Hello

I have a ford focus 1.6 TDCI 2005

I replaced the fuel filter today however.  it wasn't staring after connecting all the pipes so I used the primer bulb to make the fuel flow from the outlet on the filter to the pipe that goes on the outlet which seemed to work.

However when connected up normaly it didn't start again so I went back to using the priming bulb and thought I would leave it like that for a minute to let the fuel circulate, since doing this the engine system light has come on and gone into limp mode.

Any advice is greatly appreciated 

P242F appears to be a DPF filter issue, ash/soot accumulation from a quick google.

How many miles has the car done and has it ever had a DPF filter replacement?

I would think at the very least you need a forced regen to see if it will clear the code if that is indeed the case.

1 hour ago, Liam121093 said:

However when connected up normaly it didn't start again so I went back to using the priming bulb and thought I would leave it like that for a minute to let the fuel circulate, since doing this the engine system light has come on and gone into limp mode.

DTC P242F - Diesel Particulate Filter Restriction

First thing I would check is the hoses from the DPF to the DP sensor. If one of these was just hanging on, the efforts to start may have dislodged it.

I doubt if it is the priming bulb, unless it had non-return valves with a high pressure drop. Most priming bulbs are the opposite, very flimsy, leaky valves. I have run my 1.8 like that ok. (I would have avoided connecting anything in the line downstream of the filter, and done all the priming from before the filter. Less chance of getting dirt in the pump or injectors that way.)

Can't recall if you have Forscan, that can monitor DPF DPs, reset learned values, and do a forced regen (as Simon, above, suggests).

16 minutes ago, simcor said:

P242F appears to be a DPF filter issue, ash/soot accumulation from a quick google.

How many miles has the car done and has it ever had a DPF filter replacement?

I would think at the very least you need a forced regen to see if it will clear the code if that is indeed the case.

It has done 150k and yeah a DPF was regen less than 50k ago.

7 minutes ago, Tdci-Peter said:

DTC P242F - Diesel Particulate Filter Restriction

First thing I would check is the hoses from the DPF to the DP sensor. If one of these was just hanging on, the efforts to start may have dislodged it.

I will check the hoses in the morning. 

I don't get it all this just from a flaming fuel filter 😠

I have a elm 327 Bluetooth and a memoscan. I presume none of these are capable of using forscan 

45 minutes ago, Liam121093 said:

I have a elm 327 Bluetooth

That is worth a try. All ELM327s should work with Forscan, though some better than others. Have you got a windows laptop to run it on? There are andriod & iOS versions, but they cost a little more, and may have a few limitations.

The ELM does not need to be "modified" to access the pcm, IC & other under bonnet modules. The modification is a simple switch to enable it to access the MS-CAN bus which is on a different pair of pins in the connector. I use an un-modified one, I have not got round to modifying it yet.

Just get the s/w from : http://forscan.org/download.html

It's the mini elm 327 Bluetooth only, I would have to use the android app as I can't connect it to my laptop, will this still be able to do a force regen. 

 

Good news

I found how to remove the error, I disconnected the MAF sensor started the car turned it off and rescanned the car and it came up with the MAF sensor errors, cleared the codes which finally cleared the DPF error. Reconnected the MAF sensor and was fine.

Ran until normal operating temperature which then flagged up the same error code DPF and limp mode. So i disconnected the MAF sensor again and left it off drove for around 10 mins at 70 - 80 got home and reconnected the sensor and it's perfect even improved my turbo.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Could anyone tell me the best scanner to use with forscan preferably cheap spent enough for now 😉

13 hours ago, Liam121093 said:

It has done 150k and yeah a DPF was regen less than 50k ago.

I will check the hoses in the morning. 

I don't get it all this just from a flaming fuel filter 😠

Are you saying it had the DPF filter replaced 50K miles ago or it had a forced Regen done 50K miles ago?

At 150K miles if it has not had a replacement filter then it will be full of ash as the error code shows and will need replacing a forced Regen won't clear the ash only the soot which leaves ash that can't be got rid of. 

It was regened less than 50k ago 

9 hours ago, Liam121093 said:

It was regened less than 50k ago 

That confuses me a bit, and I think it may confuse Simon!

DPF regen, where it burns off the accumulated soot, is a fairly frequent event.

Passive regen is when the DPF gets hot enough in normal use to burn off some soot. Probably only happens at Mway speed.

Active regen is where the car artificially raises the exhaust temperature by a variety of means, including extra fuel, to do a regen during normal use. Can happen (in principle) at any speed over about 40-50mph. May not be noticed by the driver, unless aware of the symptoms.

Forced regen is initiated by a diagnostic tool, and is done when stationary.

I seem to recall Simon saying his car did an active regen about every fuel fill!

If the car has not done a regen for about 50k, the DPF is either totally blocked, or has been "modified".

 

Even the coated DPF life is around 100-120K miles the earlier additive version is recommended to be replaced around 75K miles from memory.

Has the car ever had a new DPF fitted or been gutted and mapped out?

If as I said before its on its original DPF then at that mileage it is likely to be full of ash and will need replacing or removing.

Unplugging the MAF to get the error code to clear is not fixing the problem. Error codes are flagged for a reason usually to indicate an issue and to warrant further investigation.

I will put money on that error code coming back, not to mention the trouble a blocked DPF can cause on these engines.

 

37 minutes ago, Tdci-Peter said:

 

Active regen is where the car artificially raises the exhaust temperature by a variety of means, including extra fuel, to do a regen during normal use. Can happen (in principle) at any speed over about 40-50mph. 

 

Active Regen's happen once the conditions are right, operating temp of the engine, and when the vehicle speed is in excess of 40kmph from memory, once the vehicle speed starts dropping below that then that is usually when the Regen fails to complete. Again all from memory from what I have read.

11 hours ago, Liam121093 said:

Could anyone tell me the best scanner to use with forscan preferably cheap

A USB ELM that other people have found to work is:

http://www.spanglefish.com/TunnelratElectronics/index.asp?pageid=516992

 

I'm not sure I have some service history and in there is something about a DPF deep clean, will look at it tomorrow to be sure and will let you no. 

Thanks TDCI PETER I will get one of them 

Right I have ran a static regen. Reconnected everything.

Drove around for 10 mins and so far not one error code 😂 

Thanks for all your help guys couldn't if got this far without you all. Will let you no in a couple of days if it's ok or not 

Turbo still not working full according to forscan it under boost during acceleration. I'm lost now but going to check sensors over the weekend 

As I have said, without any evidence of the DPF being changed then I suspect you have bigger fish to fry.

If you have underboost then you are not getting enough air in, too much fuel, not getting exhaust gasses out, the VNT vanes are not working, the EGR valve is goosed, or there is a boost leak somewhere.

Or even a combination of the above.

Try moving the VNT actuator by hand, does it move freely? If it doesn't it mean the vanes are not opening/closing.

Is there any excess smoke under hard acceleration? If yes find split inter-cooler hose.

Check your pressure differential on the DPF under load with Forscan. High figures indicate filter full or at the least blocked with soot. Does the car regen a lot? If so the DPF is still suspect.

Clean and bypass the EGR valve and see if that helps at all. Better for the engine anyway with it bypassed.

 

 

There is no smoke at all. Will check the actuator after work.

When I did a static regen all the soot came out of the front of the exhaust instead of the rear so going to check for a hole ect. 

I will be replacing the DPF when I can afford to (next few weeks) 

 

New user on forscan how would I check pressure differential.

19 minutes ago, Liam121093 said:

how would I check pressure differential.

Click on the graph symbol down the side, then on the cog-like symbol at the bottom. This should give a list of PIDs that you can select by mouse or keyboard, to set up a list of PIDs to be monitored. Then the Start Live data, stop, save and recall buttons along the bottom can be used. (Remember to Save the data after Stopping, if you want to keep it).

Look for a PID labelled DP_DPF or similar.

Unfortunately, reliable good figures for this are hard to come by.

At idle, it should barely register (under 1kPa), at 3000-4000 rpm unloaded (on the driveway), it should be well under 10kPa.

Cruising at 50-60mph, also under 10kPa, accelerating at full power & >3000rpm up a hill, still well under 20kPa.

The figures above are guesstimates, based on a few reports, but as DPFs & driving conditions vary, they may be wrong, probably a bit high for a good DPF.

There is also a PID for km from last regen, useful as a guide to regen frequency, which will rise as the DPF blocks. Also a distance to Ash Full (Dist_Ashful or similar), which is the pcm's guess (rather wild) as to the remaining life in the DPF.

Forscan is a powerful tool, but remember that the data is only a guide. It is only as good as the software in the car, and that is far from perfect! Unless there are really positive symptoms, or the EML keeps coming on, just monitor the car until you feel confident that you can understand and believe the data.

Thanks will do this when I get home.

When I got the car it had a DPF engine light on since fixing the pipes changing fuel filter it has since gone. If dpf is full will the car say ? 

Sorry for all the questions this is the first diesel I have had 

2 hours ago, Liam121093 said:

When I did a static regen all the soot came out of the front of the exhaust instead of the rear so going to check for a hole ect. 

Well that is the most likely culprit, there should be no soot escaping from the front of the exhaust, you need back pressure for the turbo to work correctly, if losing exhaust pressure then when the vanes are open you won't be getting and assistance to the turbo vanes from the exhaust hence little or no Turbo pressure.

1 hour ago, Liam121093 said:

since fixing the pipes changing fuel filter it has since gone. If dpf is full will the car say ?

See my note about DIS_ASHFUL above, but if the car has been running with a leak in the DPF pipes, it will probably be well wrong. Two other useful PIDs may be: mileage when the last regen was done (DSLCR or DIST_REGEN), mileage when last regen attempted (DSLRT)

If a fault in the DPF system has been cured (fixed pipes?), then the service procedure Reset Learnt Values for the DPF may be a benefit. This sets DIS_ASHFUL to a high value, then it will adjust over a couple of regen cycles based on the current values.

On looking at a previous topic, my DP estimates (above) do seem high. With a cleaned DPF, someone got no more than 7.1 kPa while accelerating flat out at 3400rpm.

It is a complex system that seems to have a mind of its own. I would monitor it over an extended period before doing anything, unless there was a real need to.

Smoke out of the front of the exhaust sounds odd. Was this from a hole where a pipe was leaking?

If interested in the DPF system, a couple of Topics are below, but are quite complex, and may be confusing!

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/84364-what-exactly-triggers-an-active-dpf-regeneration/

 

Please could you tell me how this looks thanks 

23 minutes ago, Liam121093 said:

could you tell me how this looks thanks

The 9.5kPa & 1.8kPa DPs look a bit high. Especially if the 3270 rpm test was on the driveway, in neutral.

I am guessing that this is after a learned value reset, due to the high DIS_ASHFUL. In which case this figure will be meaningless until it has done 2 or 3 regens.

I am not sure about the VNT actuator reading. Not all 1.6TDCIs have an actuator position feedback sensor, so it may not mean anything. Some PIDs are in the pcm for different engine variants, Forscan may show them all regardless. If it is real, it looks odd.

To test Turbo performance, you will need to monitor Vehicle speed, RPM, Accelerator position, MAP, and VGTDC. Set it recording, go for a drive (up to about 30 mins is ok, it should cover a good range of driving), stop recording & save. Then the turbo boost pressure can be seen responding to engine needs. I just did a similar little recorded run today!

Safety Note: Make sure the wire or laptop / tablet etc can not interfere with driving, and do not be tempted to look at it while moving!

But you seem to be getting the hang of this Forscan thing pretty quickly!