Detroit series 60 injector problem

Hello, maybe someone can help me out.
I have a atlas-copco diesel generating set here with a detroit series 60 engine, year 1997.
This genset has run for 13000 hours now without problem, but since last sunday it runs on 5 cilinders and lacks power, this did not come gradually but all of a sudden.
I've taken of the valve rocker cover to see if there was any mechanical damage or perhaps a loose wire to one of the injectors, which was not the case...
The problem is now that i am located in the netherlands and this is not a common engine here, noone seems to have the DDDL software and wiring to diagnose the problem.
Is there any other way i can determine which injector is faulty, and can i replace it without the DDDL? i mean, is it only the height that is to be adjusted, or do i have to parameter the injectors in DDDL (like with most commonrail engines.)?
Thank you for your response
Peter Gosens, Gilze the netherlands

Hi Peter,

If room allows, you could start by checking the temperature of each exhaust runner with a non contact thermal gun or heat crayon to locate the cold cylinder. Then, check resistance of that injector coil compared to a couple of others.

If your software version is DDEC II, then you can simply install an injector and set the height. DDEC III and later versions, however, require that each injector's calibration be programmed into the EEPROM for proper engine balance. You could get lucky and get a replacement that is close enough for the computer to compensate but it is not recommended practice. Although, running on five cylinders doesn't do her much good either.

Also, it might not be an injector. It could be a wiring or driver issue and you need the manual for step by step diagnostics. I have a DDEC II & III manual and could offer you some assistance but it would be a slow and painful process.

Also, with that much time on the clock, ALL of the injectors must be getting tired so replacing just one might not be your best course of action.

Thank you for your reply this kind of information is really useful,

First i want to check by using a oscilloscope if all the injectors are getting a signal from the CPU, if so i will then check which cilinder doesen't fire by using a thermographical camera, that way i hoe to see which cilinder is faulty.

Do you know what voltage i can expect on the injector coils ?

Further, with a DDEC III is the injector calibration only for smooth idle running, or will it also affect running at 1500 rpm and under load (it does never idle as it's a generating set).

I agree that at 13000 hours it's time to change all the injectors, do you know the best place to buy them, here in europe they charge 335 dollar for a injector, and i'll need six of them....

Peter Gosens

Well, it's been 10 years or more since I worked on the DDEC III and, I'm embarrassed to say that, I don't remember what the firing voltage should be. I looked through both my Series 60 shop manual and the DDEC III troubleshooting manual and I could find no reference to injector operating voltage.

I did come across a waveform from an O'scope snapshot of a DDEC III injector pulse that displayed peak voltage at around 23v. The guy that posted it said that it was a "normal" waveform. I can't say I have a lot of confidence in that though as these ECMs come in 12 and 24 volt versions. Which one is yours? I'm sorry I can't share it with you as that would be breaking a confidence with that particular professional forum I belong to.

I do remember that, at the time I worked on these, the Detroit instructors were much more concerned about peak and hold amps than they were about voltages for these injectors. Funny, I do remember that the peak ramp up current for them was around 11 amps and hold current at about 4.5 amps as being normal. The problem is, I never got much experience with them as they were so reliable and we did more racetrack seals than anything else on that engine. Also, I did not come across any of the current info in the books today either and, believe me, I really looked.

As far as your question about the calibration being important at 1500 rpm, I would say yes it is. That is because if you look at how a diesel engine operates, it is almost always, in a sense, at idle. Extra fuel is added to bring rpms up but once the desired speed is reached, the fueling is reduced to maintain that speed. Sort of returning back to an idle setting. That is why injector calibration has always been so important, even with the old mechanically governed engines. But, that's not to say you might not notice any difference in how the engine runs without hooking it up to a DDR or a laptop.

And, you still need to determine if your problem is actually an injector problem. It could be a driver or wiring issue or even a bad SRS. You should look very carefully at the injector wires under the valve covers for chafing and rub through. They have been bouncing around under there for a very long time. You could scope your SRS and TRS to make sure you're getting crisp and clean wave forms off of those. Any thing that looks "hairy" and I would say try a new sensor first.

Sorry, but I really couldn't recommend, with any confidence, a source for parts. I've heard some good things about an outfit called DieselPros that do injector remans but I have no first hand knowledge of how good they are.

Does your stationary have the CEL and SEL lights rigged up? Do you have a diagnostic switch that you could use to retrieve any flash codes?

Sorry, not much help I know but hopefully someone else here has an idea or two and will chime in.