DPF Limp Mode

[simontwithers]

First off, I would like to say Hi to all forum members.

I have been reading these forums for a little while (in the background). And now have an A3 170 s-line of my own. Some of you will be familiar with the car, as it is Jordans old motor (smudge_don), yes the one that had the TT-RS brakes.

Any how,

a few days ago the DPF light came on, so following the instructions in the manual, I kept the revs above between 2000 and 3000rpm on my dual carriageway drive to Uni today (a good 20 minuites of 50mph in 4th at around 2500rpm).

Next, the amber engine management light came on and the heater plug symbol is flashing. The car will not rev above 3000rpm and is very sluggish (im guessing this is limp mode).

My question is, what are my options to get the car back to normal ? Rang Audi, and they want £114 +vat to tell me whats wrong.

I have a hand held code reader / clearer. But i dont have VAGCOM (yet).

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Simon.

 

[simontwithers]

help

 

[NHN]

Vcds mate only way forward imho via another member or buy yourself.

Ah the infamous car I had to work on, tell me, did you have any issues with headlight switch?

 

[simontwithers]

Hi NHN,

I heard that you had alot of involvement with my car in its previous life. I am a big fan of the whole OEM plus scene.
The work you have carried out on my car is a big achievement, it is no easy task to modify cars these days, what with all the electrickery. You should be proud.

I am no stranger to modifying VAG cars, but always on a mechanical basis rather than electrical.

I've done some research into my current problem, and as i have multiple warning lights, from what i've read it could be a sensor.

I understand the both the exhaust gas temp and the dpf pressure sensors are common culprits.

I will read the code(s) and see if they point to any of these.

It was only going to be a matter of time before i had to buy Vcds (playing with VAG cars). I do have a friend of a friend who has it so maybe they can help me.

In this case is Vcds likely to help me much more than my code reader ? Is it likely to be essential ?

I understand that audi has a last ditch DPF regeneration program, is this something that can be run by Vcds if i bought it ?

Alot of questions, but im keen to get this sorted.

regarding the headlight switch, i've not noticed anything. Should i keep my eye out for anything inparticular ?

Kind Regards

Simon

 

[NHN]

I heard that you had alot of involvement with my car in its previous life. I am a big fan of the whole OEM plus scene.
The work you have carried out on my car is a big achievement, it is no easy task to modify cars these days, what with all the electrickery. You should be proud.

I've done some research into my current problem, and as i have multiple warning lights, from what i've read it could be a sensor.

I understand the both the exhaust gas temp and the dpf pressure sensors are common culprits.

It was only going to be a matter of time before i had to buy Vcds (playing with VAG cars).

In this case is Vcds likely to help me much more than my code reader ? Is it likely to be essential ?

I understand that audi has a last ditch DPF regeneration program, is this something that can be run by Vcds if i bought it ?

regarding the headlight switch, i've not noticed anything. Should i keep my eye out for anything inparticular

One tries ones best & his car was a challenge yes, but good car overall, know of no problems with it when he was handed it back & up until sale date.

Code readers are no way in comparison to vcds, vcds can code, read, fault analyse, many things a code reader cant do tbh, for me code readers are a joke overall & thats not cause I sell vcds, but because they dont offer enough use to ehlp with problems like these, so if interested then let me know via PM.

In this case, without readng it I wouldnt like to big vcds up, but certainly it will be a hell of allot useful now & probably later for issues like these that hopefully wont arise again or often.

So when you bought the car, didnt Jordan say it was missing a headlight switch & that would follow later?

 

[simontwithers]

Update:

Fault code reader says 08194
Google says - 08194 particle trap bank 1 efficiency below threshold
does this mean anything to anyone?

My plan is to see if i can clear the code, then go for a good run and see if the fault repeats. I drove it back tonight at 2500 - 3000 rpm all the way home
(25 mins) so im guessing DPF should have started to burn off a bit.

If code comes back on, i'll try the exhaust gas pressure sensor.

Heres hopin'

Regards Simon

 

[NHN]

Forget the 2,000 rpm put it in 3rd and take it up to 4,000 rpm for 10 minutes, thats what someone else said & has been doing on another forum.

I wouldnt try the sensor as others have & did sweet fa, just run it high on revs & for a long period, did this recently on my inlaws meriva, did the trick after about an hour or 2, same system on all these cars, needs to be hot to burn it of which then allows dpf to work to its potential.

 

[paddy]

They used to say the same about cats when they were first fitted. Take it for a thrash round the M25 and get it ****** hot for an hour........Those were the days when the M25 was a motorway and not a lorry park. The idea of getting round above 40mph and in an hour seems daft now

 

[m4rky1985]

What year did they fit the dpf?

Will a dpf delete stop these problems? Hope I don't regret getting the 170bhp :-s

 

[simontwithers]

4000 rpm for 10mins,

Not sure i could do that to my own car

Maybe the works van, but not my beloved Audi !

I read that constant high revs at light load is the way to go, foot on the floor = more fuel = more soot = more blockage.

What are the chances of me getting out of limp mode without Audi's help ? I'll try clearing the code with my reader, maybe disconnecting the battery will fool the computer ?

 

[simontwithers]

Im thinking DPF delete, but need to discount any simple sensor fixes first.

Also the delete pipe (£360 ish) needs the software to go with it (£???). Custom code have it in one of their remaps. I wonder if they can just provide the pipe and DPF delete software? I dont want the performance Remap.

 

[NHN]

They used to say the same about cats when they were first fitted. Take it for a thrash round the M25 and get it ****** hot for an hour........Those were the days when the M25 was a motorway and not a lorry park. The idea of getting round above 40mph and in an hour seems daft now

Get round, ****** hell you can get round it now, things must be changing for the good.

4000 rpm for 10mins,

Not sure i could do that to my own car

Dont be daft, 3.5-4k is what I did for the meriva as it just doesnt work lower.

 

[simontwithers]

I plan to give the diesel a good old italian tune to get the DPF hot.

1st I have to get it out of limp mode, I've tried erasing the fault code with my code reader.

As soon as i turn ignition on, the fault code comes back.

How do i get out of the limp mode ??

Help.

 

[NHN]

Until you clear the dpf it wont go away, limp mode is protecting the engine until this is resolved, you would be wise to resolve this dpf issue asap as on some cars like say a Meriva it causes major issues & has been known to blow engines due to the pressure the dpf is causing iirc.

 

[simontwithers]

Im not entirely convinced the DPF is totally blocked. The engine went into limp mode less than 50 miles after the DPF warning light came on.

So either the light came on too late, or the filter isn't badly blocked.

I thought the sequence was supposed to be:

1. filter is 45% blocked - engine starts 10 min regenerating on its own.
2. if engine cannot complete regeneration (due to sub 15 min journeys) and filter blocks further then engine tries 20 min regeneration.
3. if engine cannot complete this regeneration and filter gets to 75% blocked - warning light comes on and driver follows instructions in manual (2000 rpm for 20 mins).
4. filter gets to 90% blocked = limp mode.

How did my filter get from 'light on' to 'limp mode' in less than 50 miles ?


In theory, if i was to change DPF for new, then how do i stop the car remembering the fault code (even after i erase it) in order to get it out of limp ??

When i erase code, it comes back without even starting car. This means cars not bothered if i fitted new parts or not, it just throws the fault when the ignition is switched on ??????

This is doing my head in !

 

[NHN]

It probably comes back due to a sensor reporting on ignition turn that the issue hasnt been cleared, for me its still a dpf issue based on what you've advised us of thus far, just give it a good burn for 30 minutes - 1hr see if helps, maybe longer as took while for meriva one to clear & know someone else did same & cleared there's, just remember dont drive at 1-2krpm all the time like my missus father & wonders why he has problem as exhaust needs more heat to burn it out.

 

[simontwithers]

Thanks for your help,

I did some more reading and I think your right about the DPF. The sensors throw a different code. My code is definitely DPF related.

Cars in limp so wont rev above 3k. I figure best chance is to hold 3000 rpm on my drive for a while to get exhaust super hot. I'll just keep an eye on the engine water and oil temp.

This will give me high temps with minimum soot from the engine due to the light loading.

I'll give it go

Thanks again

Simon

 

[dantdi]

Hope it sorts it's self out when take it out dude feel for you!

Am i the only one what dosent have problems with DPF or injectors on 170? (touch wood) Feel like im on a list waiting to be picked!!

 

[simontwithers]

Thanks for your support,

Im hoping to get it sorted one way or another this week, so i'll post the result.

I suppose most people blame audi, but i guess the DPF is forced upon them by the EU.

Is the EU good for anything ???

Regards

Simon.

 

[dantdi]

Had any luck yet with the DPF Simon?

 

[nelson19uk]

Sorry to hear your having this issue. My old 07 A4 S-line se 170 dpf had the same problem. I tried all the same antics and it ended up being the DPF sensor/controller thingy was faulty (the thing bolted to the bulkhead). I was lucky and got it replaced on warranty. THe Vag call out dude did it at the side of the road but I do recall him saying that it was a common fault and that that particular part has been superceeded because of the issue.

Hope this helps.