heating Ram 2500 2018 Quick Reference Guide

AUTOMATIC “SMART” EXHAUST BRAKE –
(DIESEL ONLY)
• Automatic Exhaust Brake technology deliv-ers smoother, less aggressive exhaust brak-
ing characteristics during downhill de-
scents. Although it can apply full exhaust
braking force if needed, Automatic Exhaust
Brake may not apply obvious braking if the
vehicle speed is not increasing. Automatic
Exhaust Brake is intended to maintain ve-
hicle speed while Full Exhaust Brake is in-
tended to reduce vehicle speed.
•
Automatic Exhaust Brake can be enabled by
pushing the exhaust brake button again any
time after the normal Full Exhaust Brake has
been turned on. The “Exhaust Brake Indica-
tor” in the instrument cluster will change from
yellow to green when Automatic Exhaust
Brake is enabled. Pushing the exhaust brake
button again will toggle the exhaust brake
mode to off.
Adding Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)
The DEF gauge (located in the instrument clus-
ter) will display the level of DEF remaining in the
tank.
Completely fill the DEF tank through the diesel
exhaust fluid fill location at every maintenance
interval, or before if prompted by the instru-
ment cluster display.
The DEF tank on these vehicles is designed with
a large amount of full reserve. So, the level sensor
will indicate a full reading even before the tank is
completely full. To put it another way, there’s
additional storage capacity in the tank above the
Full mark that’s not represented in the gauge. You
may not see any movement in the reading – even
after driving up to 2,000 miles in some cases.
NOTE:
• Driving conditions (altitude, vehicle speed, load, etc.) will effect the amount of DEF that
is used in your vehicle. •
Another factor is that outside temperature can
affect DEF consumption. In cold conditions,
12° F (-11° C) and below, the DEF gauge
needle can stay on a fixed position and may
not move for extended periods of time. This is
a normal function of the system.
• Since DEF will begin to freeze at 12°F
(-11°C), your vehicle is equipped with an
automatic DEF heating system. This allows
the DEF injection system to operate properly
at temperatures below 12°F (-11°C). If your
vehicle is not in operation for an extended
period of time with temperatures below 12°F
(-11°C), the DEF in the tank may freeze.
If the tank is overfilled and freezes, it could
be damaged. Therefore, do not overfill the
DEF tank. Extra care should be taken when
filling with portable containers to avoid over-
filling. Note the level of the DEF gauge in
your instrument cluster. On pickup applica-
tions, you may safely add a maximum of
2 gallons (7.5 liters) of DEF from portable
containers when your DEF gauge is reading
½ full. On Chassis Cab applications, a maxi-
mum of 2 gallons (7.5 liters) may be added
when the DEF gauge is reading ¾ full.