Engine Malfunction Message MB Titanium

[borntoshop666]

Hi all,
i've been getting a "Engine Malfunction" Msg in my MB Titanium Diesel.
First the warning msg comes on and disappeares when you hit the OK button on the Steering Wheel [it does come back every time you start the Car], then a few days later the orange Engine Block Warning Light comes on.
On every Occasion, I took it back to Ford and was told that the Sensor didnt kick in to start the Burn off of the Soot in the Filter.
the Regenaration was done manually and everything was fine for about a week or 2. Then the same thing happened again. A manual Regen was done last Wednesday and the Warning Msg came on yesterday.
This has happened now 4 times this year and once last year.
Has anyone else had the same Issue? and if so how was it fixed?
Car has travelled 208 000 km since Sep 2010.
thanks for any Feedback

[GTMOND]

I had the same thing on my MA mondeo, I just went for a spirited drive on the open road with the revs up to get it to do its own regeneration. But then I change the oil to clear the message. Has done 20,000 odd thousand since then and been all good. But yours has a lot more Klm's than mine.

[borntoshop666]

yeah I tried that, but to no avail.
I do a mix of City and Hwy driving but because the Diesel always sits at a low Rev Range, i actually had it in 5th Gear on the Motorway doing 110kmh for about 1/2 hour.
Apparently it needs to be between 2500 and 3500 rpm to come up to the correct temperatur to start the Process.
once I had the manual regeneration done at Ford they did a Service as well
go Figure..

[borntoshop666]

Hi all,
just an update on the Issue i had with the Car.
Ford replaced the Fuel Vapouriser, the old one had a build up of Carbon and did not function properly, hence the Engine Malfunction Message.
All up it cost $950 but the difference has been noticable.
Fuel Consumption in Sydney Peak Hour Traffic has not been above 6.0l/100km and on a recent Trip to the Snowy Mountains via canberra I averaged 5.5l/100km.
So all up happy with the result.

[ryeman]

Originally Posted by borntoshop666

Hi all,
just an update on the Issue i had with the Car.
Ford replaced the Fuel Vapouriser, the old one had a build up of Carbon and did not function properly, hence the Engine Malfunction Message.
All up it cost $950 but the difference has been noticable.
Fuel Consumption in Sydney Peak Hour Traffic has not been above 6.0l/100km and on a recent Trip to the Snowy Mountains via canberra I averaged 5.5l/100km.
So all up happy with the result.

I'm starting to wonder if these complex diesels are worth going after when you can get quite good economy out of EcoBoost types for sig lower initial price.?
Local dealer had a 2.0 TDI 6A 2008 with just 58K for $17990 DA...don't know if that's a good deal.

[mik]

yeah it is a bit of a mystery Ryeman , my own thoughts are that even though car x with hi tech engine built for economy and is considerably better on fuel may in fact be much closer in running cost to the more conventional engined car of similar size that needs almost zero maintenance other than oil/filter changes( i could be wrong though ).

[Tracy72]

Hello, did you have to pay to have the fuel vaporiser changed? They didn't cover it under warranty?? We are having the same problems with our Mondeo and it's getting quite frustrating taking it back to Ford Constantly and being told that they can't find anything and that it should be fine now. Our Mondeo is also losing power and it's happened to me twice where it could have caused a serious accident. It's sad because otherwise we LOVE the Mondeo.

[ope126]

Have you every tried using a Diesel Additive whenever you fill up?
Or try a DPF Additive every now and then.

I always use BP Ultimate Diesel from the same bowser and keep the receipt.
I have also been adding CleenDiesel for the past few years with every tank. I now use Morey's Diesel Smoke Killer as CleenDiesel is no longer sold retail, only commercial.

There are a variety of additives on the market, do your own research and use what works for you. I would say it is better to use, than not to use!

[rondeo]

Originally Posted by borntoshop666

Hi all,
just an update on the Issue i had with the Car.
Ford replaced the Fuel Vapouriser, the old one had a build up of Carbon and did not function properly, hence the Engine Malfunction Message.
All up it cost $950 but the difference has been noticable.
Fuel Consumption in Sydney Peak Hour Traffic has not been above 6.0l/100km and on a recent Trip to the Snowy Mountains via canberra I averaged 5.5l/100km.
So all up happy with the result.

My 2011 MC TDCi also has the fuel vapouriser issue, EML on and P269F. This is the first mechanical issue in 138808km.

There has been a TSB on P269F, but the one I've seen applies only to Oct 2010.

Commonly the heating element blows, or the vapouriser blocks up.

The car runs normally, but if you keep driving you might end up with a DPF problem, because regen can't be done without vapouriser.

[rondeo]

Anyone having same issue might be interested in DIY.

Steps taken:

1) Check vaporizer fuse F6 in engine bay, OK.

2) Check relay 4, vaporizer. OK.

3) Measure vaporizer element resistance. 1 ohm (on the relay terminal). Seems plausible ie 144 watts when energised, not open circuit as advertised by DTC.

4) Inspect connector and wiring underneath. Looks OK but can't see how to unplug the electrical connector. Fuel connectors look intimidating as well.

5) Conclusion: Looks to me like vaporizer and circuit is OK. Reset DTCs, go for a drive and see what's next.

[rondeo]

Done 80km since DTC erased. No recurrence.
Conclusion: Beats me.

[NZ XR6]

Originally Posted by borntoshop666

yeah I tried that, but to no avail.
I do a mix of City and Hwy driving but because the Diesel always sits at a low Rev Range, i actually had it in 5th Gear on the Motorway doing 110kmh for about 1/2 hour.
Apparently it needs to be between 2500 and 3500 rpm to come up to the correct temperatur to start the Process.
once I had the manual regeneration done at Ford they did a Service as well
go Figure..

I know this is an old post but thought I'd mention that it's not correct. My MB will start a regen during normal motorway running in 6th, once after 20 minutes from a cold start. I know this because the regen was in progress when I came off the motorway, and this has now happened 3 times.

I thought there was an engine fault the first time, as the engine was much louder than usual at low speed! I really wish there was a message saying that a regen was in progress, then you could keep going until the cycle completed.

[whitelion65]

Originally Posted by NZ XR6

I know this is an old post but thought I'd mention that it's not correct. My MB will start a regen during normal motorway running in 6th, once after 20 minutes from a cold start. I know this because the regen was in progress when I came off the motorway, and this has now happened 3 times.

I thought there was an engine fault the first time, as the engine was much louder than usual at low speed! I really wish there was a message saying that a regen was in progress, then you could keep going until the cycle completed.

That would be useful.
My MC usually starts a regen. as we back into the garage :-/

[ope126]

Originally Posted by whitelion65

That would be useful.
My MC usually starts a regen. as we back into the garage :-/

Have a look at your instant fuel consumption.

Normally at idle it would be between 1.0L/h - 1.4L/h but when a Regen is active it will display something around 2.6L/h.

[rondeo]

Just need an LED wired to relay 4 control?

Here's more gumf from the Ford Wiki manual:

The pressure differential sensor is connected to the DPF by the pressure differential sensor lines to monitor the pre-pressure and post-pressure of the DPF. The pressure differential sensor converts these measurements to a signal voltage, which is then sent to the PCM to be used as part of the decision of whether to apply the regeneration process or not.
The PCM will choose the optimum time for the regeneration of the DPF. Under normal operating conditions the regeneration process occurs when the PCM has calculated that the DPF requires regeneration and that predetermined vehicle conditions are met (for example coolant temperature, vehicle speed and engine load).

[NZ XR6]

Originally Posted by rondeo

Just need an LED wired to relay 4 control?

Here's more gumf from the Ford Wiki manual:

The pressure differential sensor is connected to the DPF by the pressure differential sensor lines to monitor the pre-pressure and post-pressure of the DPF. The pressure differential sensor converts these measurements to a signal voltage, which is then sent to the PCM to be used as part of the decision of whether to apply the regeneration process or not.
The PCM will choose the optimum time for the regeneration of the DPF. Under normal operating conditions the regeneration process occurs when the PCM has calculated that the DPF requires regeneration and that predetermined vehicle conditions are met (for example coolant temperature, vehicle speed and engine load).

Trouble is it doesn't know what the driver is going to do!

Thanks for that info.

[Binny]

I agree a light or notification would be nice. Its not like a dealer is going to explain what a DFP cycle is and what the symptoms are.
The first time it happened to me I pulled up at the lights and the car was shuddering and carrying on and I thought I had broken it.
But yes once you know about it the instantaneous consumption of 2.6L/h at idle is a good way to confirm it.
I think an indication would also help keep an eye on any potential issues. If you see it doing them more often than usual it may not like the tank of fuel you have put in for example.

[bundybear75]

How often does the DPF do a burn?

Ive done a little over 5000km in the last couple of months and haven't noticed a burn yet.

My daily commute includes almost 100km highway each way with cruise set, so it could well happen whilst I'm doing that.

The Isuzu trucks I used to drive through work had indicators and a gauge to tell you when they were due for a burn. As they were plant trucks and often in grassy paddocks running with PTO engaged, you didn't want any surprise burns so you could force it to complete one at a convenient time. There was a setting in the ECU that would prevent the truck auto burning when the PTO was engaged but if it was overdue it would throw a CEL

[NZ XR6]

Originally Posted by bundybear75

How often does the DPF do a burn?

Ive done a little over 5000km in the last couple of months and haven't noticed a burn yet.

My daily commute includes almost 100km highway each way with cruise set, so it could well happen whilst I'm doing that.

My understanding is every few hundred km, but it depends what sort of driving you do. You won't notice it at highway speeds. I think I've seen the fuel consumption go up sometimes when cruising, but hard to be sure. With your commute, it won't need to regen very often.

I used to go on the UK Talkford forum when I had the MA, and there were certainly regen problems with the early Mk 4 diesels. But from the MB on it seems to be pretty much problem free. Has anyone here had a DPF problem?

[rondeo]

What fails are the systems which unblock the dpf:

'The newly developed silicon-carbide ceramic filter is being used in combination with the
latest common rail technology operating with up to four injection cycles. While capturing
diesel particulate in the fine filter structure of the ceramic element is relatively easy, filter
regeneration under the various operating conditions of the vehicle is considerably more
difficult and requires an enormous amount of control technology involving the entire diesel
engine.' (Persinformatie/Ford)

Some have had issues with the fuel vapour injection 'glow plug' system, which injects fuel vapour into the dpf bringing the temp up to about 600 deg C. Unless this is dealt with the dpf will eventually be stuffed because the soot level is too high to allow a burn off.

Another problem has been with the rubber tubes to the differential pressure sensor. These can get brittle with heat and crack open.

Otherwise seems to be a very reliable system. Constant very short trips excepted?

[Binny]

Originally Posted by bundybear75

How often does the DPF do a burn?

Ive done a little over 5000km in the last couple of months and haven't noticed a burn yet.

My daily commute includes almost 100km highway each way with cruise set, so it could well happen whilst I'm doing that.

This was my point earlier I guess.
There is no set interval. It does them as required and can depend on how you drive, driving conditions and the quality of the fuel. Ie, how much soot its blowing. Prior to DPFs you knew if you had a crook batch of diesel by how much soot it was chucking out the back.
Ideally it does it while you are cruising on the motorway so you won't even notice. I can go months without noticing a dpf cycle. Then sometimes I have noticed them 3 times in a week which to me could indicate bad diesel. It was also down on power at the time and had generic brand diesel from a servo I don't normally use.

IMO some sort of indication when its doing them would help alert you if there was a potential issue as you would get used to how often it does them normally.

[rondeo]

Ford has succeeded in making dpf emission control invisible to most customers?

[NZ XR6]

Not quite, you will notice if you interrupt a regen cycle. But that's only happened to me 3 times in 5 years.

Don't give Ford the credit, the engines are really made by Peugeot!