Fiat Ducato (2014) DPF – Can you force a Regeneration? (1 Viewer)

[Rob99]

Fiat Ducato (2014) DPF – Can you force a Regeneration?

I have just received the astonishing news from the garage that I need to replace the door mirror to cure my engine light / DPF problem messages.

Hard to believe at first but apparently the DPF mechanism somehow needs the ambient temperature feed to work properly and the external temperature sensor is housed in the drivers door mirror – mine has failed and. So the whole mirror unit needs to be replaced. I know they are right about the temperature sensor being broken as the dashboard is showing “---“ instead of “26C” or whatever.

If I fix the external temp sensor then are my DPF problems likely to go away? Surely I will still have a part blocked DPF? We are not having noticeable performance problems but our engine light / DPF message has been with us on and off for six months. I cannot remember at what point the temperature sensor stopped delivering a number to the dashboard – but it definitely used to work.

Is there some way of forcing a regeneration of will the vehicle do it itself once I have fixed the external temperature sensor?

If this works, I will enjoy going down the pub and telling people I have cured an engine light problem by replacing a door mirror.

 

[Badknee]

An Italian service might help. Low gear, high revs best done going up a long hill.

 

[rb62]

Strange but true,only mentioned on here this morning,maybe they've been watching the same video

Thousands Spent But Still A DPF Fault!? You Won't Believe The Cause! Peugeot Boxer

I was browsing YouTube last night & stumbled upon this post, who would have thought it. Make of it what you will, but I'd never have thought of this solution.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[tonka]

As above watch the video and check if you have the external temperature display working.

I did as Badknee suggests a few weeks ago. Good blast up the motorway in a lower gear to maintain the revs but I also added some DPF cleaner before I set out. Then used an OBD reader to clear the fault code.

 

[Andy-B]

Also could be a faulty DPF differential pressure sensor. Common failure and tricks the ecu into thinking the DPF is full. I had to replace mine last year. You need the full diagnostics to see what's going on. Mine failed at 15000 miles..

Andy

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[Sue and Rick]

Buy just the sensor from fiat dealer. It’s about £40 or less as I remember. Takes about an hour to strip the mirror off. The plug is under the windows switches. The dealer probably can’t be arsed to strip down the mirror but, that’s all it needs and they will be taking the old mirror off anyway.

 

[Sue and Rick]

Strange but true,only mentioned on here this morning,maybe they've been watching the same video

Thousands Spent But Still A DPF Fault!? You Won't Believe The Cause! Peugeot Boxer

I was browsing YouTube last night & stumbled upon this post, who would have thought it. Make of it what you will, but I'd never have thought of this solution.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Maybe his garage has just seen the video ?

 

[Rob99]

An Italian service might help. Low gear, high revs best done going up a long hill.

"It

Also could be a faulty DPF differential pressure sensor. Common failure and tricks the ecu into thinking the DPF is full. I had to replace mine last year. You need the full diagnostics to see what's going on. Mine failed at 15000 miles..

Andy

I already replaced the DPF pressure sensor a few months ago to try and combat the same problem. Didnt work. What i prbably need is the full diagnostic set like the bloke in the video so i can see what my pressure and level of carbonisation actually is. I think you can use that to force a regen as well cant you? Some posters have recommended a high rev drive - but i have been doing that anyway as i drive quite revvy anyway. Isnt a Regeneration more than just high revs - i thought that the control unit actually changed the fuel / air characteristics in order to facilitate carbon burn off?

Can you get laptop software and a USB plug in for diagnostics? I have a cheap ODB2 reader but its very basic.

 

[Rob99]

Strange but true,only mentioned on here this morning,maybe they've been watching the same video

Thousands Spent But Still A DPF Fault!? You Won't Believe The Cause! Peugeot Boxer

I was browsing YouTube last night & stumbled upon this post, who would have thought it. Make of it what you will, but I'd never have thought of this solution.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

yes i saw this before I posted. I was only 50% convinced of my garage's diagnosis until i watched this video. I too am anxious to avoid the trial and error approach to fixing this problem - had i gone to a different garage i could be spending hundreds or even thousends on a succession of new parts....

 

[Andy-B]

I use Multiecuscan software and leads.
You can force a regeneration, but it may not be needed. You have to tell the ecu that you have changed the sensor and then it recalibrates.
You also should tell the ecu when the oil gets changed. Mine had been serviced at least twice by Fiat dealers and this had never been done. If it thinks the oil quality is poor it won't regen.

Andy

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[the1andonly]

I also use Multiecuscan, it can do regens but again not prefered if you can do a passive regen. With MES you will be able to look at the dpf pressures and decide if too clogged. Read this

DPF Differential Pressure sensor Diagnosis with MES

How to diagnose a problem the DPF Differential Pressure sensor and its impact on the DPF. known in mes parameter list as Differential Pressure Sensor. These sensors are prone to any debris or condensation in the exhaust, which can cause the...

www.fiatforum.com

the fiat forum also has a register of Mes users that are willing to help. Wheabouts are you?

 

[Ingwe]

I don’t know if this is relevant but when we first had a our van (a 2012 Peugeot based Bailey) we suffered a flat vehicle battery. The garage where we store the van started it with one of those heavy duty battery packs and managed to do something to the van’s electrics. One of the issues was the temperature gauge on the dashboard which started showing ————-or alternatively giving readings that scrolled continuously from the lowest reading to the highest.

I assumed that the sensor, in the driver’s mirror was faulty and looked at replacing the mirror and sensor. Then, quite by accident, I had reason to disconnect the vehicle battery and when I reconnected, I found that this action had cured the temperature gauge ‘fault’. Since then it’s never reoccured.

Possibly worth a try?

 

[Rob99]

Fiat Ducato (2014) DPF – Can you force a Regeneration?

I have just received the astonishing news from the garage that I need to replace the door mirror to cure my engine light / DPF problem messages.

Hard to believe at first but apparently the DPF mechanism somehow needs the ambient temperature feed to work properly and the external temperature sensor is housed in the drivers door mirror – mine has failed and. So the whole mirror unit needs to be replaced. I know they are right about the temperature sensor being broken as the dashboard is showing “---“ instead of “26C” or whatever.

If I fix the external temp sensor then are my DPF problems likely to go away? Surely I will still have a part blocked DPF? We are not having noticeable performance problems but our engine light / DPF message has been with us on and off for six months. I cannot remember at what point the temperature sensor stopped delivering a number to the dashboard – but it definitely used to work.

Is there some way of forcing a regeneration of will the vehicle do it itself once I have fixed the external temperature sensor?

If this works, I will enjoy going down the pub and telling people I have cured an engine light problem by replacing a door mirror.

UPDATE (Please help if you can)

I have opened up the driver door and there is NO WIRING for the outside temperature sensor. The socket is EMPTY. The mirror control wiring is there and plugged in. From what I can see inside the door mirror itself there is no sensor there. The little hole where presumably it pokes out, is sealed.

Both door mirrors are FicoMirrors and seem to match (not replacements?). My dashboard is showing “---” instead of temperature (like in the video) and I am told that this is causing my DPF issues. I have had this motorhome for 5 years and the DPF issues for about a year. I believe (but cant be sure) that there used to be a temperature readout which stopped a while back.

I have found this strange looking thing attached to the chassis. Could it be a (broken) temperature sensor? It has been added to an existing length of cut cable using electrical tape. Bizarrely the cable is coaxial and is labled “Sargent” as shown in pic 2. Tried to trace it as it enters the motorhome and it seems to go to the front, perhaps to the Sargent control box. I am wondering if this is my external temperature sensor.

Q. Any thoughts on what this device is ?

Q. Could it be another external temperature sensor connected to the heater, fridge etc? and thus a red herring

Q. Why coaxial cable?

Q. Why would my motorhome come without a temperature sensor? The mirrors are identical so if they are replacements then they must have been done simultaneously.

So now I don’t know what to do….options include

• Buy another mirror with a sensor and go through the pain of fitting it
• Buy a cheap thermistor (no plug) and substitute it for the “strange thing” to see if that works
• Buy a ducato sensor (with plug) and just plug it in and let it dangle in the door void. I don’t care what the external temperature is – I just want the DPF sensor to work. But these are HARD to get.

 

[Rob99]

I don’t know if this is relevant but when we first had a our van (a 2012 Peugeot based Bailey) we suffered a flat vehicle battery. The garage where we store the van started it with one of those heavy duty battery packs and managed to do something to the van’s electrics. One of the issues was the temperature gauge on the dashboard which started showing ————-or alternatively giving readings that scrolled continuously from the lowest reading to the highest.

I assumed that the sensor, in the driver’s mirror was faulty and looked at replacing the mirror and sensor. Then, quite by accident, I had reason to disconnect the vehicle battery and when I reconnected, I found that this action had cured the temperature gauge ‘fault’. Since then it’s never reoccured.

Possibly worth a try?

that would definitely be worth a try. However, I routinely use the red battery isolation button on the ignition which i believe disconnects the battery so presumable actually disconnecting the battery would be more of the same?

 

[Sue and Rick]

The Ducato sensor is about £40 or less from dealer. I got one for My Peugeot (same sensor but a lot cheaper than £100 Peugeot wanted.)
I ordered from northern commercials brighouse, it came the next day.

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[Sue and Rick]

I remember reading on my diagbox that one “setting” was ‘is there an external temp sensor fitted’ mine said yes, but there wasn’t one so I fitted one.

 

[Srp111]

It's one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/31431739...d=link&campid=5338547443&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

 

[Sue and Rick]

That doesn’t have the plug to connect to the vehicle wiring loom.
I tried similar. Didn’t work. Bought genuine Fiat, worked! Also has the plug needed

 

[Srp111]

Under the drivers side window switch there are 2 plugs, one black and one grey, the grey one has two wires this is the connection for the temperature sensor, connect to that and you have the readings in the dash again

 

[Gromett]

Rob99 Just wondering if you made any progress on this?

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