wymberley Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 Having paid attention to and acted upon the good advice given on PW, I thought I'd cracked the problem of the warning light coming on. However, this morning - when as is typical and you really need the car - it came on again after several months. After doing the usual it would not go out and the engine warning lit up. The car is now booked in for what Nissan call a 'Service Regeneration'. Question is: Does this service regeneration and the higher temperature involved improve the condition of the filter above and beyond that which the driver achieves when taking the approved action to successfully extinguish the light should it come on? I'm hoping that the answer is, 'yes', as I can tolerate a low frequency requirement (and the £230 for the privilege) as I've had the car some 3 years and this is the first time driver action has failed to work. Apart from burning rubber and fuel up the M5 or joining the boy racers up and down the sea front on occasion, the nature of the vast majority of my driving is in built up areas. Wish now I hadn't sold the 2.5 petrol version that I had. Cheers and thanks in advance for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superspark Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 (edited) DPF "diesel partical filter " was an ill thought out, rushed in unit fitted to newer cars to try and comply with lasted immisions legislation. These filters are designed to trap small microscopic particals. As the filter fills up the engine's ecu starts a pre programmed burn cycle to burn off these particals. This is achieved by adding extra fuel into the filter to burn off the particals. Once this burn cycle has been started the engine revs need to stay above 2000 rpm for the duration. If for any reason the revs drop below 2000 rpm then the whole process begins again. Depending on how many stop start and short journeys are carried out will determine the regeneration cycle the car will start. Problems arise by the regeneration cycle not being completed during normal driving and the filter getting clogged to the point that the car can no longer clear the filter. When this happens the ecu will flag up a fault code on the ecu ang usually a picture of an engine with a spanner through it in your instrument pannel. Dealers usually remove the dpf and clean it with a cleaner which will desolve and unclog the inner parts of the filter, refit and remove fault codes. I have heard of cases where they have tried to fit a new unit at much greater cost but thats another story Be warned !!! If you continue to do only short journeys the same problem will be back to haunt you quicker than you think. Happy motoring Edited September 7, 2015 by superspark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 Nearly... Soot builds up, a burn cycle turns the soot into ash, the ash takes up much less space but still cannot pass through the filter, after so much ash has built up the soot / burn cycle becomes a more regular thing until the unit is unable to properly cope Take it off, I have successfully cleaned them out using a pressure washer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livefast123 Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 (edited) The service regeneration involves a techy connecting the car up to their computer system and forcing the engine into a condition conducive to regeneration......ie plenty of revs over a set period of time to get the filter hot enough to burn off the particles, nothing scientific about it. You need a few more fast trips to Portishead. Apparently Wynns DPF cleaner is good stuff, worked for a friend of mine who's light came on. Put the stuff in and went for a spirited drive, light has never come back on since despite not changing his driving. I've not had a problem with the Focus one yet..........reaches for the largest piece of wood close by! Edited September 8, 2015 by Livefast123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted September 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 The service regeneration involves a techy connecting the car up to their computer system and forcing the engine into a condition conducive to regeneration......ie plenty of revs over a set period of time to get the filter hot enough to burn off the particles, nothing scientific about it. You need a few more fast trips to Portishead. Apparently Wynns DPF cleaner is good stuff, worked for a friend of mine who's light came on. Put the stuff in and went for a spirited drive, light has never come back on since despite not changing his driving. I've not had a problem with the Focus one yet..........reaches for the largest piece of wood close by! Yep, needs an oil and filter change afterwards as they're 'cooked'. Portishead is no more - they've moved back to Exmouth - going to need baby-sitters. Thanks for the tip, I'll try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drut Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 " Apparently Wynns DPF cleaner is good stuff," Has worked well for me,but as previously stated,if DPF clogged with ash no additive will be of any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruity Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Just have it removed and it programmed out the ecu , job done no more problems and your mpg will go up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyTed Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Just have it removed and it programmed out the ecu , job done no more problems and your mpg will go up Sorry to be a killjoy if an MOT tester notices a removal it is a failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormhound Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 "Just have it removed and it programmed out the ecu" And just how do you have it "programmed out the ecu"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 "Just have it removed and it programmed out the ecu" And just how do you have it "programmed out the ecu"? Take it to someone who does ecu remaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEshooter Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 I regularly see a firm advertise on fb to remove dpf and reprogrammed the ecu. They cut a panel out the exhaust from above and remove it. Once done they weld the panel back in place and refit the exhaust. Without removing the exhaust you cannot see the panel. They claim more power and better mpg are achieved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruity Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Avon tuning superb company for all the work Sorry to be a killjoy if an MOT tester notices a removal it is a failure. Be a miracle if he does see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyTed Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Be a miracle if he does see it Be a miracle if a tester misses some of the ones I've seen done where the DPF has been totally removed and replaced with a length of pipe. I agree it won't be noticed if the DPF is opened and the innards removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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