Indicator light?

dhattaway · Feb 17, 2021

Anybody know what this indicator is for? It pops up at random and I can稚 find it in the manual

Slowpoke Slim · Feb 17, 2021

Yes that is the DOC filter warning light.

It usually starts blinking slowly for a partial filter restriction. Then as the blockage increases, the blinking quickens, to eventually become steady on.

You need to run the beee-geezuss out of that engine to get the DOC canister hot enough to burn off that internal soot. It's going to clog up eventually.

Lots of threads on this one, most of us have been through it, we can help further if you need it.

And for the "Permanent Solution":

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/century-branson/409434-exhaust-mod-my-3725-a.html

dhattaway · Feb 18, 2021

Thanks Slowpoke Slim for the quick response. Lately it's only been running an hour or so at a time. So, I guess that would contribute to the problem.

ericm979 · Feb 18, 2021

If the light comes on when starting and takes a few seconds to go out after the engine starts, I think that's normal.

Running for an hour at a time is fine. But you need to work it hard enough for long enough to get the DOC/DPF hot. Also don't leave it idling for long periods. Diesels don't throttle the air like gas engines, the full flow is going through at all times. Engine speed and power is controlled by the amount of fuel injected. Idling only takes a tiny amount of fuel. At idle there's a lot of air passing through the DOC/DPF at idle but not much heat from combustion. So the soot accumulates because the DOC/DPF is not hot enough to burn it off.

I run a PTO chipper for about 1/4 of my operating hours and that seems to be enough to keep it clean. Also it does not get that cold here, it's rare to be operating the tractor at less than about 45 degees ambient. If it's really cold that will make it that much harder to get the DOC/DPF up to temp.

Per the shop manual:

Blinking every 2 seconds: Danger Level "Check". Go to service shop for an inspection. Carry out cleaning of DPF.
Blinking every half second: Danger level "Caution". Go to service shop for an inspection. Check sensor in service shop.
Solid on: Danger level "Emergency". Stop car and engine if lamp light blinks while driving. Call customer service. Caution: DPF could be damaged if you keep driving while lamp blinks.

Yea, pretty useless translation but there it is.

Slowpoke Slim · Feb 18, 2021

In my case, it wasn't enough to just run the rpms up, there had to be a load on the engine. So, in winter time, the only way I could put a load on the engine was to "road" my tractor, driving it up and back on a graded gravel road about a mile and a half long. I would do this in High range on the HST, and go flat out (such as it is), to put as much load on the engine as possible. Sometimes it would take 2 or 3 trips for the light to go out and stay out.

In summer, it would get hot enough while brush hogging to not be a problem.

But then again, it's also frequently -30F to -40F in winter (not this year) which makes it really difficult (ok, impossible really) to get that DPF/DOC filter hot enough to do what it's supposed to do.

If you have a place to do it safely, maybe try roading your tractor for a couple of miles?

LouNY · Feb 18, 2021

You can also cover your grill in cold weather to help the engine get to temperature better.

HawkinsHollow · Feb 23, 2021

I am glad you posted this. I have been having the same problem. I have tried running it up and down the road, bush hogging, etc. And I just cannot get the light to stop coming on! It is a bit frustrating. I feel a bit upset that my only real solution is to gut the can, pay some to clean it which cost $250 and does not fix the problem or do a full delete that is going to cost me $200. Are those honestly my only options? Another thing I was thinking. Could there be something in the tailpipe causing this? A mouse nest or something? It only comes on at high RPM. I was using my tractor to haul some logs from down the road and noticed a SIGNIFICANT decrease in power as I was pulling them home. Something has to be done!

dhattaway · Mar 1, 2021

So I tried some cleaning and stuff over the weekend. Fail! Light's still coming on. So, if I decide to gut it, do I just need to gut the removable can in the center? Or do I need to gut the back section as well?

Slowpoke Slim · Mar 1, 2021

There are several Branson members here that have "gutted" their canister. Hopefully one will be along with a detailed explanation of what they did. I think all you need to do is open it up and take out the screens, but since I went a different way, I can't speak from experience there. I do know from talking to my own dealer at the time, that if I brought it in, it would be covered under my warranty for either cleaning or replacing. I think my dealer said he would have ordered a new one to put in my tractor, sent my old one off to be cleaned, and then kept my old one as a future replacement for someone else if needed.

By then I had pretty much made up my mind to delete mine, so I never did take him up on it. But if you're tractor is still under warranty, I'd call your dealer and let him "deal" with it.

Branson Bob · Mar 2, 2021

Slowpoke Slim said:
In my case, it wasn't enough to just run the rpms up, there had to be a load on the engine.

I don't have enough experience to know if this is the case with many/most diesel engines but it seems like my Branson prefers to run with a load. While I've not had issues with my soot cooker we've spoken about that noise that sounds almost like rocker arm/lifter ticking which I get at about 2100 rpm unloaded. When I load the engine or lower the rpm the noise disappears.

dhattaway · Mar 3, 2021

Slowpoke Slim said:
There are several Branson members here that have "gutted" their canister. Hopefully one will be along with a detailed explanation of what they did. I think all you need to do is open it up and take out the screens, but since I went a different way, I can't speak from experience there. I do know from talking to my own dealer at the time, that if I brought it in, it would be covered under my warranty for either cleaning or replacing. I think my dealer said he would have ordered a new one to put in my tractor, sent my old one off to be cleaned, and then kept my old one as a future replacement for someone else if needed.

By then I had pretty much made up my mind to delete mine, so I never did take him up on it. But if you're tractor is still under warranty, I'd call your dealer and let him "deal" with it.

I took your advice and called the nearest dealer. To my surprise, they said it IS covered by my warranty. They've ordered the new one from Branson and will swap with me when it arrives. Now let's see how long it takes for it to come in!

Slowpoke Slim · Mar 3, 2021

Hey that's good news.

HawkinsHollow · Mar 4, 2021

I called my dealer yesterday as well. And he said they would have to take a look at the sensor before they could get me a new canister under warranty. He asked if I had done the "regen" process. Which is basically going out to bush hog for 2 hours. I looked in the manual it does not say anything about a "regen" process. Noe it looks like if I am going to get anything from them I need to get the tractor into their shop to be looked at. Which is a hassle any way you look at it. So close to just gutting this thing and being done with it.

Asteral · Mar 4, 2021

dhattaway said:
I took your advice and called the nearest dealer. To my surprise, they said it IS covered by my warranty. They've ordered the new one from Branson and will swap with me when it arrives. Now let's see how long it takes for it to come in!

well going by the last set of those Diesel particulate filters i've ordered, it took them about a week to arrive from Rome, Ga so its shouldn't take them to long ot get your filter in.

dhattaway · Mar 5, 2021

HawkinsHollow said:
I called my dealer yesterday as well. And he said they would have to take a look at the sensor before they could get me a new canister under warranty. He asked if I had done the "regen" process. Which is basically going out to bush hog for 2 hours. I looked in the manual it does not say anything about a "regen" process. Noe it looks like if I am going to get anything from them I need to get the tractor into their shop to be looked at. Which is a hassle any way you look at it. So close to just gutting this thing and being done with it.

Sounds like somebody at the dealership is confused about which brand of tractor you're talking about. I've searched everywhere for anything about a "regen" for a Branson and there just isn't any info or reference. (The DPF dash light isn't even shown in the manual) It's a shame that we can't find a muffler that would go in without a lot of custom exhaust work like Slowpoke Slim did on his.

ptsg · Mar 5, 2021

Branson used a DOC or Catalyzer on their tractors. This mean it doesn't actually regen like other brands, but it's constantly burning the soot once it gets to the proper temp.

If it doesn't get up to the right temperature, it will plug up and cause issues.

On the newer 2021 models, Branson uses a DPF, which regens every once in a while. Good thing is that Branson kept the fully mechanical engines and used a very clever way of increasing the temp on the DPF to start the regen process. They use a butterfly valve, controlled by the datalogger, on the exhaust, after the DPF, so it restricts the flow and increases the temp on the DPF.

Regarding the muffler, for the 15 series that use the A1700 engine, they can just buy the muffler of the 2515, should be bolt on. For everything else, it pretty much needs custom work done.

Cougsfan · Mar 7, 2021

I gutted mine. It wasn't that hard to do. Just pull the canister and take a hammer and chisel and start chipping out the carbon-like material inside the main canister. It helps to take a masonry drill bit and drill a few starter holes through that carbon like material first. Took me a couple of hours. Cleaning up the big mess it makes on the floor is included in that time. The is the only part you have to gut is the canister. The screen on the end piece is not a problem. I gutted it about three years ago and have no regrets. Afterwards the exhaust does smoke a little for a few seconds after start-up and sometimes a little under heavy load (still a lot less than my other non-pdf'd diesels). It is nice to be able to run the engine at an idle for a long period of time and not worry about plugging the DPF. My warning light still comes on and blinks for a few seconds right after I start the tractor. Don't know why. The tractor doesn't seem to be any noisier, runs just fine, and may have gained a tad bit of power (that could be my imagination).

Cougsfan · Mar 7, 2021

If they send you a new one under warranty, I'd keep the old one and gut it. They are easy to change out.

ptsg · Mar 7, 2021

Cougsfan said:
"... My warning light still comes on and blinks for a few seconds right after I start the tractor. Don't know why...."

Probably just a self check feature on the data logger?

HawkinsHollow · Mar 7, 2021

Called the dealer back and he agreed to get me a new canister for mine under warranty. I think I might talk to the muffler shop down the road and see how much it would cost to get the muffler mod done or just buy a muffler like PTSG said. That way I won't have to worry about it and I will have a new canister if I ever sell it or trade it in.