Technical 2010 Ducato problems when cold

[errolmorris]

Try adlarplant's suggestion. It's cheap and easy to do and can be a problem on petrol engined vehicles as well.

 

[windyjools]

Finally got the van back today!
The garage had it for a week, so they could see the problem live, and do more detailed investigation.
Turns out it was a fault with the control valve for the egr........that's what they said anyway!
So the egr was sticking open.
For now, the van drives as it should, let's see what happens over the next week's.
I'll be back on here if the fault reappears.

 

[andydiver]

Hi, good news. For the record I changed the oil the other day and while RE setting the service looked at the parameters available to monitor and scope. All the throttle and egr ones are there. Assuming it happens when you are looking your problem would have clearly shown up without having to open the bonnet.

 

[windyjools]

Hi, good news. For the record I changed the oil the other day and while RE setting the service looked at the parameters available to monitor and scope. All the throttle and egr ones are there. Assuming it happens when you are looking your problem would have clearly shown up without having to open the bonnet.

Yep, that was the problem! When the van was at the garage, it worked fine, only last week it really was running badly and they were able to 'see' the problem.
All's well that ends well I suppose
Compared to others, I reckon I didn't too bad.

 

[windyjools]

So now the van appears to be running as it should.....a question.
Should I invest in a blanking plate for the EGR?
There seem to be varying opinions as to whether it is a good idea, but they are pretty cheap and easy to fit.
Anyone fitted one and had good (or bad) experiences?
Or is it case of ...... if it ain't broke......don't try to fix it?

Look forward to your thoughts........

 

[CDK]

This has been discussed several times already.

Pro: the engine performs more efficiently and the intake manifold stays clean.

Con: in some countries modifications are considered illegal.

The presence of a blanking plate cannot be detected during a standard exhaust gas test because the EGR is not working under these conditions.

 

[corcai]

Con: in some countries modifications are considered illegal.

To be fair thats because without egr you can produce a couple of kilos of NOx per hour at high loads instead of a few grammes with a properly operating egr. Its a big issue in urban areas (yes lots of idling with egr off), imagine if everyone disabled their egr.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ne-week-to-breach-annual-air-pollution-limits

 

[windyjools]

This has been discussed several times already.

Pro: the engine performs more efficiently and the intake manifold stays clean.

Con: in some countries modifications are considered illegal.

The presence of a blanking plate cannot be detected during a standard exhaust gas test because the EGR is not working under these conditions.

I appreciate it has been discussed, but I haven't seen many comments from people who have actually done the mod!
As I understand it, the diesel test at the MOT, is purely a smoke test, ie, they don't test emissions as they do on a petrol vehicle.
For the cost, do you think it's worth it?

 

[CDK]

To be fair thats because without egr you can produce a couple of kilos of NOx per hour at high loads instead of a few grammes with a properly operating egr. Its a big issue in urban areas (yes lots of idling with egr off), imagine if everyone disabled their egr.

You exaggerate things!
NOx is very hard to make, to produce kilos per hour you need a chemical plant, not just a humble Fiat diesel. It is usually expressed in micrograms.
EGR lowers the emission, but most of the time (idling, slow cruising, accelerating, full throttle) it is off.

 

[corcai]

You exaggerate things!
NOx is very hard to make, to produce kilos per hour you need a chemical plant, not just a humble Fiat diesel. It is usually expressed in micrograms.
EGR lowers the emission, but most of the time (idling, slow cruising, accelerating, full throttle) it is off.

You're right is not several kg per hour I was mentally calculating, real world test I saw after the volkswagen debacle showed euro 5 ducato at 2.5g/km thats with working egr. Say motorway 130km/h thats 325g/h. With egr disabled and high loads you can multiply that significantly giving somewhere between 900g and 1.3kg for heavy engine load.