DTC Auto Clear functionality

Cat electronic controls have a function to automatically clear DTCs (diagnostics and
events) from the log that have not been active in a certain period of service meter hours
(SHM). This has been in all Cat Electronic controls since the 1990's. The auto clear
functionality was created to make sure that the stored DTC’s were current enough that
troubleshooting was still needed. If the DTC had not been active in the auto clear time
then it is unlikely that problem is still happening. In this case a technician should not
waste time trying to troubleshooting an old problem that has likely already been corrected
or is not happening often enough to determine the root cause. All ECU’s (a.k.a. ECM’s)
have a limit to the number of unique DTC’s they can store in memory. This limit is
generally around 30 DTC’s but can vary by flash file. The auto clearing was also needed
to make sure the memory did not fill up with old data. Auto clearing of DTC’s is
common within our industries and other related industries.

DTC’s are used for cases where an unacceptable condition has been detected. They are
not intended to capture normal operating information. When a DTC occurs, the operator
and/or mechanic need to take action to correct the cause.

Prior to about 2004 most engine ECU’s would auto clear only the diagnostics and some
events. Certain critical events such as low oil pressure and high coolant temperature
would not auto clear.

Most engine control flash files made after about 2004 have configured the auto clearing
function to clear the DTC from the logged list if the DTC has not been active in the last
100 service meter hours.

Engine Data Sources

There are other mechanisms to capture and store operating information. Some of those
are discussed below.

Histograms
The engine controls store histograms.

Histograms Purpose: To provide frequency distributed data on engine operation.

Value: Eliminates data recorders, provides information on operator efficiency, reduces
time to troubleshoot some engine problems, and reduces unscheduled repairs by allowing
trend analysis.
Overview: Each histogram stored in the ECU is a set of counters. When the histogram
parameter is sampled the appropriate counter is incremented by one. Histograms are
either two or three dimensional, number of counts vs. one or two parameters, respectively.
All histograms can be simultaneously reset (all of its counters set back to zero) with
factory passwords.
The table below shows typical histograms for C11 – C32, 2005 and up engines.

Sample Period (secs)

Number of Counters
(doesn’t include underflow
and overflow counters)

Minimum (units)

Histogram Type
Width (units)
Histogram Parameter
(units) Trap Conditons
2 Dimensional (counts vs. one parameter)
Engine (over) speed (rpm) Engine speed > 2500 rpm 8 2600 100 occurrence
Coolant temperature (deg C) Engine speed > 400 rpm, and at 14 50 5 time
least 30 seconds since engine
running.
Intake air temp (deg C) 1150 rpm < engine speed < 2250 12 40 5 time
rpm, and coolant temp > 75 degC,
and fuel > 90% 1
Boost pressure (KPa gauge) 1150 rpm < engine speed < 2250 12 80 10 time
rpm, and coolant temp > 75 degC,
and fuel > 90%
3 Dimensional (counts vs. two parameters)
Engine speed (rpm) Engine speed > 400 rpm and 7 1000 200 time
coolant temp > 75 degC.
Engine load at current 4 50 10 time
engine speed (%)
Product Link
Products that have Product Link installed can track the DTC history in Equipment
Manager or Vision Link. That DTC history is not erased and it gives the date the DTC
occurred as well as the occurrence counts at each report. Product Link also tracks the
hours and the reports have a time/date stamp so you know when the DTC’s were reported.

VIMS
Products with VIMS installed can use the event chronological list to see the date/time and
history of each DTC occurrence. This data can then be stored on a server or PC. This
history does get erased from on-board when the data is downloaded.

ECU Downloads
There are 2 types of ECU downloads that can be used to store the DTC’s, histograms, and
other information about a product. The Warranty Report or Product Status Report (PSR)
can be easily downloaded and stored in SIMS. The warranty report has been required for
2004 and up on-highway engines under warranty. The warranty report does not contain
all the histograms. The PSR does not include the histograms by default but you can get
the histograms with the PSR if you select that option in cat ET when downloading the
PSR.

Follow the link below to learn how to save a PSR.

https://dealer.cat.com/cda/files/2046523/7/Cat+ET+product+status+report.htm
This presentation is available from the Cat ET page: https://dealer.cat.com/catet

The table below is from a PSR showing Accumulated Time vs Engine Coolant
Temperature
Engine Coolant Temperature( Deg C ) hours %
<0.00 0.00 0.00
0.00-4.99 0.00 0.00
5.00-9.99 0.00 0.00
10.00-14.99 0.05 0.36
15.00-19.99 0.15 1.08
20.00-24.99 0.25 1.80
25.00-29.99 0.40 2.88
30.00-34.99 0.45 3.24
35.00-39.99 0.75 5.40
40.00-44.99 0.85 6.12
45.00-49.99 1.15 8.27
50.00-54.99 2.95 21.22
55.00-59.99 3.05 21.94
60.00-64.99 1.20 8.63
65.00-69.99 1.05 7.55
70.00-74.99 0.50 3.60
75.00-79.99 0.20 1.44
80.00-84.99 0.50 3.60
85.00-89.99 0.05 0.36
90.00-94.99 0.15 1.08
95.00-99.99 0.20 1.44
100.00-104.99 0.00 0.00
105.00-109.99 0.00 0.00
110.00-114.99 0.00 0.00
115.00-119.99 0.00 0.00
120.00-124.99 0.00 0.00
125.00-129.99 0.00 0.00
130.00-134.99 0.00 0.00
135.00-139.99 0.00 0.00
140.00-144.99 0.00 0.00
145.00-150.00 0.00 0.00
>150.00 0.00 0.00

Future releases of current or past engine control flash files will likely have the auto clear
time set up to 1000 SHM. Tier 4i and up now configure each DTC to auto clear or not
auto clear. The critical events will no longer auto clear on these products.

Cat is also making improvements to the robustness of the DTC trip strategy to eliminate
nuisance faults.

On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) Regulations

OBD regulations took affect for light duty on-road vehicles starting in 1988 with OBDI.
In 1996 all light duty on-road vehicles were required to meet OBDII in the USA and
similar regulations in other countries. California introduced Engine Manufacturers
Diagnostics (EMD) for heavy duty on-highway vehicles made in 2007 and later. This
was similar to OBDI. California introduced OBDII for heavy duty on-highway vehicles
made in 2010 and later. There is not yet an off-highway OBD regulation, although the
US EPA is in the early stages of creating one now. You can find more details about
worldwide OBD regulations here: http://www.obdclearinghouse.com/
A new auto clear mechanism has been created to comply with future OBD (On-Board
Diagnostics) legislation. This auto clear feature uses a warm-up cycle counter. The
warm-up cycle counter increments when the engine was started cold and then reaches
operating temperature. OBD allows auto clear of emissions or OBD related DTC’s after
40 warm up cycles of the DTC not being active. This functionality exists in Tier4i and
later engines. As with SHM auto clear, each DTC is configured individually at software
build time to auto clear or not using this function. Critical events do not auto clear using
this function.