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

Now that all the Borders are closed  in New Zealand  due to the Coronavirus  and none of us  would even think of leaving New Zealand to travel abroad .
A large number of us  have not seen our country  , even though we have travelled overseas .
We have done  extensive  travel  around the world over the years  and when you return home to NZ  , this the time to appreciate  ,
*Our People are friendly
*NZ is Clean and Green
*Our  Fresh food is  Divine 
* It is not  expensive  here
* We have the best Scenery in the world  
* NZ is one of the Safest Destinations in the world 
With the way the NZ  Dollar  has fallen  compared to all other currencies  means that :
International  travel will be a long way off  to be able to do this  - and more  expensive 
also motorhomes  will definitely be increasing in price  ( min $5000 ) 

NOW  is the time to travel by motorhome to  see our Fabulous country  NZ called   -   PARADISE  !!
Enjoy  NZ  NOW 

STAY  SAFE
KEEP OUR DISTANCE 
LOOK  AFTER  EACH OTHER
LETS  STAMP OUT THE CORONAVIRUS  
 

CI MOTORHOMES  NZ 

INTERNAL SLIDING  DOORS 
MUST BE LOCKED  IN TRANSIT  

Very important to make sure ALL  your internal sliding doors  are clipped  into place 
before  travelling  as shown below

If you do Not clip these into place  the door will slam shut and  break the  brackets
internally on the door  ....  
Ci  will  definitely  Not cover this  under warranty  !!!!!
They never break with normal use 

For A List of  Fiat  Ducato  Service Centres  in New Zealand 

These are the only service  dealers  to use for under warranty  Fiat Ducato  vehicles
   Servicing is required  every 12 months or 20,000km  - ( which ever occurs  first  ) 

Click on this link 

https://www.cimotorhomes.co.nz/fiat_service_centres

SEE  THE   RANGE OF  USED  MOTORHOMES FOR SALE -   ON WEBSITE  
 

CLICK  HERE 

See The Range Now  !!

    
NO SWAP A BOTTLE -  IN YOUR MOTORHOME

EVERY CI MOTORHOME  HAS A  LPG - 9KG  BOTTLE  - VERY IMPORTANT-  NOT TO USE SWAP A BOTTLE
All our bottles are marked - NO SWAP A BOTTLE

ON THE ADVICE OF MOST GAS CERTIFIERS  AS FOLLOWS :

• Truma Heater and  Thetford Gas Fridge are very sensitive to gas used so get the NEW bottle refilled ONLY !!
• In winter ( super cold temperatures)  gas will seperate - so shake bottle to mix gases together  
• Always turn bottle on slowly when changing over  
  
  
  For a list of filling stations  go to  
  https://www.ongas.co.nz/fill-stations

ALL CI MOTORHOMES IN NZ HAVE INSTALLED and upgraded to the  TRUMA COMBI 6KW GAS  -  (  not a 4kw  )
 

WINTER MODE 

Now that the temperatures have started to drop and we are at the start of winter - when you operate your truma heater inside the motorhome it will automatically heat the hot water for you   -  this is known as Winter mode !

Please also read on our other blog about the Truma Frost Valve during winter 

Is a Paint Protection -  And Literally Brilliant if you look after it  !!

IT IS  IMPORTANT  WITH DURASEAL IF APPLIED  ON YOUR MOTORHOME 

• To Not wash the vehicle  when it is Hot or in the sun
• To Not put a cover over the motorhome when you have Duraseal
• To Only wash with a sponge after you have hosed it down 5 minutes after
• To Never wash the windows with a brush ( only with a  wet microfibre cloth  )
• To Only wash motorhome with water No Chemicals
• Every 9 months use the Duraseal wash - 6 capfuls in a bucket of water and wash down with a sponge
• Dont spray the motorhome with water to rinse off - take end of spray fitting and just use water straight out of hose

FIAT  COMFORT-MATIC   -  (  6  Speed  Automatic  )
 

HOW  TO  LOOK AFTER THE  COMFORT-MATIC  TRANSMISSION   !!!

With over  5  million Fiat Ducatos  manufactured  as of  2015   , the  Comfort-matic  is a great  gearbox  - found worldwide
This  is  a manual gearbox  controlled  by a  mechanical robot  to change  gear 
The numbers have proven the reliability , but if  not respected you will destroy the comfort-matic  clutch plate  ,
just like a manual clutch  where we have had a rental customer  destroy a  Fiat Ducato  manual  clutch at  2500km 

.

The IMPORTANT  thing is  to drive it as per  manufacturers  recommendations  below
, not  as you think  , otherwise  you will have  problems  .
Too  many times  instruction books  are only read  , after a fault  develops 
ALL our  customers are advised  from when vehicle is  New the following information at pick up 
 

IMPORTANT  POINTS 

• Never -  Use the accelelerator to hold the vehicle  from rolling back  on hill  - ( waiting for lights to change )
• Always -  Change to Manual  Gear  -  when climbing hills   ( to prevent  gear change hunting  ) 
• Crawling through  townships  -   ALWAYS  - use  manual  gear  to change down  and stay in that manual gear
  
  All of  these items  above  are important  for a long clutch life  , if  you do Not  adhere to manufacturers  instructions  you will be having
  to pay for a New Clutch  . 

We always advise our rental customers driving  comfort-matic  motorhome the correct  operation  otherwise , abuse will incur a fee for a new clutch ,
at the  hirers  expense  ,  a  comfort-matic  clutch was never  ever  replaced  in our  rental  fleet .