Dpf Continuous Forced Regeneration

[Ignorantpeasant]

I'm hoping someone can help me or at least tell me I'm not the only one with this problem.

I bought my Focus 57 plate 1.6 TDCi 18 months ago & the dealer fitted a new DPF just after I bought it due to a DPF error on the display. Since then I've never had any DPF error messages. Over the last 18 months (& 48,000 miles!) forced regenerations have become more & more frequent. When I bought the car I didn't notice any, then I started to notice it was doing one every day (my 90 mile round-trip to work), then every journey, and now they're continuous i.e. 5 mins after I leave home the first cycle starts & lasts about 7 mins, then I get 2 minutes of normal driving before the next regeneration cycle starts. You can imagine what this is doing to my MPG! My commute consists of 30 mins of motorway cruising followed by some clear A-roads & finally 5-10 mins of slow traffic. I cruise at 55-60 on the motorway for economy and, according to what I've read, it should need to do any forced regenerations under those circumstances. I know it's doing the regen by watching the average MPG. I reset it when I leave home & it builds nicely for the first five mins, then starts to drop again while the regen takes place, before recovering a bit in between cycles. When I get out of the car at the end of the journey the cooling fan is always running & I think this usually happens during regen.

Neither my local garage or the Ford main dealer has got a clue. The only diagnostic fault they've seen is a regeneration failure which may have been logged after the EGR fell to bits a few months back & had to be replaced.

I can't afford to replace the DPF on the off-chance that it will cure the problem & in any case I don't think it should be blocked. Could it be a sensor fault? Can the entry/exit pressure sensors be replaced individually at a reasonable cost?

[jeebowhite]

could be a sensor fault, however my gut would be telling me that the EOLYS fluid is not getting to the DPF, either the tank is drained, or perhaps the outlet is blocked. It might be worth checking the volume of fluid in the tank, maybe monitor it over the short term but this is where my gut is heading.

How handy are you with a set of spanners? it might be worth getting the car up, and see if you can follow the pipes, take them apart, drain the EOLYS fluid and see if you can check and clear the pipes as necessary... Just make sure you know how to get the juice back in!

[Ignorantpeasant]

I had the EOLYS fluid topped up about 5,000 miles ago and the garage said it took just over a litre. Not sure what the capacity of the tank is, though. Could it have been empty for a while assuming it was last topped up at the recommended 75,000 miles? No improvement since the topup but at least it should make it easy to tell if any additive is being used. I've also bought some DPF cleaner which I'll put in the tank at the next fillup to see if that makes any difference.

[Stoney871]

Take your car for a terraclean.

It'll clean your dpf/sensor and everything leading to it.

Far more effective than fuel tank additives.

[Ignorantpeasant]

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't heard of Terraclean before but I've Googled them & asked for my nearest centre.

[Stoney871]

Did my car last week and it's improved the feel of the engine and increased my fuel economy nicely too.

[refdt]

Just read this post which was very useful and now I think I know the answer to my problem I posted the other week about my cooling fan coming on and mpg dropping.

Put it down to the regeneration but how often is the car supposed to regenerate or is it as and when it needs to.

[jeebowhite]

certainly nowhere near as often as it is. Normally it does one passive regeneration a week on average, but yours is forced. It shouldnt be forced until the DPF is at the edge of its usable life and is clogged to choking point... forced regen is normally undertaken by garages not the daily commute...

[Ignorantpeasant]

I've just found out that this month's (May issue) Car Mechanic magazine has a whole article on the Focus 1.6 TDCi, including DPF problems. One thing in particular they mention is the pressure sensor & the hoses leading to/from the DPF. Apparently these hoses are prone to damage or getting blocked by soot. Its something else to add to my list of stuff to try

[jeebowhite]

if you have a copy of that article would you be able to share it? I am quite interested in reading it, but dont think its on any shelves near me!

[Ignorantpeasant]

I've attached a copy of the article.

I've also spoken to my local Terraclean agent as suggested by Stoney871; they said that they didn't think it would have any affect on the DPF as it's mainly related to the fuel system & not the exhaust, but for around £90 it might well be worthwhile for the other benefits I'd get like better performance & economy.

20130423073849.pdf

[FOCA]

I'm hoping someone can help me or at least tell me I'm not the only one with this problem.

I bought my Focus 57 plate 1.6 TDCi 18 months ago & the dealer fitted a new DPF just after I bought it due to a DPF error on the display. Since then I've never had any DPF error messages. Over the last 18 months (& 48,000 miles!) forced regenerations have become more & more frequent. When I bought the car I didn't notice any, then I started to notice it was doing one every day (my 90 mile round-trip to work), then every journey, and now they're continuous i.e. 5 mins after I leave home the first cycle starts & lasts about 7 mins, then I get 2 minutes of normal driving before the next regeneration cycle starts. You can imagine what this is doing to my MPG! My commute consists of 30 mins of motorway cruising followed by some clear A-roads & finally 5-10 mins of slow traffic. I cruise at 55-60 on the motorway for economy and, according to what I've read, it should need to do any forced regenerations under those circumstances. I know it's doing the regen by watching the average MPG. I reset it when I leave home & it builds nicely for the first five mins, then starts to drop again while the regen takes place, before recovering a bit in between cycles. When I get out of the car at the end of the journey the cooling fan is always running & I think this usually happens during regen.

Neither my local garage or the Ford main dealer has got a clue. The only diagnostic fault they've seen is a regeneration failure which may have been logged after the EGR fell to bits a few months back & had to be replaced.

I can't afford to replace the DPF on the off-chance that it will cure the problem & in any case I don't think it should be blocked. Could it be a sensor fault? Can the entry/exit pressure sensors be replaced individually at a reasonable cost?

I think your best bet is to get the DPF phisically removed and replaced with a stainless section of exhaust, the DPF electroncally deleted and the car remapped, there are places that can do this all as a package. i don't know how much this would cost but its probably similar to having a new DPF fitted

You would never need to worry about or have to replace the DPF ever again, you would get better economy and much better performance (upto 150hp has been quoted)

The remap / ditching the DPF will probably transform the car and make it like it should have been

It its still under warrantee just get them to fix it, of course (and pay for your exra petrol(just kidding :) ))

[jeebowhite]

can get DPF removed and remap for around 350 - 400 in most places, 5-600 in the event you want a through pipe.

[Bob777]

Just to let you know with the new MOT rules you will have to refit the dpf, you can check this out on the VOSA website.