Do The Latest DPF Systems Do Periodic, Longer Deep Cleanings?

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Goose55

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Anyone here have such a strange experience w/ a DPF Regen? Is this a periodic deep purge/ cleaning of the DPF?

Normally, on my 2019 3500 Laramie Duelly (now at only 11,000 miles due to mosty around town driving), when the DPF screen shows over 1/4 full, an automatic regen will soon start and I'll head onto the highway and drive at 1,900 rpm until it's done. The other day, seeing that it was nearly 1/2 full I set out on the highway, and almost immediately the screen read "automatic exhaust system regen in progress." But not long afterwards I heard an audible tone and the screen said "Reduced power. DPF Full. See dealer." And sure enough the DPF screen was all the way at 100%. WTH? So, it went from a almost 1/2 to 100% full in the blink of an eye. Also, though it read "Power Reduced," I still had plenty of power. This has never happened before.

When I got home I heard back from Seth, the Dealers' shop foreman, and he said to drive it at 1900 rpm on the highway and that will get it cleaned out quickly. Well, yeah, that is what all always do. Nevertheless, the next morning I drove 40 miles up to Gila Bend, w/ only one brief stop at Border Patrol, and at 1,900 rpm. All the way there the screen remained the same: "Power Reduced. DPF Full. See Dealer." But it still had normal power as far as I could tell. So, after 40 miles with no regeneration, at this point I wondered, do I go back home the 40 miles, at 1,900 rpm, or -- since I'm this far -- drive the additional 60 miles to Larry Miller Dodge? I decided to return. I'm glad I did.

About 5 miles into my return trip the screen finally changed: "Active Regeneration in Process. Continue Driving." For the remaining 35 miles I continued at 1,900 rpm, and the screen remained the same: "Active Regeneration in Process. Continue Driving." When I arrived back in Ajo, I stopped at Circle K and left the engine running, idling up to about 1,250 rpm. When I got back in the truck to go home, the DPF screen had changed again. It displayed: 12% full, approx. As I was pulling into my driveway, the screen again said "Active Regeneration in Process," but I had things to do, so I shut it down. Later I went out and drove at 1,900 rpm about 5 miles and the regen was complete.

So, is this a periodic deep purge/ cleaning of the DPF?
 
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BWL

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Anyone here have such a strange experience w/ a DPF Regen? Is this a periodic deep purge/ cleaning of the DPF?

Normally, on my 2019 3500 Laramie Duelly (now at only 11,000 miles due to mosty around town driving), when the DPF screen shows over 1/4 full, an automatic regen will soon start and I'll head onto the highway and drive at 1,900 rpm until it's done. The other day, seeing that it was nearly 1/2 full I set out on the highway, and almost immediately the screen read "automatic exhaust system regen in progress." But not long afterwards I heard an audible tone and the screen said "Reduced power. DPF Full. See dealer." And sure enough the DPF screen was all the way at 100%. WTH? So, it went from a almost 1/2 to 100% full in the blink of an eye. Also, though it read "Power Reduced," I still had plenty of power. This has never happened before.

When I got home I heard back from Seth, the Dealers' shop foreman, and he said to drive it at 1900 rpm on the highway and that will get it cleaned out quickly. Well, yeah, that is what all always do. Nevertheless, the next morning I drove 40 miles up to Gila Bend, w/ only one brief stop at Border Patrol, and at 1,900 rpm. All the way there the screen remained the same: "Power Reduced. DPF Full. See Dealer." But it still had normal power as far as I could tell. So, after 40 miles with no regeneration, at this point I wondered, do I go back home the 40 miles, at 1,900 rpm, or -- since I'm this far -- drive the additional 60 miles to Larry Miller Dodge? I decided to return. I'm glad I did.

About 5 miles into my return trip the screen finally changed: "Active Regeneration in Process. Continue Driving." For the remaining 35 miles I continued at 1,900 rpm, and the screen remained the same: "Active Regeneration in Process. Continue Driving." When I arrived back in Ajo, I stopped at Circle K and left the engine running, idling up to about 1,250 rpm. When I got back in the truck to go home, the DPF screen had changed again. It displayed: 12% full, approx. As I was pulling into my driveway, the screen again said "Active Regeneration in Process," but I had things to do, so I shut it down. Later I went out and drove at 1,900 rpm about 5 miles and the regen was complete.

So, is this a periodic deep purge/ cleaning of the DPF?
How cold was it at the time? I know on our heavy equipment with DPF we have to keep the radiator covered or the burn will fail and go into alarm and limp mode due to an inability to get the required exhaust gas temps. I see you're from Arizona so seems unlikely, but really a common issue in cold climates. Also it does regen automatically once the temps get to the required amount, but will not until it does so lots of short trips can also cause the issue. If interrupted too many times or unable to get the heat required it will eventually set off the alarm and limp mode. Also idling plugs the filter faster than when driving. The joys of modern diesel emission systems.
 
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Goose55

Goose55

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How cold was it at the time? I know on our heavy equipment with DPF we have to keep the radiator covered or the burn will fail and go into alarm and limp mode due to an inability to get the required exhaust gas temps. I see you're from Arizona so seems unlikely, but really a common issue in cold climates. Also it does regen automatically once the temps get to the required amount, but will not until it does so lots of short trips can also cause the issue. If interrupted too many times or unable to get the heat required it will eventually set off the alarm and limp mode. Also idling plugs the filter faster than when driving. The joys of modern diesel emission systems.
I'm in SW Arizona, in a very small town in the Sonoran Desert. Winter nights/ early mornings can sometimes be quite chilly. Around town driving is a challenge because if it is a short stop I will use the cruise control buttons to idle up. I do that--especially in Winter--in order to ensure I can get the engine up to normal operating temperature, before shutting down. In order to prevent unburned fuel from getting into the crank case. I often down shift, as well, while driving around town, to keep the rpms up. That was the advise I got from the Shop Foreman at the Dealership for my in town driving, when we discussed my finding the oil at the last oil change particularly gritty. And at only 5,000 miles.
 

tjfdesmo

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I am knocking wood as I type, no I have not seen any such behavior from my 2019. BUT, I avoid short trips and idling like the plague. In over 54K miles, and 1244 engine hours, I have only 27 idle hours. They will regen with sufficient restriction, and every 24-25 engine hours, whether it needs it or not.
 

mtnrider

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Cold (reasonable cold, not talking antarctic -50f temps) is not going to effect the Ram cummins regen. I lived in Colorado for years and never ran a cover or plugged it in and never had a regen problem.

Second, city driving is doing you no favors but it will regen on it's own to keep the DPF clean. It will do it every ~24 driving hours of driving time or sooner if it detects it is getting full (it measures differential pressure across the DPF).
With only 11k on the truck you may have an issue brewing here as I find it hard to believe it is plugging up in that short amount of time. Perhaps a sensor going bad?

Also be aware that the old "take on the highway and run it" isn't going to help you either, So don't make special trips thinking that is going to help. it simply does not get the EGT's hot enough to burn off any soot. Now if you are in the middle of a regen and want to keep driving until it finishes that's not a bad thing. Towing heavy is about the only thing that will get the EGT's hot enough to do a passive burn.
I am not guessing at this, I have taken lots of data over the years (just because I was curious)


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Goose55

Goose55

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Cold (reasonable cold, not talking antarctic -50f temps) is not going to effect the Ram cummins regen. I lived in Colorado for years and never ran a cover or plugged it in and never had a regen problem.

Second, city driving is doing you no favors but it will regen on it's own to keep the DPF clean. It will do it every ~24 driving hours of driving time or sooner if it detects it is getting full (it measures differential pressure across the DPF).
With only 11k on the truck you may have an issue brewing here as I find it hard to believe it is plugging up in that short amount of time. Perhaps a sensor going bad?

Also be aware that the old "take on the highway and run it" isn't going to help you either, So don't make special trips thinking that is going to help. it simply does not get the EGT's hot enough to burn off any soot. Now if you are in the middle of a regen and want to keep driving until it finishes that's not a bad thing. Towing heavy is about the only thing that will get the EGT's hot enough to do a passive burn.
I am not guessing at this, I have taken lots of data over the years (just because I was curious)


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Lots of wisdom and helpfulness in your post. Of course, I was not wise to buy a Cummins Duelly just because I like the way the truck looked and rode, for I live in a very small, quite remote town in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, and knew I wouldn't be doing a lot of highway driving--until I paid off the 3 year financing. Just 12 more months. :)

Perhaps you can answer this. Early mornings in winter are quite chilly here (30-40f). Am I doing right by not shutting it down if, for example early this morning I made 2 brief stops, and idled up to 1,200 or 1,400 rpm? I ask because my understanding is that the engine needs to get up to operating temperature.
 
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Ricky Herring

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Goose,
2019 Ram 2500 50K miles, I live in Phoenix just had the same thing happen: driving phx to Tucson 70mph Outside air temp around 50 running empty no load.
I noticed before the trip that my dpf gage was about 45% full so I knew i was about to go into regen. truck goes into regen at highway speeds then in about 5 miles check engine light and tone: "Dpf filter full reduced power see dealer" no change in performance noticed, 5 more miles another tone and message " active regen continue driving" ok now im confused should i head home or continue on? Called Larry Miller Ram service. they stated hey its your truck you make the call, but no appointments for service till next week. another tone and message Dpf full reduced power mode, still no difference noted in performance. 5 more miles another tone, " active regen continue driving", So I continue to Tucson, Don't know about the rest of you guys but my normal regen last about 20 min. this one lasted over an hour and 70 miles driven, entire regen was at 70 mph in 5th at 2000rpm, finally clears regen and my DPF filter reads 0, check engine light still on. Next day Travel to Tucson back to PHX over 300 miles since the regen finished and my DPF still reads 0, No check engine light.
I swear the truck runs better, my gas mileage is normally around 20 on the dummy gas gauge on the truck, after regen i reset it, the last 250 miles reported 25MPH.
Im thinking like you, my truck seemed to do a super regen that lasted over an hour and 70 miles.
The thing runs like a champ now.
So am I on borrowed time with this DPF of did it just save its self?
 

BWL

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Not unusual for burns to take close to an hour if it's really plugged. If it finally did clear and shows the filter clean you should be fine and the cel should clear after a couple restarts and the warnings should have stopped as soon as the burn was complete.
 
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