Stopping engine half way through regeneration
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No. If you stop the engine whilst it is doing a regen then it will leave extra unburnt diesel in the cylinders. This then drains past the piston rings and cause fuel dilution of the engine oil. Better to go for a drive until the regen stops or at least to wait until the revs drop to a normal level before turning off.
Every Euro 6 diesel company vehicle driven by an employee who doesn't own it has been switched off mid regen numerous times, as well as many privately owned ones too.
In some modern diesels it is impossible to know when it's carrying out a regen, so drivers are clearly switching them off mid regen.
Having said that, I agree with @Skyliner33 in that it's not best practice, although it won't kill your engine if you occasionally do it.
In some modern diesels it is impossible to know when it's carrying out a regen, so drivers are clearly switching them off mid regen.
Having said that, I agree with @Skyliner33 in that it's not best practice, although it won't kill your engine if you occasionally do it.
Elevated revs at idle accompanied by a god-awful smell.
Unless you have finely tuned senses, the only way I have seen it apart from connecting up Carista, is when sat in traffic and the revs are about 50rpm more than normal (1000rpm in at rest rather than the slightly less than 1000rpm normally)
I keep the odometer set at the last time I notice it had a regen and it does it on average every 200miles so I take a little extra care over it around those mileages.
I keep the odometer set at the last time I notice it had a regen and it does it on average every 200miles so I take a little extra care over it around those mileages.
I only worked this out recently but you can tell if revs are slightly higher at tickover.
If you have start stop (and you likely do) then this is an easy way to tell - it won't stop if it's regening.
Even if you don't like start stop during general driving try and get into the habit of turning it on when you park up and letting the engine stop itself - the system tracks several things to be confident of being able to operate safely in traffic so it's a really good health indicator as well as useful warning to check the revs to see if it's regening.
If you're parked up it it won't always complete a regen but it wil pause it after about 5 minutes so I always wait for that. Long trips I have a cheap OBD dongle I leave in (not my OBD11 or Carista) and an old phone running VAGDPF to keep an eye on things, I also like to drop the gearbox a couple of notches to load the engine up a bit during a regen - not so much that it helps the regen but it's better for the engine to get hot occasionally. Is it a faff, a little, but I'm planning to run the van long term so...
Even if you don't like start stop during general driving try and get into the habit of turning it on when you park up and letting the engine stop itself - the system tracks several things to be confident of being able to operate safely in traffic so it's a really good health indicator as well as useful warning to check the revs to see if it's regening.
If you're parked up it it won't always complete a regen but it wil pause it after about 5 minutes so I always wait for that. Long trips I have a cheap OBD dongle I leave in (not my OBD11 or Carista) and an old phone running VAGDPF to keep an eye on things, I also like to drop the gearbox a couple of notches to load the engine up a bit during a regen - not so much that it helps the regen but it's better for the engine to get hot occasionally. Is it a faff, a little, but I'm planning to run the van long term so...
