Root Cause Analysis, and Influence of Environmental Characteristics on a Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Fault in High Altitude

The objective of this article is to present a root-cause analysis performed to support the fault trace of a heavy duty diesel engine breakdown, operating in high altitude. The process to elaborate a cause-effect diagram, also known as Ishikawa diagram is briefly described. Some factors that can influence the engine behavior and its reliability are listed in the cause-effect diagram. According to the failure mode analyzed, the selected factors are then described, and how they could interfere in the engine functioning.