DPF Re-gen at mechanic's?

[Cindycs]

Hello all,

Am totally new to this forum but have read a few useful threads about the issue I have with my 2012 Berlingo XTR (35,000 miles) - DPF filter clogging, as I do a fair amount of town driving.

Last year I had the "risk of fuel filter clogging" warning light, but did a big run for a couple of hours and that seemed to clear the problem. Then pretty much a year later I get the same warning light. Couldn't sort it out for some time, and kept getting the warning, despite frequently doing 20 mins odd at 50mph in 4th to try and clear it, and also even 40mph for 5 mins in 3rd, but finally it went into "Engine Fault" warning and "limp mode" once. Took it to the garage and they did a solvent clean which fixed it for about a month. Problem is now back again and the garage are recommending a whole new filter for a £600+++

A second garage has recommended doing a re-gen with their software so my question is should I try this avenue? I don't understand why it has not cleaned itself when I have done some good thrashing for the recommended amount of time. Any thoughts on this please? Most appreciated, thanks!

[polar]

Its a difficult position to be in as a forced regen may well only sort your problem for a short while. DPF dont like short city work and they get coked up. I would ask the garage that are offering a forced regen to remove the DPF and jet wash the bugger out - if you go this route you need to be confident they will do as you ask before doing the forced regen.

Your only option in the long run is to sell the vehicle because it not going to work under the conditions you use it for.

[Lighty]

Judging by all that you have said, a forced regen will do nothing, if a chemical clean & lots of driving it hasn't cured the problem, then you are in a bad place. 
Thing to consider is that maybe you have a dodgy injector that the dpf is masking, so you fit a replacement & it's blocked in no time. 
Aftermarket dpf's block much faster than oe ones , so again this is a problem.
DPF removal isn't for everyone, it's often the only solution, besides changing the car for a petrol version.

[ntm1275]

I've had this issue in the past, but intermittently.

It would always appear when driving at 60mph or above and stay on until I turned off. When I next started the car, the fault was gone, until the next time I went over 60mph.
That's not to say it would develop the fault every time I went above 60pmh though, only about 1 in 10 times.

I asked my Citroen dealer to take a look when it went in for it's full service and they put it on the diagnostic machine and they said the 'differential pressure sensor' needed changing.
This sensor is not on the DPF, but on the left side of the engine underneath the 'Air Doser' (the large plastic unit that attaches to the intercooler via large pipes).
The fault continued to appear after that, so the garage hadn't done anything about it just informed me about the sensor.
I intended to buy and change this sensor myself and after taking a look where it was and pulling off the electrical connectors connected to it and then putting them back, I haven't had any fault appear again and it's now been 4 months.

I don't know if you are experiencing similar issues to me, but before taking the plunge and spending a fortune on either getting the DPF professionally cleaned or even buying a new one, a change of sensor might be a cheaper option first.
You don't want to spend a fortune to find the fault is still there afterwards.

The sensor part number for my 2010 110HP XTR is 1618 Z9, but your model might be different.
The part from Citroen is about £60, but https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/oen/1618z9# are selling them for as little as £21.

Might be worth checking the hoses that go from the DPF to this sensor aren't split as well.

[Lighty]

I've had this issue in the past, but intermittently.

It would always appear when driving at 60mph or above and stay on until I turned off. When I next started the car, the fault was gone, until the next time I went over 60mph.
That's not to say it would develop the fault every time I went above 60pmh though, only about 1 in 10 times.

I asked my Citroen dealer to take a look when it went in for it's full service and they put it on the diagnostic machine and they said the 'differential pressure sensor' needed changing.
This sensor is not on the DPF, but on the left side of the engine underneath the 'Air Doser' (the large plastic unit that attaches to the intercooler via large pipes).
The fault continued to appear after that, so the garage hadn't done anything about it just informed me about the sensor.
I intended to buy and change this sensor myself and after taking a look where it was and pulling off the electrical connectors connected to it and then putting them back, I haven't had any fault appear again and it's now been 4 months.

I don't know if you are experiencing similar issues to me, but before taking the plunge and spending a fortune on either getting the DPF professionally cleaned or even buying a new one, a change of sensor might be a cheaper option first.
You don't want to spend a fortune to find the fault is still there afterwards.

The sensor part number for my 2010 110HP XTR is 1618 Z9, but your model might be different.
The part from Citroen is about £60, but https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/oen/1618z9# are selling them for as little as £21.

Might be worth checking the hoses that go from the DPF to this sensor aren't split as well.



this is good advice, but a faulty sensor is easy to spot on the diagnostic, as is a blocked dpf.

[Luis Rosa]

I've had this issue in the past, but intermittently.

It would always appear when driving at 60mph or above and stay on until I turned off. When I next started the car, the fault was gone, until the next time I went over 60mph.
That's not to say it would develop the fault every time I went above 60pmh though, only about 1 in 10 times.

I asked my Citroen dealer to take a look when it went in for it's full service and they put it on the diagnostic machine and they said the 'differential pressure sensor' needed changing.
This sensor is not on the DPF, but on the left side of the engine underneath the 'Air Doser' (the large plastic unit that attaches to the intercooler via large pipes).
The fault continued to appear after that, so the garage hadn't done anything about it just informed me about the sensor.
I intended to buy and change this sensor myself and after taking a look where it was and pulling off the electrical connectors connected to it and then putting them back, I haven't had any fault appear again and it's now been 4 months.

I don't know if you are experiencing similar issues to me, but before taking the plunge and spending a fortune on either getting the DPF professionally cleaned or even buying a new one, a change of sensor might be a cheaper option first.
You don't want to spend a fortune to find the fault is still there afterwards.

The sensor part number for my 2010 110HP XTR is 1618 Z9, but your model might be different.
The part from Citroen is about £60, but https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/oen/1618z9# are selling them for as little as £21.

Might be worth checking the hoses that go from the DPF to this sensor aren't split as well.



this is good advice, but a faulty sensor is easy to spot on the diagnostic, as is a blocked dpf.

How about the EGR valve being the problem here? If it is stuck open with no error messages (this can happen...), then the dpf will get continuously more of exhaust recirculates, and clog, even when doing the "normal" regeneration cycles...I would take a look at it before going for a new DPF filter...

[Cindycs]

Judging by all that you have said, a forced regen will do nothing, if a chemical clean & lots of driving it hasn't cured the problem, then you are in a bad place. 
Thing to consider is that maybe you have a dodgy injector that the dpf is masking, so you fit a replacement & it's blocked in no time. 
Aftermarket dpf's block much faster than oe ones , so again this is a problem.
We remove lots of dpf's, and whilst I know this isn't for everyone, it's often the only solution, besides changing the car for a petrol version.

Thanks Lighty - why would removing the DPF not be for everyone? Does it affect emissions for MOT purposes? Or something else?

[Solent]

A loophole in the law in the UK currently allows garages to eliminate DPFs without fear of prosecution but it is certainly illegal for the driver to use such a vehicle.

As the current MOT only includes a visual check it is easy to 'get away' with it. Insurance companies will certainy make more detailed checks in event of a claim as they rather like reducing their liability for non-disclosed modifications.

Expect to see the laws tightened up in the near future due to the fact that it is becoming a very common thing to have done.

[Jed Clampit]

Hello Cindycs welcome to the forum good to have you with us you can do three thing's sell the Berlingo px for a petrol Berlingo sell one arm one leg and get it fixed or get some one like nice man lighty in your area to remove the inside of DPF /FAP have the EGR deleted and it will go through an MOT it's the smaller particles from the regeneration that are that are becoming the bigger problem they get taken into the blood stream .

[Jed Clampit]

.Got to get back to the lab to concoct some thing else .
. Trump said it's not the pump.