FIAT  DUCATO   CHECK ENGINE   LIGHT 

When you see this light  come on  it means  generally you have carboned  up the  diesel engine  from driving too slow, or  you have been doing short  trips ,or  letting it  idle... which will carbon the engine up   

In a world today  with emission standards  on diesels  being  stricter in european countries  than the western world .
There comes  a criteria you must follow  to respect the  diesel engine  . otherwise it will not  respect  you !!!

THIS IS CALLED A DPF  FILTER 
Diesels produce lots of soot (particulate matter) that can cause respiratory problems and contribute to the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Modern diesel vehicles  (since 2010) have to be fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) in the exhaust to stop this soot passing into the atmosphere.
To maintain performance a DPF has to be emptied regularly.  This is usually done passively in a process called 'regeneration': when the exhaust temperature’s high enough, on motorways

Active regeneration will be initiated every 300  kilometres  or so depending on how you use your vehicle  and will take approx  15 minutes to complete.
(Depending on how you have been driving) 
But it’s a problem if your journey’s too short and the regeneration doesn’t finish.
During active regeneration you may notice:

• Faster engine idle speed
• Increased fuel consumption
• A hot, acid smell from the exhaust.
• The engine sounds different

Don’t Ignore a Warning Light

It is  already  very  bad  of  carbon in the  engine  to get  the light  to come  on 
So if you get a warning light showing that the filter’s blocked, it may be possible  ( if  your lucky)  to complete an active regeneration cycle and clear the warning light by driving the vehicle  hard for 20 minutes minimum or so at speeds over  95kph.  -  Down the  motorway  or  highway

If you ignore a DPF warning light and keep driving in a relatively slow, stop/start pattern, soot will build up in the filter until your vehicle goes into ‘restricted performance mode.

If you let it get this bad:

• Driving at speed alone won’t be enough.
• You’ll have to get a dealer to do a  manual inspection
• In extreme cases they may have to replace the DPF  filter which can cost a lot of  money

In most cases there’s only a short time between the DPF being partially blocked and it getting so blocked it needs replacing , at the owners cost

BLOCKED  DPF  WITH CARBON 

THE  PREVENTION 

• All CI customers at the time of  collection of  there vehicle  are advised  to never  let the motorhome idle  to warm it  up  or to charge batteries,  traffic lights are fine
• Do Not do short trips all the time  it will carbon up the engine  ,  drive it hard  !!!    so you drive it  hard  from takeoff  up to the legal speed limit  .
  If you  drive around  like a snail it will carbon up the engine, not a fault of the Fiat , it is a fault of the driver !
  All Diesel vehicles work the  same  
• Dont  use cheap Diesel  , or diesel stored in farm tanks to avoid  contamination  .... Any of the major brands like  BP, Caltex, Z  or Mobil.... are  fine 
• Dont  buy diesel from  remote  country  service  stations  , fill up  at main cities  where  tanks are regularly  refilled  to avoid  the  possibility of  contamination 
  with water in the storage tanks  etc 

PLEASE  NOTE  :  This  works exactly   the  same  prinicipal  for any late model  diesel engine , this is NOT  solely  for  Fiat  Ducato