Focus mk2 1.6 TDCI, 59 plate, 73k, lots of short journeys... 

Driving home yesterday the engine on my Focus mk2 '59 plate cut out and the dash said 'Engine Malfunction' along with the dreaded chime. After 2 hours of waiting for recovery (and them still not turning up) I made a very dark cursory inspection to check there was nothing obvious amiss and tried starting it again. It started fine and I got it home (it was running normally).

This morning taking the kids to swimming I got half a mile down the road and it did the same (engine malfunction warning, engine fully cut out). I restarted it a couple of times as it kept cutting out, it sort of limped and then cut out so I abandoned it. After binning the kids off again I came back to it half an hour later and it started fine. This time I ran it up to temp and then drove it to a local garage a mile away to be looked at tomorrow, again it ran fine.

Obviously this could be any of many possible faults but with the mileage at 73k (and I believe DPF action required at 75k) i'm wondering whether I should be worrying about the DPF? A couple of questions:

• How can I find out if I have the coated or uncoated DPF? It seems there was a change around 2010...this car is a '59 plate! 
• If it is uncoated, might it be something as obvious as the Eolys fluid needs topping up with the car being on 73k - do I also need to replace the DPF or only if the problem persists?

Like I say it could be anything and I don't have a code reader. I have had the car three and a half years and it has been impeccable until now. Bought it from my father-in-law as he had looked after it meticulously. It did short journeys with him and with me living in London I knew it would with me (i'm blaming the missus!) so took the opportunity of fitting an EGR blanking plate to try and at least counter DPF issues. With it at the garage tomorrow is it worth asking them to top of the Eolys at the same time anyway (if it's an uncoated DPF!)

Any ideas appreciated 🙂

When was the fuel filter last replaced?

Should be coated DPF on a '59 plate unless very late registered.  

9 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

When was the fuel filter last replaced?

Should be coated DPF on a '59 plate unless very late registered.  

Hmmm good question. I'm assuming last year when I got a full service done but it may not have been. And if it wasn't then it'll have been far longer - probably 4 years. It not showing any signs of running roughly though which I would have expected if the filter was clogged?

Edit: Think it must be a coated one - so no Eolys required then? Do the DPF's still go on these units/require replacing around 75k? Hopefully it's all unrelated to my engine malfunction but just want to be aware of it for future issues!

The fuel filters do block up quite often on these causing an engine cutout without any prior warning.  If it throws a low fuel pressure fault, filter is definitely worth trying before anything more expensive.

The coated DPF should last the lifetime of the car, certainly well past 100k.  Though if it hasn't been able to regen for any reason (split pipes, dodgy sensor etc) then it's possible for them to block up beyond saving sooner.

Just on a side note, I'd personally not blank the EGR on a DPF model.  It's used to control the burn once the soot is alight (by reducing oxygen) so can allow the DPF to overheat and in extreme cases catch fire without it operational.

13 hours ago, bongos said:

my Focus mk2 '59 plate cut out and the dash said 'Engine Malfunction' along with the dreaded chime.

Neither DPF nor EGR problems will usually cause an engine to cut out completely. The ECU software will never, ever deliberately cut the power totally, because it may be unsafe. So it sounds like an engine problem, maybe fuel, that caused it to lose all power.

The ECU would light the warning and might reduce power a bit (limp mode) if there was a major DPF problem, but as Tom says, it is more likely to be fuel starvation or some other engine fault.

The answer is to invest in a good code reader, ideally a Ford specific one like Forscan (under £20 if you have a laptop, a little more or a smartphone or tablet). If the light comes on there will be a code (or several) which will at least give some clue.

A massive thank you to both of you - and  you were both correct. Codes read as low fuel flow and as suggested the filter was starving the engine of diesel. I'd never seen a filter like this before though no wonder it was more expensive than i'd thought. All running fine now - if anything a little smoother.

On 11/10/2019 at 7:43 PM, TomsFocus said:

Just on a side note, I'd personally not blank the EGR on a DPF model.  It's used to control the burn once the soot is alight (by reducing oxygen) so can allow the DPF to overheat and in extreme cases catch fire without it operational.

Interesting. I'd not thought of this. My original reason for blanking it was to keep the combustion temps up and try and reduce (to whatever extent) the build up of soot. I'm assuming from what you're saying though the NOx keeps the regen temp down too so with the EGR blanked you get less NOx and more oxygen during a burn and things may get too hot?

Thanks again for all the info 👍 

12 hours ago, bongos said:

Interesting. I'd not thought of this. My original reason for blanking it was to keep the combustion temps up and try and reduce (to whatever extent) the build up of soot. I'm assuming from what you're saying though the NOx keeps the regen temp down too so with the EGR blanked you get less NOx and more oxygen during a burn and things may get too hot?

Thanks again for all the info 👍 

Yep that's right, the EGR cycles nitrogen back through the cylinders, Nitrogen is inert so doesn't help the burn in any way, but it restricts the amount of oxygen available in the cylinder to keep the burn under control. 

There won't be much (if any) NOx during regen as that's only produced during lean burn conditions, like cruising on the motorway.  Under these conditions there's also almost no soot, but plenty of excess of oxygen, this is what creates NOx and ultimately what the EGR is there to reduce.  You read a lot of misinformation online about EGRs, when they're working, they're really not the massive issue people make them out to be!