Plenty of uncertainty remains about the effects of the Year 2000 computer programming bug. But U.S. diesel engine manufacturers say they’re sure of one thing: Y2K won’t shut down their truck engines.
None of the electronically controlled diesels now running or being built will be affected by the Y2K bug, said engineers from the six major builders — Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Engine Co., Detroit Diesel Corp., Mack Trucks, Navistar International Transportation Corp. and Volvo Truck Corp. All will continue running as the calendar rolls over from 1999 to 2000.
The engines are safe because their electronic control modules have no “real-time clocks” or those clocks are Y2K compliant, the engineers said.
For example, EMCs in recent Caterpillar and Cummins products have real-time clocks, but they are programmed to recognize the year 2000, engineers said. Navistar’s control units have no clocks and will not start getting them until after the New Year.
Meanwhile, they and other clockless ECMs — such as the ones on car engines — won’t be aware of the new millennium when it arrives.
For the full story, see the March 29 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
