Engine management/warning light

[Benthejockey]

1 hour ago, wymberley said:

The saving grace is that if you've been doing what you do for some time and that this is the first time the light has come on, it's quite possible that the problem is not with the DPF.

Yeah the little goblin is nearly 14 months old now and she's never really slept at night!

 

7 minutes ago, Taileron said:

Most diesels with a DPF will have an active and passive regeneration. When they are in a reg gen when idling,  the revs will lift and you will get a burning smell as the soot is cooked off. A good friend is a Tech who works for Audi and they have a lot of DPF issues which require ultrasonic cleaning. He recommends a full tank of V Diesel or equivalent every 4, the thought process behind this is that it has a higher caloric value and higher burn temp, this in turn helps remove soot particles. I did this on my previous diesel and never had a DPF issue with 110k miles.

I might go wild and treat the old girl to a tinkle of the expensive diesel. I do know what you mean about the re gen thing I've heard and smelt it happen.

[Dave-G]

There is also a need to work turbo's hard to burn off all the soot that gathers and sticks to the vane guide plates. 

Trying to be the first off at traffic lights is a fairly good way to exercise a turbo, and try to load the car quite heavy is another: diesel turbos are designed to kick in at lower revs than petrol cars.

 

Modern turbo diesels are not best looked after if driven like a grandma - they need hard work.

PS, I wasn't joking about the vibrator, though it was said with a smile. Something that has a mild hum and vibration may serve you well - and likely save you money too.

Edited January 5, 2020 by Dave-G

[Westward]

19 hours ago, Old farrier said:

So define  a good blast or a good run 

please 

Others have chipped in already but on my first and last diesel the handbook specifically called out a run of minimum 10 minutes at over 2,000 rpm at least once a month. Methods vary but usually when the ECU decides to initiate the burn it injects extra fuel to heat up the DPF. You can also get DPF burn assist fluids which claim to work at lower temperature than standard.

At the time a local garage to me would charge £45 to regen the DPF. They would plug in their analyser and set the tickover to 2,500 rpm and leave it in the corner of the parking area for an hour. They got loads of business from all the old Mrs Scoggins types around the town who never went further than Tesco.

[Benthejockey]

And as if by magic the light was gone. Didn't really give it a hard time but had a drive about yesterday, turned it on to go lamping last night and the light was off again.

[wymberley]

22 hours ago, Westward said:

Others have chipped in already but on my first and last diesel the handbook specifically called out a run of minimum 10 minutes at over 2,000 rpm at least once a month. Methods vary but usually when the ECU decides to initiate the burn it injects extra fuel to heat up the DPF. You can also get DPF burn assist fluids which claim to work at lower temperature than standard.

At the time a local garage to me would charge £45 to regen the DPF. They would plug in their analyser and set the tickover to 2,500 rpm and leave it in the corner of the parking area for an hour. They got loads of business from all the old Mrs Scoggins types around the town who never went further than Tesco.

I wonder how many dealers do the same as one local to me which is very close to a seaside town full of Mrs Scoggins'. It's not the old biddies' fault that their nice little economical transport turned out to be not so. It's simply that no one told them what to expect and they were conned. Said local outfit refuses to sell diesel cars to customers who they believe are at risk unless after an explanation the potential customer remains adamant that that's what they want.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

56 minutes ago, wymberley said:

I wonder how many dealers do the same as one local to me which is very close to a seaside town full of Mrs Scoggins'. It's not the old biddies' fault that their nice little economical transport turned out to be not so. It's simply that no one told them what to expect and they were conned. Said local outfit refuses to sell diesel cars to customers who they believe are at risk unless after an explanation the potential customer remains adamant that that's what they want.

Blimey, you may have found a garage with good ethics, lucky you!

[Westward]

6 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Blimey, you may have found a garage with good ethics, lucky you!

They do exist. A couple of years ago I rang a dealer near Wolverhampton about a fairly new used car and the sales guy went to check it for me. He rang back and mentioned it had no service history, only one key and a nasty smell inside. He advised against making the trip to look at it. Obviously I thanked him.

[guzzicat]

On 04/01/2020 at 21:50, Benthejockey said:

Yeah the little goblin is nearly 14 months old now and she's never really slept at night!

 

I might go wild and treat the old girl to a tinkle of the expensive diesel. I do know what you mean about the re gen thing I've heard and smelt it happen.

or just add a couple of gallons of unleaded to a tank of deisel