 to 12 hours instead of 25 to 50 hours. Not sure about what effect fuel additives have on the frequency of regens, but many people have told me they noticed a big difference if they used premium diesel fuel instead of regular or off-road diesel. Keeping the air filter clean and anything else that will help produce less soot will help. Every tractor and every situation is different, so there is no specific number of hours between regens and it can vary quite a bit.

Allegedly the additive will cause a cleaner burn. This is the first tank I've put Diesel Kleen in, and tomorrow, Lord willing, I'll have a real day off and get to run her and fix the road.