Ford Galaxy DPF Issue

BorneTobyWilde

Issue with sisters car. It's a Ford Galaxy 2012, throws an engine malfunction light, mechanic has changed an injector, no difference, then he said it needed DPF cleaned, no difference, then he said it needs a new DPF, no difference. She has spent too much on it truth be told. Now he is back saying it needs injectors, which I think is wrong.

How the car runs.

The car seems to be in a constant state of regen. When car is returned from mechanic, engine malfunction light is out, faults cleared. In this state, the car runs really badly, as if it is missing ,spitting and spluttering from tail pipe, fans are roaring on engine, and car is louder, as if it's trying to do a regen.

When you start from cold, car sounds fine, not missing, or spitting or spluttering …. nothing triggered yet, but as soon as you drive off, within a 100 meters , you can feel the little difference as you move off, boom triggered again, fans roaring, idle hunting.

Car can drive around in this state for day or two, while covering very little miles, 10 -15. Running bad, idling bad, slow to get moving, as in shifting it's weight to get wheels going from a standstill, load of power when up and running, no lights triggered yet, just running awful……………..and then BOOM! Engine Malfunction Light comes back on, at which point car runs like an absolute dream, idles lovely, no more missing, or spitting or spluttering, takes off from a standstill lovely, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th at 25 mph, no issue, can't fault it….. of course now the Engine Malfunction Light is now on, so it won't do a regen, or try anymore, and within two weeks it will now throw an Engine Light… for… blocked DPF…. and round and round we go, back to mechanic, clear it again, rinse repeat, several times already.

Bottom line, when then is not trying to do a regen, and the Engine Malfunction Light is on, car runs and drives lovely. So how on earth would it need new injectors. This issue is this constant state of regen, when all faults are cleared. It has a brand new DPF. Has to be something simple, a car cant be in a constant state of regen, the Engine Malfunction Light is killing this constant state of regen, as there must be a fault,for the Engine Malfunction Light to come on, plus car then runs lovely when it's on……………….but it then blocks DPF..as it won't regen with that light on… and will block DPF within a week or so, and throw the actual Engine Light.

BlakeS94

Aftermarket DPFs very often don't operate as intended. It's one of those parts where it's genuine OEM or nothing.

Mechanic sounds clueless to be honest and just unloading the parts cannon at your sisters expense.

The most common causes of DPF issues on that engine is the fuel vaporiser system, either the glow plug on the vaporiser dies, the vaporiser itself gets blocked with soot or the auxiliary fuel pump stops working.

After that what can happen is the hoses from pressure sensor to pre and post DPF can get holes in them.

Make sure the engine glow plugs are in good shape also but if there's any aftermarket DPF in it I don't think it's going to run right no matter what you do.

This YT channel is of a DPF specialist, I've very rarely seen a video where he reckons a new DPF is needed. But often looks at a car where DPF has been replaced, and the new aftermarket DPF isn't working.

https://youtu.be/rfyE5qORB08?si=uMZ1twDxe_nGh-Px

BorneTobyWilde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123413164#Comment_123413164

Over 3k in, and you think it may only have needed the fuel vaporiser cleaned. Raging.

Forgot to mention too, since he fitted new DPF, diesel ended up in engine oil, dip stick was showing twice as much as it should be. He did drain it and put fresh oil in, and sent car on it's away again, still not fixed.

This absolute 24/7 state of trying to regen must be forcing diesel to this blocked vaporiser maybe…and somehow it caused it to enter engine oil. is that feasible.

BlakeS94

From that YT video above and my own experience it has been something on that vaporiser system that causes the DPF trouble.

The diesel dilution in engine oil is a common thing with consecutive DPF regen attempts, and that's the issue, they're just failed attempts so extra fuel gets injected but then the regen process doesn't start, tries again and again all the while more diesel is being sprayed into the cylinders that isn't being burned so it ends up in the sump hence raising the oil level and making the viscocity much thinner, keep an eye on that because that's an engine killer all by itself, it's going to keep happening as long as failed regen attempts are happening

The vaporiser is connected straight to the exhaust section before the DPF, it's probably been blocked all along would be my guess.

Testing the vaporiser is easy just unplug the fuel feed and attach a vacuum pump and start pulling vacuum, the needle should not move at all if there's a clear pathway through the fuel line and down through the vaporiser, if it builds vacuum pressure the vaporiser is blocked, takes about 10 minutes to check once car is in the air.

Maybe 2/10 times it's the fuel pump that supplies diesel to the vaporiser.

I'd be asking your mechanic what the DPF pressure sensor readings are, if he goes on about soot calculations well over 150% or higher that's only shite, pure calculations based on time by the cars ECU, it doesn't mean anything, neither does resetting the calculations to 0%. DPF pressure sensor readings are the most important thing.