C5 1.6hdi fap advice

[mcintyrej]

I have a "depollution system fault" when I start the car. Garage said that the DFP was probably cracked and would cost €1200 to replace. I have since found out about getting it removed. There are garages in Dublin looking for €550 to do this but as far as I can see, they are just cracking the filter out and remapping the ECU.

Has anybody got any advice? I am comfortable with technology and would be willing to remap the ECU myself, if I can get a back street dealer to remove the filter for me. Anybody done this on a 1.6 HDi C5? Has anyone got an ECU file with no DPF entry?

I have the problem for about 10 weeks now. Has not gone into limp yet. twice a week I drive 320km's but 3 times a week I am driving through Dublin rush hour traffic for about 15km's (40 mins). I have heard that this will eventually damage the turbo??? is that correct? How long do I have to get it done?

Thanks in advance.

John

[Northern_Mike]

You need to find someone with a Lexia to find out exactly what the DPF fault is, rather than just go off the codes. It could just need a regen, which can be done with the Lexia. I'm sure someone over that side of the sea around there has one who might be able to help out.

Your turbo will be fine *as long as you change the oil and filter frequently* - i.e. about twice as often as Citroen recommend, about every 6-7000 miles. The problem on the 1.6 appears to be crud in the oil blocking the feed pipe gauze to the turrbo. Clean oil = no crud. You can remove the gauze in the feed pipe too..

[mcintyrej]

Hi Northern_Mike,

Thanks for the quick reply. I did purchase the Lexia kit on ebay and tested it myself. It does not say "DPF cracked" or anything as direct as that (I am sure you know that already). It does say something about there being "a pressure difference". I assume that this means there is a blockage??

The car is overdue a service. Normally very good at this but I have been holding off until I know what I am going to do with the DPF. But I think I will just get it serviced straight away, because of what you said.

Thanks,
John

[Northern_Mike]

I'm no expert on these things, but could it not be just blocked? I believe there are people on here - there's loads of info - who've simply dismantled the DPF and washed the filter parts with a pressure washer to clean them, and put it all back together and it's worked.

[SaabC5]

John, if it does come to the worse take a look on eBay for a replacement DPF, they start at about £130 upto £300 depending on model year. Don't pay main stealer prices what ever you do! The pressure difference Lexia is sensing is because of a build up of carbon/soot in the DPF, you might be able to get away with a regeneration by taking it down a motorway at 45-50mph in 3rd gear for 10 miles or so. It needs to be in a lower gear to enable the heat to build up and burn the carbon away, the engine doesn't like the treatment but its neccessary to sort it out.

[Bob L'eponge]

I have a "depollution system fault" when I start the car. Garage said that the DFP was probably cracked and would cost €1200 to replace. I have since found out about getting it removed. There are garages in Dublin looking for €550 to do this but as far as I can see, they are just cracking the filter out and remapping the ECU.

Problem with this is that car will then emit all those carcinogenic particulates that the Fap is designed to remove.

I would also be very wary of doing this in case Ireland follows the UK and makes it illegal to drive a car whose Fap has been removed, as if this were to happen you would either have to scrap the car or spend a LOT more cash having the Fap system refitted.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new- ... ate-filter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You may well be able to get away with cleaning the old Fap and refitting it, or even just allowing the system to regenerate, perhaps using the forced regeneration option in your Lexia. (Have the oil changed afterwards.) For these older models the actual Fap unit can be found for quite a reasonable price if it does need changing. The 'cracked DFP' story the garage gave you sounds like an unlikely tale, so you may want to find someone else to take a look at it.

[RichardW]

It will now be an MOT fail in the UK, but whether they will know if you just knock the internals out is anyone's guess. You need to get some better diagnostics to see what is going on (if you get it on a Lexia you will actually be able to see the pressure differential for instance). If the DP is high, then that can hasten the demise of the turbo due to high back pressure on the turbine.

[Bob L'eponge]

It will now be an MOT fail in the UK, but whether they will know if you just knock the internals out is anyone's guess.

Won't this be obvious just by measuring the level of particulates that the car emits? After all, a properly functioning Fap system reduces particulate emissions to practically zero, or a reduction of better than 99.9% over the levels emitted by a car without a Fap system.

By the way, from this year onwards the new Euro 6 legislation will require new diesel cars to be fitted with an 'AdBlue' type system (as well as a Fap) in order to reduce Nitrogen Oxide emissions. Although this will mean having to replenish the AdBlue at each service, its use will enable the engine to be tuned for greater economy so the reductions in fuel costs should more than cover the costs of replenishing the AdBlue.

[eoghanmcn]

Hi having the same problem, wondering if you got it fixed yet and if so where?