LED indicator

[walter]

Has anyone fitted a LED indicator to the heated mirror on a berlingo K9 van to indicate if its doing a regen i would like some pointers on fitting one thanks for any help.

[GiveMeABreak]

That's not a very accurate way of determining a regeneration specifically, because the engine ECU has various strategies for dealing with regeneration. By that I mean that it does not always need to activate electrical consumers if these are not required for the regeneration, along with the glow plug activation, so would be a bit pointless as regeneration can occur without putting a load on the engine. It all depends on the conditions at the time the filter needs regenerating as to how hot the exhaust gasses are and therefore whether additional load on the engine load is required or not.

[RichardW]

Just pop the mirror out, and then the heater connectors are exposed and you can just connect to them as required. TBH I wouldn't bother, the PSA system with Eolys is so effective that it rarely gives trouble until higher mileages - and it will flag a warning if the regen has been stopped too many times.

Pic of the mirror on my 3008 partially dismantled. Mine had been fiddled with, and the light in the mirror was effectively being the warning lamp. Not that I could see it...

[Paul-R]

That's rather negative Marc. Putting an LED inside a door mirror is an excellent idea and there are a few posts here about it. Probably not specifically for a Berlingo though. All right it won't glow during unassisted regeneration (and will glow when you put your heated rear window on!) but at least it's something.

[Steve Walsh]

Put one on my C5 X7 Tourer, Works great as a reminder not to stop if it is lit

[GiveMeABreak]

I'm with Richard - seems a bit pointless (not negative Paul) - never had an issue before with any of my HDis with DPFs - it's one of the better systems out there and if they felt it warranted an indicator that badly, I'm sure they would of fitted one. As I said, the engine ECU has strategies for dealing with failed regeneration attempts and should all of these be negated by further short journeys, then the 'Risk of Clogging' warning would come on to advise you.

[wheeler]

Yes it wont always let you know its regenerating however i would agree that its a good idea to let you know if a regen is happening so that you dont interrupt it.
In my opinion one of the biggest issues with DPF systems is not knowing when a regen is happening then interrupting it, consistently interrupting regens can cause early clogging issues yes but even worse oil dilution with diesel which can end up going really badly (just ask many Mazda owners about this). I know some manufacturers (Toyota is the one i know about) now have warning messages on the dash telling you when a regen is in progress & not to interrupt it, This should have been standard on all DPF equipped cars from day 1.
As we all know the reliability of these systems can be very dependant on driving style so one cars system may be ultra reliable for one person but not someone else.

For the sake of a few £ of parts & less than an hour of your time i can only see it as a good thing & definitely not pointless, more to be looked at as a problem avoidance system.

[walter]

i drive a truck (Volvo) for a living and when its doing a regen a warning comes on the dash and stays on while its doing the regen.