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DPF care


Darren sharratt
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Hi mentioned on here a couple of days ago my focus went into limp with blocked dpf.

Garage has changed oil/ filter as contaminated from dpf .

Also chemical flush through dpf .

All good now . Last test from cold tomorrow before I pick up.

My driving habit due to job is stop start (window cleaner)

Any recommendations on additives to protect / clean DPF I can regularly use?

I intend to give it a 20min drive or so once a month from now for a full regen to complete

Want to try and keep in good health

 Thanks 

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Give it a blast up the motorway say in 5th if it has 6 gears etc for a good 20 mins or so

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20 mins once a month won't be anywhere near enough to compensate for short, slow, stop start journeys.  You'd need to be doing that weekly at least.  

However, blasting up the motorway doesn't make it regen passively, and often won't trigger a forced regen either, despite every garage telling you does! 

Essentially it will only regen once the PCM forces a regen based on the differential pressure, not when you want it to do one.  This is likely to be on a short journey as it can't guess how long your journey is likely to be in advance. Sods law, mine always occur on a short trip, the day after a long one lol.  

Best thing you can do is leave it running when you notice a regen occurring (fan running) or at least make sure it completes on the next drive if you make the first regen fail (by switching off the engine due to arriving at a job for example).  Also keep plenty of fuel in the tank, regens don't occur when the fuel level is low.

Lastly, you mentioned it was Euro 5 in your last thread, are you sure about that?  2008 models were generally Euro4+DPF which is the older Eolys additive type DPF.  If it is a Euro 5, it should have the much more efficient coated cDPF.  I had no end of problems with the old Eolys type on my 2008 Focus, but have since had 2 cars with cDPFs that regen often (sometimes weekly!), but have never caused limp mode or warning lights so far...

 

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ill totally agree with tomsfocus. i have a 2012 focus tdci 163.  it travels back to and from north yorks regularly from london. i drive it fairly but not overly hard.  it has only ever to my knowledge done a regen on one of these journeys. and i only knew that because fuel computer started showing a much lower mpg and the hot burning metal smell . didnt notice fan noise due to speed of car. but have also notice a regen the day or a fouple of days later during a local trip to supermarket. i hear fans then along again with a horrible hot metal smell and i try to leave car engine going whereever possible.  but i have turned off mid way on occasions as iv not realised its happening.   there has not been any message or light on dash to indicate a regen is required or taking place. strange thing . but mine is i think cdpf and hasnt touch wood caused any lasting problems to my knowledge

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Deco Euro 5 with DPF £30 yr rd tax

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Surely it would be beneficial for a message/ light to come on when the car is ruining a regen. I've often wondered why they didn't build this feature in.

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1 hour ago, Peloquin138 said:

Surely it would be beneficial for a message/ light to come on when the car is ruining a regen. I've often wondered why they didn't build this feature in.

On a modern ford that would be on most of the time. But some of the fords now do give a message asking to "drive to clean " on diesel and new gpf petrol. 

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11 hours ago, Darren sharratt said:

Deco Euro 5 with DPF £30 yr rd tax

Euro 4+DPF was also £30 tax...that was the main reason I bought mine! :biggrin:  

I'll take your word for it though, maybe the estates moved to Euro 5 earlier than the hatches. :smile: 

 

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25 minutes ago, iantt said:

On a modern ford that would be on most of the time. But some of the fords now do give a message asking to "drive to clean " on diesel and new gpf petrol. 

Not to take this thread off topic, but how often roughly should a GPF regen compared to a DPF?  Recently found out the petrol car I'm looking at to get away from DPFs...has a GPF! 🤦‍♂️ :laugh:  One owner said they haven't noticed it regen, another said it's similar to a DPF regen (hot, smelly, poor MPG) but has only happened every 2k or so, both owners mainly do short journeys as I do...not that I don't believe that's been their experience, but I'm very sceptical that it would only regen every 2k?  

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2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Recently found out the petrol car I'm looking at to get away from DPFs...has a GPF! 🤦‍♂️

Yeah, that was one of the reasons I swapped back to petrol too, as we were only doing low mileage and mainly short journeys.  I originally went diesel in the days when I was doing big mileage mainly to save money on fuel but also as they were less complicated than petrol. Those were the days. Not a lot to choose complication-wise nowadays I think, but diesel is now regarded as the fuel of Satan so best avoided if you don't want Greta Thunberg on your case!😃

Beginning to wonder if electric might soon be a better option than an i/c engine smothered in emissions gear, but no doubt we'll discover that they have all sorts of problems too

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3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Not to take this thread off topic, but how often roughly should a GPF regen compared to a DPF?  Recently found out the petrol car I'm looking at to get away from DPFs...has a GPF! 🤦‍♂️ :laugh:  One owner said they haven't noticed it regen, another said it's similar to a DPF regen (hot, smelly, poor MPG) but has only happened every 2k or so, both owners mainly do short journeys as I do...not that I don't believe that's been their experience, but I'm very sceptical that it would only regen every 2k?  

@TomsFocus I don't know about the 1.0 or other makes but I have done some Data Logging on my 1.5 and my conclusions are that if the car is driven correctly it will passively regenerate and hardly ever actively regenerate, if at all, but if used for only short journeys it will be the same as a Diesel.

I have only noticed an active regen once. That was after the car had spent 6 weeks at a dealers for warranty work and at the end of my 4 mile journey home which was all in 20 and 30 mph zones. I have done the same journey several times before and since in heavier traffic without any regenerations.

From my data logging, if the car has only been used for a weeks worth of daily short journeys then the Implied Soot Load both for Open and Closed Loop can get into the high teens. If I then take it for a 1/2 hour journey which is mostly Motorway then both the Implied Soot Loads go back to zero. I do use my gearing correctly by never touching the accelerator when below 2000 rpm and using steady but not foot to the floor acceleration and taking the revs up to 3500-4000 sometimes when doing the above.   

FORScan does have a PID that is supposed to tell you when regeneration is occurring, but it has never registered when doing the above. I haven't found a distance since last regen PID for my car.

This next bit may be rubbish but I believe that the passive regeneration occurs when your foot is off the accelerator whilst moving, provided that the GPF is hot enough at the time. I have noticed that the CAT temperature does get quite high sometimes but it does not double like some diesels can do.

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3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Not to take this thread off topic, but how often roughly should a GPF regen compared to a DPF?  Recently found out the petrol car I'm looking at to get away from DPFs...has a GPF! 🤦‍♂️ :laugh:  One owner said they haven't noticed it regen, another said it's similar to a DPF regen (hot, smelly, poor MPG) but has only happened every 2k or so, both owners mainly do short journeys as I do...not that I don't believe that's been their experience, but I'm very sceptical that it would only regen every 2k?  

Alot will depend on  Driving style and journey types. Passive regen occurs once the exhaust gases get past 600c and on a petrol car that's achieved quicker than a diesel.  So I would assume active regens should be far less frequent . 

Active regen temp increase is achieved by delaying ign . 

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1 hour ago, iantt said:

Active regen temp increase is achieved by delaying ign

Is that what we used to call 'retarding the ignition'. If so won't it produce a noticeable loss of power?

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2 hours ago, Tizer said:

@TomsFocus I don't know about the 1.0 or other makes but I have done some Data Logging on my 1.5 and my conclusions are that if the car is driven correctly it will passively regenerate and hardly ever actively regenerate, if at all, but if used for only short journeys it will be the same as a Diesel.

I have only noticed an active regen once. That was after the car had spent 6 weeks at a dealers for warranty work and at the end of my 4 mile journey home which was all in 20 and 30 mph zones. I have done the same journey several times before and since in heavier traffic without any regenerations.

From my data logging, if the car has only been used for a weeks worth of daily short journeys then the Implied Soot Load both for Open and Closed Loop can get into the high teens. If I then take it for a 1/2 hour journey which is mostly Motorway then both the Implied Soot Loads go back to zero. I do use my gearing correctly by never touching the accelerator when below 2000 rpm and using steady but not foot to the floor acceleration and taking the revs up to 3500-4000 sometimes when doing the above.   

FORScan does have a PID that is supposed to tell you when regeneration is occurring, but it has never registered when doing the above. I haven't found a distance since last regen PID for my car.

This next bit may be rubbish but I believe that the passive regeneration occurs when your foot is off the accelerator whilst moving, provided that the GPF is hot enough at the time. I have noticed that the CAT temperature does get quite high sometimes but it does not double like some diesels can do.

Thanks John, that's very helpful!  It is another make that I'm looking at but sounds like the owners reviews could be correct with little to no active regens needed.

I'm not currently doing any motorway or dual carriageway at all which is one reason for moving away from diesel.  My 2.0 TDI will regen around town but it takes ages and I look a right wally with a 1k idle at zebra crossings.  It's doing it weekly atm.  Mostly doing 30/40mph but light traffic (ring road) with the odd B-road up to 60, most journeys are over 5 miles each way, not sure if that still counts as short for a GPF. 

Correct gearing is an interesting thought as it'll be DSG.  I would guess they've mapped the DSG to hold the correct gear for an active regen, but possibly not passive regen.

I suppose the only way to know for sure is to try it.  I have pretty much settled on the car and engine now, it's just the idea of a GPF that's worried me a bit.

 

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2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Thanks John, that's very helpful!  It is another make that I'm looking at but sounds like the owners reviews could be correct with little to no active regens needed.

I'm not currently doing any motorway or dual carriageway at all which is one reason for moving away from diesel.  My 2.0 TDI will regen around town but it takes ages and I look a right wally with a 1k idle at zebra crossings.  It's doing it weekly atm.  Mostly doing 30/40mph but light traffic (ring road) with the odd B-road up to 60, most journeys are over 5 miles each way, not sure if that still counts as short for a GPF. 

Correct gearing is an interesting thought as it'll be DSG.  I would guess they've mapped the DSG to hold the correct gear for an active regen, but possibly not passive regen.

I suppose the only way to know for sure is to try it.  I have pretty much settled on the car and engine now, it's just the idea of a GPF that's worried me a bit.

I'm sure your B road driving will bring the exhaust temperature up enough and if my theory about needing oxygen is correct then the slowing down and speeding up will probably be better than a steady speed drive at high speed. I'm sure your PCM will help out if needed with both the fuelling and gearing.

The short journeys I was doing before lockdown were only 2 or 3 miles. 

Here is an extract from my handbook for info.

Regeneration occurs during normal driving, to varying degrees depending on how you drive. Passive regeneration occurs when you drive at moderate to high speed but if you generally drive short distances at low speed, the engine control system could actively raise the exhaust gas temperature to remove the particles that have collected in the filter to make sure that it continues to correctly operate.

To assist passive regeneration, we recommend that you make occasional journeys that allow you to:

  • Drive at a varied range of conditions, including highway conditions for a minimum of 20 minutes.
  • Avoid prolonged engine idling.
  • Select a suitable gear to maintain engine speed between 1500 and 4000 RPM.
If the filter is saturated or is approaching saturation, a warning lamp illuminates or a message appears in the information display.
 
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