Eml Light

[Robin]

Hi all

An amber EML appeared on our 2010 Kuga the other day. Unfortunately as it was over Christmas there was nowhere I could take it (I live in the Isle of Man). Took it out yesterday and now it has gone into limp mode and unable to drive it really.

Went to our local Ford garage today (who are in the process of moving premises so aren't fully "operational" yet), and they say it is more than likely going to be a DPF fault. This is apparently common in the Isle of Man due to being unable to drive at certain speed/revs/distance to allow the DPF to clear itself - or something like that.

The guy at Ford said bring it back tomorrow and he will try a "regen".

My question is, does it have to be a Ford dealer that can do this, or can any garage with some OBD kit do it?

Also, is there a way of getting it to start a regen itself? Could I disconnect the battery in the hope this will reset the alarm, and then I can try and drive it hard to clean it?

Finally....could it be expensive? :-(

Thanks

Robin

[Rossbclarke123]

Robin Hi,

Most of my response is going to be from guesswork and what I've read online prior to buying a TDCI as touch wood I haven't expirenced this.

You will not be able to force a regeneration yourself however had it had a good long hard drive prior to going into limp mode it would probably have cleared it for you!

I belive any dealer can force a regeneration however personally I would use a ford dealer.

Unfortunately if you do require a DPF this can be costly, do keep us updated on how you get on!

[Robin]

Hi Ross

Thanks for the reply. Nope, we are very limited in out of town driving, and 90% of our driving is urban.

We don't have any legal requirement for an MOT over here, so if I did need a new DPF, could I possibly just remove it and remap the ECU?

Cheers

[StevenST13]

Hi Robin

Unfortunately now it is in limp mode you do need a force regen of the dpf. I would recommend a main dealer as they are better equipped to do this. You can force your car to regen your self as long as it's not in limp mode. I'm not sure about fords but my old diesel seats had two light 1 dpf then 2 dpf and eml at the same time. As long as it was just the dpf light you can start a regen by keeping the car around 50mph above 3k revs for around 15-20mins which will clear it out. To be on the safe side I used to do this at least once a fortnight after I had the light on regular. After I did this once a fortnight then I had no more problems with the dpf. You can do a dpf delete and remap the engine as I'm aware it's around £300 to £600 to do this.

[Rossbclarke123]

By doing the remap and dpf delete it should also improve fuel economy.

It's not my area to comment on the legalisation of this though!

[Robin]

Evening all

Managed to find a code reader and got this - P2453 - Which I think is the pressure sensor. Cleared the fault and car now not in limp mode.

Suggestions on what I do next? can I try and force it to do a regen or not? If so, I've read lots of different conditions that need to be maintained in order for the regen cycle to complete. Is it 3000rpm at 40mph for 20 minutes...? Please could someone clarify?

Thanks

Robin

[Robin]

Also, can anyone recommend or suggest where I might be able to buy a ELM327 cable?

I've got Forscan but not connector.

Thanks

[gregers]

drive it like you stole it,every couple of weeks to keep the engine temperature up and clean/clear any crud out of the system.

iirc its recommended high revs for about 20 mins?

if thats is not possible then surely this type of car should not be sold in an area that the customer cannot manage to do a regen?

again iirc wasnt there a case on jersey involving a toyota?

[StevenST13]

Hi robin yes it will be worth trying to forever regen yourself now. Get the car up to 50mph if you can and over 3k revs for at least 20mins. More if you can as this will help clean more gunk out of the system. Try do this religiously every 2weeks or more if u can. If the pressure sensor does go again I think it's a quite easy cheaper fix if you need one.

[Robin]

Afternoon all.

I managed to get a hold of an ELM327 lead and downloaded a copy of Forscan.

I've done a regen, but after 15 mins of town driving, the fault is back. Ive lso got a P2453 fault code now as well as a P2463.

Does anybody know if doing another regen might help things? Also, if the pressure sensor is faulty, are they expensive?

Thanks

Robin

[iantt]

Kugas are known for failed dpf sensors, its the pressure sensor normally that fails, and not always with a dtc, if the pressure sensor has failed then dpf regen wont enable however many miles of high rpm/speed attained.

sensor is attatched next to battery in engine bay, not sure of cost , but cheaper than dpf if you dont sort it soon.

its a 2 min job to change then it will need static regen to clear dpf.

[Robin]

Anyone happen to know if its easy to remove and clean/check the sensor incase it's sticking?

Can I only get them from a Ford dealer?

[iantt]

Easy enough to remove , but never tried cleaning it, its an electronic circuit.

Would imagine ford only.

[Robin]

Hi

Going down the DPF removal and remap. However it won't be happening until mid next week.

Is there anyway to disable the DPF related faults for the time being so that is doesn't keep going into limp mode?

[StevenST13]

As far as I'm aware no. You will only get rid of the problem when you have the dpf and remap down. But I could be wrong there may be a way to bypass it for now.

[Robin]

It appears that the Forscan regen didnt work. Apparently the engines revs quite high during the process. Can someone let me know if this is correct - i suspect it is?

Has anyone had any issues with Forscan the regen process?

Thanks

[iantt]

It wont regen while theres a pressure sensor dtc stored,

[Robin]

But if i clear it and before it comes back, start another regen, should the revs increase? The previous times I've tried it, Forscan says its completed but nothing happens to the engine revs :-(

[iantt]

It should rev up for quite a while, 10 mins or more, what its doing is heating dpff amd injecting a small quantity of diesel via the fuel vapouriser before dpf, that heats dpf very high and that cleans the dpf, but as soon as it detects a sensor fault ( even if light not on)then it stops any regeneration, it needs to know what the pressure and temp is before and after dpf,

[Robin]

So does that mean I'll never be able to do a manual regen?

I might just go down the DPF removal and remap route....!

[StevenST13]

No you want be able to regen until the pressure sensor is fixed.

[Robin]

HI all

DPF removed and remap done.....much better :-)

Come across another problem now. Got another EML, this time for high oil level, which I'm lead to believe is due to unburnt diesel finding it's way back into the oil! Dipped it, and yes too much. I've dropped some out of the sump (looks very runny).

My question basically is, which is the best oil and because it has been contaminated, shall I use engine flush too?

Thanks

[Robin]

Hi all

Just to give you a quick update on my Kuga. I tried to get it to do a regen several times, however I gave up and got the DPF removed and remapped to ignore the fact that the DPF had gone.

Two things to note regarding this.....

1 - Due to the regen failing several times, extra fuel had entered the oil and had actually made the level on the dip stick go up. I ended up dropping a bit of oil, which was now like water and adding some new oil whilst I waited for the DPF to be removed. When it was removed, I got the oil and filter changed. However every few days, a EML light comes on and when i query it using Torque it says it is related to oil service. So what I have to do is stick the ignition on and hold down the throttle and brake for 10 seconds and this clears the EML....until the next time. Does anyone know if I can get rid of this all together please?

2 - The MPG is noticeably worse. Im sure I used to get nearly 40mpg, now I have to try really hard to get 32mpg. Again, does anyone have any knowledge on this please?

Thanks very much

Robin