Eolys help!

[Dellalloydpembs]

Bought a Citroen c4 grande Picasso in Jan and now have a warning saying the dpf fluid is too low, opened her up and the current bag is eolys 176 psa 9670817280 but I’m going around in circles online trying to find the right pouch to buy to replace mine, the bags completely wrecked I’m amazed it hadn’t popped up a warning before now!

Number on door pillar 11893FV
Reg OE09LGJ
VIN is VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]

Desperately need my car back on the road and wanted to get ordered today but google isn’t helping!! Thank you so much for taking the time to help me

[GiveMeABreak]

You need a 2.4 litre Pouch of Powerflex Additive for this vehicle.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332875654176

[Dellalloydpembs]

I don’t think a 2.4 litre pouch is going to fit, the one that was there was a 1.7 and looks like it would be snug

[GiveMeABreak]

I'm just going off the official part. It's a 2.4 litre pouch and also, you will need to reset the additive counter using Lexia, otherwise the engine ECU or additive ECU (depending on what you have fitted) will not know you have replaced the pouch and you will still get warnings.

Note: It's possible somebody has fitted the incorrect pouch before.....

[Dellalloydpembs]

I’m guessing once replaced even though I get the warnings the additive will still Actualy be doing it’s job so the dpf isn’t going to get blocked? Atm I’m not using the car as don’t want to cause any extra problems driving around with no fluid and it’s going to be a nightmare not having the car until sorted, I’m hoping once the bags replaced I can find someone local to put the light out, I don’t have much hope though as of the 3 people I contacted one didn’t reply, one said easy enough to do yourself and another offered to delete they system off the car so that we didn’t need to use the additive! (I’m really not mechanically minded but even I know that’s going to be a bigger problem) I just need to be sure about what I’m putting in it so I don’t kill it!

[GiveMeABreak]

You can't just put the light out unless it's been properly reset using the specified procedure in the menu.

You could just get Citroen to do the whole thing and be done with it.

Any so called mechanic offering DPF deletion advice deserves to go out of business. It's illegal, will likely void your insurance and could land you with a huge bill not to mention on-going faults. If you knew the number of second hand owners we hear about here and the abject misery caused by the likes of these idiots and the costs they have to incur to rectify and restore the systems, you'd understand.

Naturally, we don't condone any such action here and will not support anyone wishing to.

[Dellalloydpembs]

My nearest Citroen garage is about a hours drive away, I’m really not happy driving it that far tbh, I just want it sorted asap and as cheep as possible

[Dellalloydpembs]

And yup I have no intention of deleting the dpf, as soon as I read that I decided I would never be using that ‘mechanic’ for anything. If he thinks it’s ok to do then he’s obviously not got a clue

[GiveMeABreak]

No worries.

The issue with the additive fluid systems used by PSA is that although they are very effective when working, the actual additive tanks have no physical gauge to measure the fluid (for reservoir systems), so the engine ECU has to be told the tank has been topped up or the a new pouch fitted). It keeps a count of the amount of fluid that has been metered and from this along with the known quantity of fluid to start with works out how much Cerine has been deposited in the filter (Cerine plus other engine deposits and ash that can't be burned off during regernation). This is what ultimately blocks the filter which then requires a deep clean or replacement, but this should only need to be done at about 100k to 115k miles, so not bad really.

The fluid is usually good for 70k miles and should then be topped up (and the counter reset), so the engine ECU can keep track of things.

In your case, the engine ECU looks at what it thinks is the additive amount remaining in the tank, and estimates how many miles this equates to before it runs out and compares it with your service / maintenance counter on the dash (miles until next service due). If it doesn't think there is enough fluid to last before the next service it flags up the warning message.

So if you check your service indicator when starting up, it should tell you how many miles to go until the next service.

[Dellalloydpembs]

So the fluid may have run out a while ago then and I wouldn’t have been told? The ‘risk of dpf blockage’ message has popped up a few times over the last few weeks but I put that down to driving like a granny and not going quick enough to make it regenerate…when I opened it up the bags completely empty and full of holes and the bottom of the casing is all sticky from the spilt stuff…I’m seriously hoping I haven’t damaged it!! Any recommendations on how to find someone to reset the counter once changed? I don’t want to be messed around by cowboys! There’s a protyre garage 5mins from my house and they seemed decent enough during a past mot but not sure if they would do the light side of things if they haven’t done the fluid change

[GiveMeABreak]

Some people incorrectly decide to try and refill a pouch system and that is not a good idea as they are not designed to be refilled - just replaced, due to the damage caused to the bag on fitting it initially and removing it (then refilling and refitting), so it's no wonder the bags leak and fluid gets everywhere, with the risk of the additive pump dry-running.

As for replacing, use the correct bag size as I have said and linked to above or get Citroen to do the job for you.
Resetting the additive ECU has to be done with an appropriate professional level tool like Lexia or Diagbox. This can have issues and may still need dealer intervention if unsuccessful.

So if you do not have the support of assisted regeneration, the vehicle is going to rely on natural regeneration and to do that, the exhaust gas temperature must reach 550°C instead of the lower 450°C with assisted regeneration.

This can only be achieved on a good run where the engine can get up to temperature. Keeping the revs slightly higher by avoiding 5th / 6th gear and driving 40 mph minimum for a good half an hour or so. But no guarantees. If the particle filter is anywhere between 70% or greater blocked, then regeneration (natural, assisted or forced) may become impossible and the DPF will need deep cleaning or replacement.

[Rp0thejester]

So the fluid may have run out a while ago then and I wouldn’t have been told? The ‘risk of dpf blockage’ message has popped up a few times over the last few weeks but I put that down to driving like a granny and not going quick enough to make it regenerate…when I opened it up the bags completely empty and full of holes and the bottom of the casing is all sticky from the spilt stuff…I’m seriously hoping I haven’t damaged it!! Any recommendations on how to find someone to reset the counter once changed? I don’t want to be messed around by cowboys! There’s a protyre garage 5mins from my house and they seemed decent enough during a past mot but not sure if they would do the light side of things if they haven’t done the fluid change

Not sure on the light side but it sounds like you've running quite awhile without Eolys, all I can suggest whilst you wait to get it in a garage is to add a dpf cleaner in with your fuel when you fill, that should help to stop it from blocking.

[PaulC5]

If looks as if the fluid has leaked out due to failure of the additive pouch rather than being used up normally. You might find a pool of additive on your drive somewhere. Hence the counter will not know it has run out so there would not have been any warnings about a low additive level. The first you have known is when the risk of dpf blockage message has come up due to no additive being injected.

[Dellalloydpembs]

Car is parked on road outside house and not noticed a pool there but tbh I’m wondering if it was already gone when we got the car…I assumed the risk of dpf blockage message was literally just because it needed to be driven but faster for a bit longer…I’m really hoping this fluid being put back will clear the risk of blockage message and I haven’t done damage already…atm I’m absolutly skint so if it’s done damage I’m screwed

[GiveMeABreak]

It all depends on the sort of journeys you have been doing. If they are not short, stop and start journeys, then there is a chance that the particle filter has been able to regenerate naturally if the exhaust gasses get hot enough as explained in my last post. However the issue may be with the additive pump itself. If it has been trying to operate with no fluid then there may be some damage to the additive pump.

The only way to tell is to see if it operates with a diagnostic tool - which you'll need anyway to reset the counter when you do replace the bag.