A Truck Driver’s Guide to Care and Maintenance of

Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs)

Disclaimer: This handbook is not a substitute for the detailed instructions/warranty limitations supplied by the manufacturer or the conditions contained in the applicable Air Resources Board (ARB) executive order.

Don’t Let Your Filter Get Out of Kilter!

• YourtruckisretrofittedwithaDieselParticulateFilter(DPF).TheemissionsperformanceofthisretrofithasbeenverifiedbyARBthroughrigoroustesting.

• KeepinmindthataDPFisnota“fitandforget”device.Protectyourinvestmentbyunderstandingtheneedsofyournewsystem.

• ImpropercareofyourengineandDPFcanleadto:

− Expensiverepairsandreplacementparts

− Voidedwarranty

− Enginemalfunctionorbreakdown

− Non-compliancewithairpollutionlaws

• Maintainengineinitsoriginalconfiguration.

• DonotexchangefilterpartsunlessallowedbytheDPFmanufacturer.

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Vehicle Maintenance is Critical

Topnotchvehicleenginemaintenanceisrequired.Lossoflubeoilcontrolorover-fuelingcandamageordestroyyourDPFleadingtoexpensiverepairs.ADPFcapturessootfromtheengineandcanmaskengineproblemsthatwereformerlydetectablebyobservingexhaustsmokecharacteristics.Beproactive.Reducingsootfromyourenginereducesfilterpluggingandcleaning.

Fuel injectors:Repairandreplaceatintervalsrequiredbytheenginemanufacturer’smaintenanceschedule.Wornfuelinjectorscanleadtoexcessivefuelingandmoresootgenerationandaccumulationinthefilter.Fixwornhydraulicinjectorstostoplubeoilleaksintothefuel.

Air filters:Replaceatintervalsrequiredbytheenginemanufacturer.Dirtyairfiltersreduceairflowtotheengineleadingtomoresootgeneration.

Turbocharger:Checkturbochargerforproperoperationandexcessivewear.Turbochargersthatdonotproducesufficientairorhaveleakingsealsleadtomoresootorthepresenceoflubeoilintheexhaust.

Fuel filter: Replaceatprescribedintervals.Lookforthepresenceoflubeoilinthefuelfilterduringregularlyscheduledmaintenance.Ablackeningofthefiltermayindicatethatoilfromthecrankcaseismixingwiththefuelduetoaleakyinjector.

Fuel:Periodicallyinspectfuelintheon-boardfueltankforsignsoflubeoilcontamination(blackincolor).Inspectionshouldbedonepriortorefueling.Ablackeningofthefuelmayindicatemixingofcrankcaseoilwiththefuel.

Coolant: Monitorcoolantconsumption.Keepalogofthecoolantaddedtotheengine.CoolantleakagecanpoisontheDPFcatalystand/orcausefilterplugging.

Lube oil:Changethelubeoilatmileageintervalsindicatedbytheenginemanufacturer.Trackusage.

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Monitor Lube Oil Consumption Closely

SomeofthecomponentsinlubeoilcancollectintheDPFandcausepluggingormakethecatalystmalfunction.Therefore,itisimportanttoensurethattheengineisnotconsuminglubeoilataratehigherthanrecommendedbytheenginemanufacturer.

• Ifthelubeoilconsumptionexceedsspecificationstheenginemustberepaired.

• Increasedlubeoilconsumptionleadstoincreasedashloadandfilterplugging.Theashcannotberemovedbyregeneration.TheresultisanincreaseinDPFcleaningfrequencywhichiscostlyandinvolvesdowntime.

• Tracklubeoilusagebykeepingalogofhowmuchoilisaddedtotheenginebetweenoilchanges.

• Lowash(CJ-4)lubeoilisrecommended.

• Neverputcleanorusedlubeoil,additives,oralternativedieselfuelsthatarenotauthorizedbytheDPFmanufacturerinthefueltank.

Maintain the Proper Engine Duty Cycle

Thedutycycleisthedailypatternofuseoftheengineandhowthataffectstheengineexhausttemperature.Thedutycycle,forexample,couldvarybetweenhighwaydrivinglongdistancestocitydrivingwithshorttripswithlightorheavyloads.BeforetheDPFisinstalled,theengineisdataloggedtodetermineiftheengineexhaustishotenoughtohavethefilterrunproperly.TheDPFisdesignedtoworkforthedutycycleatthetimeitwasdatalogged.Therefore,changingthedutycyclecouldadverselyaffecttheperformanceofthefilter.

• Maintainthedutycyclethatwasusedwhenthetruckwasdataloggedbytheinstaller.

• Beawarethatifthedutycycleofatruckischanged,itmayaffecthowthefilterworks,leadingtoplugging.

installedDPFdatalogger

DPFdatalogger

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sootparticulatematter

CO2

breakdownregeneration

capturefiltration

Understanding Your DPF’s Regeneration System

TheDPFcollectssootfromtheengineexhaust.Thismusteventuallyberemovedtokeepthefilterfromclogging.Theprocessofburningthesootinthefilteriscalledregeneration.HightemperaturesforaspecifiedamountoftimearerequiredfortheDPFtoberegeneratedproperly.Yourtruckisequippedwithapassiveoractiveregenerationsystem.

Passive regeneration–Inthissystem,theengineexhausttemperaturegetshotenoughtotriggerregenerationduringvehicleoperation.

Active regeneration–Thissystemrequiresanoutsidesourceofheatenergy,suchasdieselfuelorelectricity,toburn-offaccumulatedsoot.Thisprocessmayormaynotrequireactionbythedriver.SomeDPFs,forexample,automaticallydoseandignitedieselfuelinthefilterforregeneration.DPFsequippedwithelectricalplugsuseheatersthatarerequiredtobepluggedintoanelectricaloutletforaregenerationandthisistypicallydoneovernight.

• MakesurethatactivelyregeneratedDPFsaregiventherequiredregenerationtime,sothesootcanbecompletelyremovedfromthefilterbeforethevehicleisdrivenagain.

• ActivelyregeneratedDPFsshouldnotbeparkednearflammablematerialswhentheregenerationtakesplace.TheDPFgetsveryhotandcouldcausecombustiblestocatchonfire.

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©copyrightJohnsonMattheyPlc2011

Understanding the DPF Monitoring System

ThecabofthetruckfeaturesamonitoringsystemfortheDPFthatincludesseveralindicatorlightsthatshowthestatusofthefilter.TheoperatormustunderstandandobservetheDPFindicatorlightsonaregularbasisandrespondaccordingly.

• TheindicatorlightsforthemonitoringsystemvarysomewhatbetweenDPFmanufacturers.Understandthemeaningofallindicatorlightsbytalkingtotheinstallerormaintenancepersonnel.

• Donotdisconnect,tapeover,orblocktheviewofindicatorlights.

• Donotignoreindicatorlights.Continuingtooperateavehiclethatrequiresattentionmayseverelyde-ratetheengine,damagetheDPFand/orengine,andvoidtheDPFwarranty.

• ForactivelyregeneratedDPFs,performregenerationorreturntothegarageforregenerationassoonaspossiblewhenrequiredbytheindicatorlight(s).

• IftheinstallerprovidesaquickreferencecardfortheDPFindicatorlights,keepareadilyaccessiblecopyinthetruck.

Solid green - system okFlashing green - system regenerating

Solid orange - service neededFlashing orange - regeneration needed

Flashing red - regenerate ASAPWarranty at risk

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Handle the Filter with Care

• TheDPFappearsruggedbutiscommonlymadewithceramicmaterials.

• MakesuretheDPFishandledproperlyduringinstallation.

• Neverbangortaponthefilterbecausethiscouldcrackthefilterelement.

• ReplacingtheDPFfilterelementiscostly.Crackingthefilterelementmayvoidthewarrantyandrequiresreplacement.

• Whenworkingonyourvehicle,donotweldanyothercomponentsontheretrofitsystemorcutordisconnectanycontrollines.

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DPF Cleaning Basics

TheDPFisamaintenanceitem.Itmustberemovedandcleanedperiodicallytoremoveaccumulatednoncombustibleashfromthefilter.

Ashremovalisdifferentandseparatefromregeneration.Ingeneral,DPFcleaningrequiresheatingthefilter,usingcompressedaircombinedwithavacuumsystemtoblowtheash,andcapturingitinasealedcontainer.

• OnlyusefiltercleaningproceduresapprovedbytheDPFmanufacturer.

• UsinganimpropercleaningmethodmayruintheDPFand/orexposepersonneltohazardouswaste.

• Donotuseshopcompressorinopenareatocleanfilter.

• DonotsteamcleantheDPF.

• Donotraponthefilterelementtoremoveash.

• Unlessithasbeentestedandverifiedassafe,DPFashmustbehandledanddisposedasaCaliforniahazardouswaste.

• Makesurefiltercleaningcontractorsusetheproperprocedureandhandleashproperly.

• Makesurethatfilterelementsareinstalledcorrectlyaftertheyarecleaned.Donotreversethefilterelements.

• Neveroperatetheenginewithoutthefilterelements.

• Maintainservicerecords.

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cleanfilter:noactionnecessary dirtyfilter:requiresashremoval

DPFcleaningmachine

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Resolving DPF Related Problems

TheDPFisamechanicaldeviceandoccasionalproblemsmayariseduetofactorsrelatedtomanufacturing,installation,orenginemaintenancepractices.UsethefollowingprotocoltoresolveDPFrelatedperformanceorreliabilityproblems.

For Trucks & Buses (Including Drayage/Port Trucks)

Step 1: Contactyourinstaller Most problems are resolved in this manner

Step 2: Contactthedevicemanufacturer If the installer cannot resolve your complaint

Step 3: ContactARBat866-6DIESELor8666Diesel@arb.ca.gov If the installer or manufacturer cannot resolve your complaint

For Transport Refrigeration Units (TRUs or Reefers)

ContactARBat1-888-878-2826ortru@arb.ca.govandcontactyourinstallerand/ormanufacturer.

For more information

web www.arb.ca.gov/truckstopemail 8666diesel@arb.ca.govphone 866-6DIESEL(866-634-3735)

July2012