Reduce oil level and Oil dilution

[Jeff G]

@totitxu, says: (Translated for the benefit of readership on the forum )

"I'm glad it helps you, I'm very happy with it, as you said, it warns you at the beginning and end of the regeneration and I have to say that the oil level remains at the same level as when they changed the oil. And it hasn't given me any problem of any kind."

-----------

Same results here. I fitted the device shortly after an oil and filter change service, with the same results ....no change in oil levels after approx 650 miles mixed journeys.

Best regards,
Jeff

 

[Graham Jones]

@totitxu, says: (Translated for the benefit of readership on the forum )

"I'm glad it helps you, I'm very happy with it, as you said, it warns you at the beginning and end of the regeneration and I have to say that the oil level remains at the same level as when they changed the oil. And it hasn't given me any problem of any kind."

-----------

Same results here. I fitted the device shortly after an oil and filter change service, with the same results ....no change in oil levels after approx 650 miles mixed journeys.

Best regards,
Jeff

Thanks Jeff. Did you have any trouble fitting it into the socket. I have a T6.1 and I am not sure whether the obd socket is situated in the same under dash molding? Cheers.

 

[Jeff G]

Thanks Jeff. Did you have any trouble fitting it into the socket. I have a T6.1 and I am not sure whether the obd socket is situated in the same under dash molding? Cheers.

@Graham Jones, No issues in my case. The LED which plugs into the OBD insert has a decent length lead, about 600mm. Even if your OBD is in a slightly different location it won't be an issue. You can position the LED to suit your preference. I imagine your OBD port will be in the same place as my own. Once plugged in you cannot see it at all so would not know it is there unless you looked for it. I consider it to be a 'Plug and Play device', in that, if necessary, it can be removed (unplugged) for service diagnostics, then replaced to continue its purpose.

 

[archersam]

@Graham Jones, No issues in my case. The LED which plugs into the OBD insert has a decent length lead, about 600mm. Even if your OBD is in a slightly different location it won't be an issue. You can position the LED to suit your preference. I imagine your OBD port will be in the same place as my own. Once plugged in you cannot see it at all so would not know it is there unless you looked for it. I consider it to be a 'Plug and Play device', in that, if necessary, it can be removed (unplugged) for service diagnostics, then replaced to continue its purpose.

Am liking the look of this, however quick question = if it comes on when say you arrive home is it ok to leave running at 1000 revs and get on with unloading shopping (secure site behind gates so very little risk as such) or do you need to drive it etc etc?

Couple of times I have noticed the 1000 revs as I stop my reverse into the parking area and so often notice but a warning be nicer.

 

[Jeff G]

Am liking the look of this, however quick question = if it comes on when say you arrive home is it ok to leave running at 1000 revs and get on with unloading shopping (secure site behind gates so very little risk as such) or do you need to drive it etc etc?

Couple of times I have noticed the 1000 revs as I stop my reverse into the parking area and so often notice but a warning be nicer.

I can’t give a definitive answer …. I wondered the same and decided to drive rather than let the van just idle, purely because the DPF regeneration would be completed as perhaps intended…. while being driven and therefore perhaps a hotter DPF state to burn off the soot? It would be interesting to know how long the regeneration takes to complete both driving, and at a standstill?

Historically, I never really noticed the increased revs before …. And never really remembered to check when my journey ended . For me it now just works and alongside regular oil level checks, satisfies my need to do what I can to hopefully, avoid further problems.

 

[DXX]

It would be interesting to know how long the regeneration takes to complete both driving, and at a standstill?

Diesel engine exhaust gas temperature varies a lot with the change of load. I doubt that idling is going to be beneficial, quite possibly more detrimental as there is insufficient gas flow and temperature to do an effective job.
For all the needless gadgets that VW and other manufacturers put on vehicles the one set of measurements that would really help with engine diagnostics is individual cylinder exhaust gas temperatures. This is fundamental in industrial ICE plant.

 

[mmi]

It would be interesting to know how long the regeneration takes to complete both driving, and at a standstill?

Fascinating question.... actually at standstill T6 engine gives up regeneration in about 5 minutes - continuing it on the next driving cycle.

Below a plot of an approx.10 minute standstill while regeneration still going on when stopped.

GREY = vehicle speed​

GREEN = EGR position which being around zero here is to just indicate regen on/off on the plot.​

ORANGE = DPF soot (calculated) which for this engine varies from 30 grams (full) down to 9 grams when regeneration is finished.​

Markers on orange curve indicate: 1st - vehicle at standstill, 2nd - engine gives up active DPF regeneration - because of cooler exhaust gases.



Statistics

• During active regeneration soot burnt at standstill -2.69 grams (from 14.31 to 11.62 grams at markers) - to finish off the regen should have reached 9 grams. Outside temperature was +20 °C.
• DPF active regeneration duration at standstill stayed on 600 seconds (from 1065 to 1365 seconds - the markers).
• During that 0.21 litres of fuel was used (seen in other data, not plotted here). For comparison, without DPF regeneration less than 0.07 litres would have been consumed (0.8 litres/hour).
• The engine gives up active DPF regeneration at 1365 seconds thus returning EGR back to normal operation as well releasing the high idling back to normal 830 RPM.
• Thus "soot burn rate" at standstill was 0.54 grams/minute (in average over the 5 minutes) , however rate is deteriorating quite quickly being below 0.40 grams during last 100 seconds before engine giving up the regen.
• For comparison, while vehicle moving (above 50 km/h) the burn rate is well above 1.5 grams/minute at the hottest phase.

For myself I have concluded that it doesn't make sense to try to finish the DPF regeneration at standstill - unless it's just about to finish off the regen. I guess that one of flipsides of letting engine to do regeneration at standstill is getting oil diluted with fuel.

Some related threads

[T6_measured] DPF regeneration vs. short journeys

Got curious how T6 copes with doing short journeys. And how short would be too short for successful DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) regeneration. The graphs below are result of doing short journeys - the plotted one is number 3, thus two interrupted DPF regens before this. At this stage the...

www.t6forum.com

[T6_measured] NOx emissions, AdBlue consumption, DPF regeneration - Before and after ECU update

Introduction An update campaign for T6 EU6 diesel engines took place in 2019-20. Affected engines were on van of model years MY16-MY18, including some of MY19. For M1 class (passenger carriers, VIN WV2...) the update was an official recall. For N1 class (VIN WV1....) the update was not...

www.t6forum.com

[T6_measured] Monitoring DPF regeneration, DPF condition, EGR operation

Here's another approach for T6 DIY enthusiasts - taking advantage of very popular Carista OBDII-reader device - combined with an Android app. Ingredients: T6 EU6 engne: CXEB,CXEC,CXFA,CXGA,CXGB,CXGC,CXHA,CXHB. Carista OBDII device (also other generic OBDII (ELM327) devices will work) Android...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Jeff G]

@mmi, Grateful thanks for posting all this information. A lot of the attached detail and measures taken to ascertain the results is way above my pay grade, to be perfectly honest . However, I shall spend some time reading through all the info and attachments with interest.

What I do readily take from your extensive reply is your comment:

"For myself I have concluded that it doesn't make sense to try to finish the DPF regeneration at standstill - unless it's just about to finish off the regen. I guess that one of flipsides of letting engine to do regeneration at standstill is getting oil diluted with fuel."

I imagine that for the majority the steps that can be taken to avoid oil dilution and possible repercussions of that, are of great value.

Thanks again, you have added a lot of useful references within this post which I feel sure will be of use as a reference, to many.

Jeff

 

[mmi]

@Jeff G Thanks for asking - I knew that I had a suitable data but never finalised it into, hopefully, a bit more understandable form.

---

engine gives up active DPF regeneration - because of cooler exhaust gases.

Well, I think it would be more accurate to state - because of significantly smaller exhaust mass flow. The exhaust temperature at DPF input (red) still remains at adequate regeneration level just not enough flow.

Below plotted the full journey wherefrom the 10 minute snippet was taken (see the markers on orange curve). The DPF regeneration finished at the end of the journey - how convenient

Also added (calculated) soot burn rate along the journey (milligrams/minute).

 

[Graham Jones]

Thanks Jeff. Did you have any trouble fitting it into the socket. I have a T6.1 and I am not sure whether the obd socket is situated in the same under dash molding? Cheers.

Received and fitted the DPF Controller today. Very happy with how easy it is. As you said just plug and play...works perfectly.
Thanks for your help. Cheers.