its the anti pollution fault Jim, but maybe not as we know it

[irishboyracer]

Evening

I've a 2004 307 HDI 2.0 with the 136bhp engine. I've had the anti pollution fault show up with the warning light on the dash. Having read around the forums i've read up on common faults which this could be but the sequences over the last 2 weeks have made me wonder if this may be one of the exceptions. Having bought the car about 4 weeks ago, the anti pollution fault was showing which I had the 2nd hand dealer agreed to clear before I picked it up. They filled the diesel additive which was low and reset the system which cleared the fault. Two days later the anti pollution fault came back so we agreed to let Peugeot have a look after I had taken it down the motorway for a blast for 20 minutes at 75 in 4th which didnt clear the fault either. My local Peugeot dealership hooked it up to their system and said the fault was being caused because the glow plugs were needing replaced, i think they said as they were in pretty poor nick the system couldn't get enough heat in the system to start the regen. I had asked if the FAP filter would need replaced and they said they were confident that the forced regen they performed at the garage would clear anything left in the FAP unit and the filter wouldn't need replaced. Got it back about 2 weeks ago and after 3 days of happy motoring the fault and the warning light came back whilst doing about 30 along the main road to work. Booked it in with Peugeot again to be taken in last thursday after taking it for another blast down the motorway to force a regen which didnt clear it. when i was driving it down the motorway this time tho the anti pollution fault flashed up, the only time apart from driving to work when the fault came showed on the display apart from when starting the car the engine. The day before it was due to go back into Peugeot for them to have another look, the fault mysteriously went away. Came back again on Friday and cleared itself again on Friday night without me doing anything. Its sunday night now and the fault thankfully has not come back . . . touch wood.

Just wondering if from the events if anyone has any ideas? Only think I can think of would be a faulty sensor at play or maybe the could still be the fap filter?

Cheers for any thoughts.

Paul

[bettyswollocks]

Its French

Had one myself this morning ,done a reading comes back all clear ,then it throws up "oil pressue insufficient" just replaced that sensor few months back so looks like another one needed ,

don`t you just love them.

ps, whereabouts are you?

[PureJoe]

Originally Posted by irishboyracer

[...]Two days later the anti pollution fault came back so we agreed to let Peugeot have a look after I had taken it down the motorway for a blast for 20 minutes at 75 in 4th which didnt clear the fault either. My local Peugeot dealership hooked it up to their system and said the fault was being caused because the glow plugs were needing replaced, i think they said as they were in pretty poor nick the system couldn't get enough heat in the system to start the regen. [...]
Cheers for any thoughts.

Paul

It may well be that your glow plugs were not 100% but AFAIK, glow plugs have absolutely nothing to do with regen or the supply of Eolys or its reaction in the DPF. Glow plugs are only of any consequence on starting a diesel. Forget glow plugs as part of this problem.

The basic idea of glow plugs is that the vaporised diesel is compressed, thus raising its temperature to its flash point. In a very cold engine, the heat caused by the initial compression stroke may be lost as the heat is absorbed in the cylinder walls, thus flash point is not reached. The next stroke then introduces more diesel and floods the place and the engine doesn't start or at least takes its time starting. The Glow plug helps by heating the cylinder before induction and compression, thus cutting out the heat loss.

Once the engine is running, the glow plug does nothing. It just sits there waiting for the next cold start.

As far as regen is concerned, the AA have a good article here http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice...e-filters.html This shows that short runs cripple the DPF and even long runs in 6th do little to help.

Basically, the Cerium in the Eolys attracts Oxygen in an exothermic reaction (up to 600 deg C) and incinerates the particles trapped in the DPF - the resultant ash is then expelled through the exhaust and theoretically, all should be fine.

The amount of Elolys injected into the fuel is tiny (see AA link) and directly linked to the amount of fuel put in the tank.

I am told (thanks zooankski) that the fuel filler cap sensor records when it is opened. The ECU consults the fuel gauge and works out how much has been added. It then instructs the Eolys reservoir to dose the diesel with the correct amount. A forced regen overrides this.

Optimistically, it sounds like your DPF was well blocked and is taking a while to do the job but is on its way to sucess. I suggest keeping in a lower gear than normal and doing a few long runs (over 50 miles) at around the 3000 rpm mark - even if nothing happens, it's relatively cheap.

[irishboyracer]

bettyswollocks - am now in newcastle upon tyne but hail from ballymena, which might explain my liking for the diesels.

Purejoe - thanks for advice and an interesting article. Will keep running a little longer to see if the warning comes back, fingers crossed. With my work i get out a little each month onto the motorways so dont think i'll be that keen to keep it ticking over in 6th too often, 5th may be the better long term option.
interested stuff about the glow plugs - I wasnt too knowledgable on them, tho i forgot another thing Peugeot said they had to leave one of the in oil overnight as it was jammed so it would only have been a matter of time before it exposed itself.

cheers.

[bettyswollocks]

Ballymena Hi , not to far from me, Ballycastle but living in Armoy now.

[irishboyracer]

Thought I would update the current situation. After a few weeks and manual regens later the anitpollution fault and the engine management light have been on for all but 5 days, occassionally went off for a day or so and then came back on. So its back in at peugeot over this weekend.

Checked the receipt from last time it was in and saw they also replaced the air temperature sensor. They've come back and said the fault is being caused by a faulty Airflow Sensor which I'm now waiting to be delivered and fitted. May be some logic as I didnt tell them that the lights and warning went off for a day when it was pouring with rain all day. There seems to be a little logicalness in that but i think i could be clutching at straws from a lack of knowledge. Had a chat with the mechanic this morning and he seemed a little surprised i didnt get a loss of power when the warning light and warning message was displayed. I'm wondering if thats maybe why they're rulling out the DPF.

In the mean time i have the delights of a petrol 207 1.4S 75bhp, grippy but a canny bit lackluster compared to the powers of the HDi. Fingers crossed its second time lucy

[irishboyracer]

Originally Posted by irishboyracer

Thought I would update the current situation. After a few weeks and manual regens later the anitpollution fault and the engine management light have been on for all but 5 days, occassionally went off for a day or so and then came back on. So its back in at peugeot over this weekend.

Checked the receipt from last time it was in and saw they also replaced the air temperature sensor. They've come back and said the fault is being caused by a faulty Airflow Sensor which I'm now waiting to be delivered and fitted. May be some logic as I didnt tell them that the lights and warning went off for a day when it was pouring with rain all day. There seems to be a little logicalness in that but i think i could be clutching at straws from a lack of knowledge. Had a chat with the mechanic this morning and he seemed a little surprised i didnt get a loss of power when the warning light and warning message was displayed. I'm wondering if thats maybe why they're rulling out the DPF.

In the mean time i have the delights of a petrol 207 1.4S 75bhp, grippy but a canny bit lackluster compared to the powers of the HDi. Fingers crossed its second time lucy

Had the car back a week now and the replacement of the airflow sensor seems to have cleared the fault. fingers crossed it has worked.