What action need be taken.....

[the king]

My check engine light has been coming on lately. The code that I am getting is P401 "exhaust gas circulation" I was told that it has to do with the EGR valve possibly sticking or being stuck. I have been running the Spartan 210 tune for a long time with no issues. If it is the EGR valve is sticking or is stuck, please explain how that would be, becasue I was under the impression that the spartan 210 tune shuts off EGR valve. My questions are as follows...

1. Is it ok to continue driving with this issue?
2. Will putting the EGR block off plates fix anything related to this issue?
3. What exactly is causing this code to be thrown?
4. Would this happen if I was not using the tuner?
5. Why does the check engine light stay off when I clear the code, then pop back up several tanks of diesel down the road?

If anyone can ELABORATE on this, I would greatly appreciate it.

[po-po 5.0]

The 210 tune disables the EGR function, but I believe the sensor and motor need to be electrically connected. Did you unplug these sensors?

[the king]

Originally Posted by po-po 5.0

The 210 tune disables the EGR function, but I believe the sensor and motor need to be electrically connected. Did you unplug these sensors?

Whatever sensors were inside of the DPF were plugged back into the ports that were on the DPF delete. So I guess that would be a no. Can you please give me some more details.

[08 STROKER]

i was getting that and i also got the p401a which is egr valve stuck open and your truck has no power when that happens. I think your getting that cause the cycling of the egr at startup is maybe sticking and causing a delay. Im not positive but i think the egr still cycles at startup, Because i was running egr delete tunes when i got the codes. At the moment i havent put block off plates in yet...there top on my list but i have the plug to the egr disconnected and i've driven over 1000 miles like this with no issues!

[the king]

Originally Posted by 08 STROKER

i was getting that and i also got the p401a which is egr valve stuck open and your truck has no power when that happens. I think your getting that cause the cycling of the egr at startup is maybe sticking and causing a delay. Im not positive but i think the egr still cycles at startup, Because i was running egr delete tunes when i got the codes. At the moment i havent put block off plates in yet...there top on my list but i have the plug to the egr disconnected and i've driven over 1000 miles like this with no issues!

Do you have any idea what causes the EGR valve to get stuck in the first place?

[08 STROKER]

all the soot from the tunes...they dump in a lot of fuel and what doesnt get burned up goes through the egr and eventually exit as that big cloud of smoke you make when u lay on it!

[the king]

Originally Posted by 08 STROKER

all the soot from the tunes...they dump in a lot of fuel and what doesnt get burned up goes through the egr and eventually exit as that big cloud of smoke you make when u lay on it!

Do you think that running a product like Diesel Kleen would help this out?

[ZeroOne]

Originally Posted by 08 STROKER

all the soot from the tunes...they dump in a lot of fuel and what doesnt get burned up goes through the egr and eventually exit as that big cloud of smoke you make when u lay on it!

If EGR is disabled in the tune you're talking about, the soot will not make it into the egr system. The egr valve would be closed the entire time, and is also located at the exit of the egr branch off of the main exhaust. So the soot doesn't even pass it.

[the king]

Originally Posted by ZeroOne

If EGR is disabled in the tune you're talking about, the soot will not make it into the egr system. The egr valve would be closed the entire time, and is also located at the exit of the egr branch off of the main exhaust. So the soot doesn't even pass it.

So do you have an idea what would cause the issue at hand?

[ZeroOne]

Originally Posted by the king

So do you have an idea what would cause the issue at hand?

Is your code actually P0401? If so;
P0401
Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Insuff Detected

The system is detecting too low of a level of EGR than what is being commanded. If the 210 deletes the EGR function (and only cycles the EGR valve at idle), it could be detecting that the valve isn't opening at that time (the idle check). I guess you could either return to stock, take it in, and get them to diagnose/replace the EGR valve, or get Spartan to update your tune so that it doesn't even check at idle. Of course, it may just be some quirk, and the valve is fine. Other people seem to just clear the code and ignore it.

One thought though... if the EGR valve IS broken and you ignore it... if the truck is ever returned to stock, where EGR is used often, it may run funny and force a trip to the dealer. If it were me... I'd return it to stock, and see if the valve completely acts up. If it functions normally for a few hundred miles, stock, then I'd just reinstall the aftermarket stuff and move on.

Here are some threads on the issue;

Spartan / EGR Delete Kit

P0401 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Insufficient Detected