Nice one Anzafin, i read somewhere that this could be done but i didnt know how till now.

 

Excellent job!
the same I've done a month ago.

 

Had excalt same problem last year too ... and did the same thing ...

See here...

Can confirm that car is still running fine .. no problems what so ever ...

Nice one on the guide and pics Anzafin ...

 

That's nice guys!

Not very long time from my cleaning yet, but I can confirm too --> car is running well and stronger than ever!

- Antti -

 

Antti, I have a question for you:
Do you know for sure what conditions must be fulfilled for the DPF to regenerate under normal conditions? (i.e. it not blocked, just normal regeneration process)?

You state the following about 75 degrees coolant and 240 degrees exhaust temp:
"The self cleaning process starts only if the coolant temperature is over 75°C AND the exhaust gas has reached the 240°C temperature."

Where did you find this info? I saw the following text in another forum:
"To enable service regeneration of the particle filter, regeneration must be requested in the DDE control unit. This is requested using this service function. The regeneration is started at the next trip as soon as the coolant temperature has reached a value of at least 75 °C and the exhaust-gas temperature before cat. has reached a value of at least 240 °C. Moreover, the fuel level must be at least 10 litres."

However, the conditions mentioned here (75/240) apply to the artificially requested regeneration. They could also apply to the normal regeneration, but its not clear.. Is your info sourced from this post, or do you have the temperature conditions from somewhere else?

I am asking this because I apparently have a problem with the thermostat and my car is running at 65 degrees coolant temp in country driving with around zero degrees ambient temp. I am taking the car regularly on longer drives to regenerate the filter, but after I discovered the low coolant temperature, I am no longer sure whether the DPF is regenerating at all or not? I can only hear it switching the regeneration process in city driving, so when I am on the highway at 2500 rpm the engine is loud enough and I have no clue whether its regenerating or not?

How can I be sure whether my DPF has regenerated recently or not?

Thanks for the patience in reading this, as well as for any advice

 

The statement you mentioned is from the same source as mine: BMW WDS System.

You're right it's said unclearly, but both requests apply to an "automatic" regeneration too.
I guess you should get your error memory read. I can remember I had a mention in the error memory about the clogged DPF over a year ago, but I didn't get any symptoms back then yet so I skipped it back then.

Here's a straight link to the text.

 

Anzafin, thanks for the great DIY.
What was the mileage of your car when you did it? Is all still fine?

For folks who want to go for DPF cleaning, the following link might be worth to look at. Possibly a good cleaning formula. I found it at Polish BMW forum - neither tried myself nor read review done by a user. Posting it as it "looks" good :

http://www.tunap.com/en/news/diesel-...f-replace.html

Regards
Piotr

 

Wow! I didn't know about that stuff until now!
That really looks like a worth trying!

My mileage hasn't changed, it's still good.

 

Can INPA be used to force DPF regeneration? or is there any other way? Mine has the newer engine with cat/DFP in one. I can see 2 sensors that look like spark plugs. Should I remove these and clean them? Would shorting these out trigger the ECU to regenerate when the engine is idle?

 

Cleaning the sensors could help, difficult to say...
What do you mean by shorting? Short circuiting the sensor? I think it would cause an error !

The regeneration can not be forced on with the INPA, but it can be done with the DIS. I haven't ever tried it though.