Can you clean dpf

The fine soot particles are filtered and collected temporarily. For that reason, some brands add Eolys to the fuel via a separate tank under the car. To check how much soot is actually stored, the diesel engines with a DPF have a differential pressure sensor. As can be seen on the picture, the differential pressure sensor is connected between the front and back of the particulate filter.

The pressure difference gives an indication of the amount of soot that has accumulated. The signal is measured in the differential pressure sensor and passed on to the computer. This is programmed in such a way that, based on this data, regeneration will take place at a certain pressure difference. If the filter is clean, the pressure difference will be small.

As the filter becomes more clogged, there will be a greater pressure difference and if the difference in pressure becomes too great, the diesel engine will regenerate. Which means that the stored soot is burned, this is also called cleaning the soot filter. The burnt soot then turns into ash. Over time, so much has been regenerated that the entire diesel particulate filter is filled with ash instead of soot.

You will then have to make a choice between cleaning the particulate filter or replacing it. A particulate filter that slowly fills up with ash residue will have to regenerate more often.

After all, the space in which the soot can be collected is becoming smaller and smaller. This is also noticeable because it is regenerated much more often, sometimes already after km. The life of a diesel particulate filter depends very much on the driving style of the user. This is because the engine does not come up to temperature properly, which causes more internal pollution.

Usually, a particulate filter will last , — , km in passenger cars. The difference in this range therefore depends on the driving style as described above. Further on in the blog you can read how you can extend the life of the diesel particulate filter. You can recognize that the diesel particulate filter is clogged by a number of things. The most obvious sign is when the diesel particulate filter malfunction light comes on.

This usually means that the DPF is clogged. However, it can also indicate an electronic problem. Good to know, not every car has a particulate filter light.

If your car does not have a particulate filter light, the engine management light will illuminate if there is a clogged diesel particulate filter. You can also notice how the car drives. A clogged DPF can, for example, cause increased fuel consumption, but also cause the car to stutter.

Have you found out that your DPF is clogged? Then you can look for a solution. You can choose to clean or replace the particulate filter.

Both options are discussed in this blog. There is no unequivocal answer to this question. Because of this, DPF cleaning kits wont work for DPFs which are severely blocked because these need to be heated to very high temperatures to removed all that soot built up over time. So due to the very high temperatures gained in DPF cleaning kit usage, it can work sometimes and provide the DPF more life, but sometimes it cannot clean the blockage if too much soot is present.

It is very tough to clean the DPF by yourself unless you are an expert at this. An alternative is that you can buy a rebuilt DPF. For those who are cleaning the DPF themselves, you should wear a respirator. As time passes, the fine ash gathers and gets the filter full.

Therefore it then needs to be cleaned or also replaced. Nevertheless, those that experience stop-and-go operations and which idle much are not able to make their exhaust get hot enough and so a lot of soot build up on the filter. It is performed by injecting more fuel precisely upstream of the oxygen catalyst. It can also be done by when parked. In this case, the vehicle plugs in an electric heater.

The active removal of soot via on-board regeneration may happen one or more times daily. This depends on the kind of operation that the vehicle undergoes. This usually is not noticed by the driver until an indicator light can be seen on in the instrument panel. Nevertheless, the warning can get more prominent via the light indicators.

In such cases, the driver should then stop and start an active regeneration. This should often be blown or also washed out. To do this, the DPF should be removed from the vehicle. It is then put in a pressure cabinet as described above. After this, the device sends compressed air through the substrate and clears the filter. Diesel particulate filters DPF are installed in many post vehicle exhausts to reduce emissions by eliminating soot and ash.

However, soot and ash do build up in the filter over time. Often this can be removed using active regeneration or cleaning additives, but sometimes professional cleaning by a mechanic is necessary. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great.

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Watch for the DPF symbol, which indicates that it needs cleaning. Check the dash panel for a small, yellow or orange rectangular warning symbol with circles in the center. This symbol shows that the DPF soot has built up to a possibly damaging level. Always clean the DPF immediately when you see the warning symbol. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

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Is it easier just to remove my DPF?