Today I came across my car showing the message “DPF regeneration in progress”
when it pops up the engine isn’t idle and engine noise increases.
What causes it? What you should do when the message pops up?
In: 9
Semi truck mechanic here
A DPF is a Diesel Particulate Filter. It’s sole job is to catch the soot/carbon suspended in the exhaust fumes as it’s flowing through your exhaust. Basically, a DPF is a soot filter
Like all filters, they get blocked up/full up after a while, and it can no longer filter properly. So when a DPF is full, it’s basically sooted up/clogged up with loads of carbon.
A DPF Regeneration is the process a vehicle does to clean out the filter. Basically, the soot clogging up the DPF can be burnt out. That’s why it increased your revs, because it’s trying to get the exhaust temperature inside the DPF as hot as safely possible to burn out all the soot, which empties the DPF out.
In Semi trucks, I can’t speak for all of them because I only know Volvos, but they actually have a diesel injector inside the exhaust pipe just after the turbo, and just before the DPF. It’s sole purpose is to spray fuel into the exhaust during a DPF regeneration which then ignites and gets the exhaust VERY hot.
When I get a truck on a regen, the exhaust temperature is around 600°C (1,110° F). So yeah, basically, a DPF regeneration is the vehicle getting the DPF hot and burning out all the soot that’s blocking it up.
To my knowledge I don’t think any cars have a fuel injector in the exhaust for DPF regens though, A) because the DPF on a car is much smaller so it wouldn’t need a heat so extreme, but also cars are much more compact and if the exhaust was at 600°C in a car it would probably melt or set fire to everything surrounding it lol.
Also, to anyone wondering why I said semi truck, and then used Celsius instead of farenheit, I’m actually from the U.K. . We call them lorries or trucks here, but people who aren’t from the U.K. don’t seem to understand what I mean when I say lorry, and if I say truck then it’s vague as to whether I mean a heavy goods vehicle, or a pickup truck, especially since truck in america could mean pickup truck or semi truck lol.
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