Black Smoke On 1.6 Tdci

[Fuzz]

Hi everyone, I have a 1.6 tdci focus and in the past 2 week it started kicking out black thick smoke when driven, its never smoked before, the tail pipe has always been clean but now its turned black and also now and again it lights up the red led and says Engine Systems Fault while I'm driving and the power is reduced very much down to crawling speed,this problem has happened 3 times in the past 2 weeks. sometimes the knocking sound gets very loud especially at low speeds and at take off although its not every often. I'm suspecting injectors or something like that, please correct me if i'm wrong. Thanks

[Lenny]

Hi everyone, I have a 1.6 tdci focus and in the past 2 week it started kicking out black thick smoke when driven, its never smoked before, the tail pipe has always been clean but now its turned black and also now and again it lights up the red led and says Engine Systems Fault while I'm driving and the power is reduced very much down to crawling speed,this problem has happened 3 times in the past 2 weeks. sometimes the knocking sound gets very loud especially at low speeds and at take off although its not every often. I'm suspecting injectors or something like that, please correct me if i'm wrong. Thanks

Good morning,

there are a few common problems with the 1.6tdci but 90% of them can be prevented if known how, and i can explain how to aswell,

First i have a few questions,

1: have you blanked the egr yet?

2: have you got a dpf and is the eloys fluid sufficient,

3: is the car runn8ng on fully synthetic oil,

4: does it blue smoke on first start up,

5: do you lose power consistently or in purges at rev over 2500rpm

[Lenny]

Common problem is leaking injector or injectors,

There are videos of this on youtube,

Check top of engine for puddles of fuel aswell as a ticking noise.

You will also notice a cloud of smoke on first start up because the injector will fill the cylinder over night,

Now a leaking injector left untreated or undetected for a period of time can and will cause turbo failure, ill explain that in a minute,

Replacement injectors are a straight swap however there are two types for the 1.6tdci 90cc and 110cc

After swapping the injector needs diagnostic equipment to allow the ecu communicate with the variable valve in the injector,

TDCi is compact injection these injectors run off a very high pressure fuel rail ranging up to 600psi professional help is advised if changing

Now "how can a leaking injector wreck my turbo"

A leaking injector is one cause of excessive carbon,

The EGR is exhaust gas recirculation valve

It opens like a throttle but sucks in as much as 20% of tge waste gasses for recombustion,

If your burning dirty,

Then your suckin dirty,

Causing excessive carbon build up in your oil,

Which gathers in the turbo oil feed pipe blocking the supply,

Turbo runs dry and pops.

Blanking the egr valve with a stainless steel b"anking plat3 costs less than 5 pounds and ive created a fitting guide,

Ill continue before midday gotta go rite now ill be back

[Fuzz]

Good morning Lenny,

1. I have not blanked the EGR yet, been meaning to do it but time has'nt permitted.

2. Yes it has a DPF and I havn't checked the eloys fluid, something I only thought about doing yesterday, however not sure of location.

3. Yes the car is running on fully synthetic oil 5w30 recommended by ford, last changed Feb 2014.

4. No it does not blue smoke on start up, only black smoke when driven, none during idle.

5. The power loss is not consistent, however when it does happen, its either at take off or in the middle of a drive normally below 2500 rpm, for example, one day I was driving it @ about 40mph on 5th gear and as I tried to add more acceleration using 4th, it just lost power and wouldn't go faster until I stopped and started the engine again and full power returned.

One other thing I forgot to mention is that the engine light came on and when I checked using my obd scanner, it said sensor "A" circuit low

Thankx

Edited May 22, 2014 by Fuzz

[Lenny]

Im back :)

Here's the guide to blanking the egr on a 1.6TDCi the guide also has a link to a reputable seller of the specific plate required:

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/42915-guide-fitting-egr-blanking-plate-16tdci-engine/

After blanking the egr,

The car becomes a one way system, as it should always of been, 100% of waste gasses get expelled through the exhaust, this in turn reduces turbo lag and gives a slight increase to mpg, however the main advantages are cleaner combustion meaning oil stays cleaner for longer reducing the risk of blocked oil feed pipe to the turbo due to less carbon intake.

Now with the egr blanked,

There is a slightly higher demand on the stock induction filter, so i recommend upgrading the stock filter to a direct replacement Green Cotton filter see my guide on this here aswell as independent reviews and 10% Discount code:

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/36783-green-cotton-performance-induction-filter-fitting-guide/

By fitting an egr blank and upgrading the induction filter you are prolonging the life of your turbo and increasing your mpg.

Considering your car is smoking a lot i strongly recommend you blank the egr soon as,

Moving on further through the system now its the DPF

The dpf is a diesel particulate filter its fitted to the front of the engine in the exhaust system along side the catalyst,

The purpose of the dpf was to lower emissions by catching the carbon deposits inside the honeycomb styled mesh network interior and burning it at 700oC

First generation dpf's had a pressure sensor on both inlet and outlet,

The plan was on long journeys the dpf chamber would passively heat much like a cigarette end,

Burning the carbon,

However if a series of short journeys were done stops/starts then the dpf wouldn't get up to temp naturally,

This is where the pressure sensors came in to play

If the ecu detected a discrepancy in pressures,

It would start " self regeneration"

Using its eloys fluid,

It would inject in to the chamber increasing the chamber temp until an equal pressure was detected on both inlet and outlet.

However if the eloys fluid runs dry, then the dpf can slowly become blocked causing back pressure in the exhaust,

Back pressure on a turbo engine is very bad for the turbo Ispecially,

The turbo wheel is spun by the passing flow of waste gasses,

If the back pressure builds this causes loss of performance because the turbo wont be able to spin freely, pressure builds between the turbo and dpf along with excessive heat causing cavitations within the turbo housing,

The build up of carbon will also contaminate your induction and oil if the egr is not blanked,

The dpf design changed mid 2008 where they no longer use eloys fluid or pressure sensors. Instead the dpf is ceramic coated allowing it to reach high temp much more efficiently,

However they can still block up due to short journeys or a leaking fuel injector and with no way of cleaning themselves there worse than the original design.

Bottom line mate its either injectors or dpf, hopefully not turbo as result of either one,

If its injector

Only thing can be done is to replace,

If its dpf,

Then blank the egr will increase exhaust pressure to help push the carbon out, also purchase a bottle of dpf cleaning fuel additive and take the car for a 20 minute drive in 4th gear at around 3000rpm to help break it through,

Sometimes helps instead of just replacing the chamber,

In any case though id blank the egr and use a can of wynnes engine flush at the next oil change to break down the carbon deposits within the sump as result of the functioning egr,

Here's the stuff costs under 10pounds goes in to engine oil 15 minutes before draining the sump

Hope this helps mate,

My work mate has blown two turbos in the past 6 months due to blocked dpf on his 1.6TDCi but he didn't bother to listen to me and thought it would sort itself.

[Lenny]

On Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 9:12 AM, Fuzz said:

Good morning Lenny,

1. I have not blanked the EGR yet, been meaning to do it but time has'nt permitted.

2. Yes it has a DPF and I havn't checked the eloys fluid, something I only thought about doing yesterday, however not sure of location.

3. Yes the car is running on fully synthetic oil 5w30 recommended by ford, last changed Feb 2014.

4. No it does not blue smoke on start up, only black smoke when driven, none during idle.

5. The power loss is not consistent, however when it does happen, its either at take off or in the middle of a drive normally below 2500 rpm, for example, one day I was driving it @ about 40mph on 5th gear and as I tried to add more acceleration using 4th, it just lost power and wouldn't go faster until I stopped and started the engine again and full power returned.

One other thing I forgot to mention is that the engine light came on and when I checked using my obd scanner, it said sensor "A" circuit low

Thankx

thanks for info mate,

Sounds like your dpf is blocked guessing Sensor A is part of dpf's two sensors,

The eloys tank is under the car next to the fuel tank at the rear of the car,

You should see hard pipes leeding from it,

However ford havnt fitted a level indicator which in my opinion is pure idiodic design flaw,

The most important fluid and it has no dip stick or side level indicator,

Ford fill using a squeezy bottle and hose fittings,

It is a professional job refilling it because its highly toxic aswell as corossive,

Main ingreadent in the stuff is pigs urine but its very acidic.

The ecu also requires resetting when the fluids been topped up,

Ford dont know how much is in there so they fill until it comes out the filler cap,

I think its overall capacity is approximately 3.0ltrs though.

Mine DPF is the later ceramic  version so i cant take pictures of an eloys fluid tank on my focus to show you,

[Fuzz]

Hi Lenny, thank you very much for the advice and info, I will certainly fit the EGR plate asap and also do the rest of the stuff you mentioned, and hope for the best, I will update you on my progress and outcome. Thank you once again for your time. :)

[Lenny]

Hi Lenny, thank you very much for the advice and info, I will certainly fit the EGR plate asap and also do the rest of the stuff you mentioned, and hope for the best, I will update you on my progress and outcome. Thank you once again for your time. :)

no prob mate,

Happy to be of assistance im sure others will respond to you in tge evening aswell,

I work different shifts im working 23:00-07:00 this week hence my early responce,

Hope its an easy fix mate,

[Fuzz]

Hi Lenny, the smoke problem I had before has stopped and I have no idea what stopped it, I hadn't done anything yet when it stopped, however, I got some dpf filter cleaner and poured it into the tank so I hope its gonna help as well otherwise the only problem left is the engine light on with a p0405 fault code. by the way the EGR valve is not working at all cause I used to hear it clicking about after the engine is turned off before but now I don't hear it and there's a code saying that the valve is stuck closed. by the way I haven't been able to fit the blanking plate because the bottom bolt head has no corners and can't be loosened.

[Lenny]

Hi Lenny, the smoke problem I had before has stopped and I have no idea what stopped it, I hadn't done anything yet when it stopped, however, I got some dpf filter cleaner and poured it into the tank so I hope its gonna help as well otherwise the only problem left is the engine light on with a p0405 fault code. by the way the EGR valve is not working at all cause I used to hear it clicking about after the engine is turned off before but now I don't hear it and there's a code saying that the valve is stuck closed. by the way I haven't been able to fit the blanking plate because the bottom bolt head has no corners and can't be loosened.

suppose the easiest option would be to get the EGR electronically deleted that way you wont need to blank or replace it,

I reckon the smoke was from your dpf chamber,

Blanking the egr or the egr staying closed: increases the flow on the exhaust,

So in theory pushing harder out the back, the increased flow may have pushed through more carbon causing the black smoke.

[Fuzz]

Ok i see...how much would removing the Egr electronically cost me roughly and resetting the ecu..any ideas

[Lenny]

Ok i see...how much would removing the Egr electronically cost me roughly and resetting the ecu..any ideas

could be as much as 150 pounds,

But changing the egr also requires reprogramming of the ecu to get it to communicate with the new EGR

[Marknufc1984]

Hi fuzz, i know this is an old thread but i had the same problem a while back on a 2008 1.8 tdci focus. I placed and egr blanking plate and dismantled my air intake and turbo pipes. Had to replace the 90 degree pipe just before the turbo as this had a tiny tear in it whoch have it the plastic bag rustling noise. Gave them a full clean as the intake pipes were full of thick black oil. It did the trick and black smoke was almost iliminated.