Repair of the diesel particulate filter and faults in the systems AdBlue, DEF, EGR for Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

 

Diesel particulate filter
If you notice that your Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has began to lose traction, and also if the "check engine" error has appeared on the  panel, we strongly recommend that you do not hesitate and make an immediate diagnostic for you car. Diagnostics will detect errors, and perhaps the cause will be a clogged particulate filter.

 

There are various other symptoms of a diesel particulate filter failure on a Mercedes Sprinter:

• Car power reduction
• Poor engine idle
• Sudden increase in fuel consumption
• Greatly increased exhaust opacity
• Indication on the instrument panel of the error or failure of the particulate filter

 

Diesel particulate filter repair (DPF)

When a diesel particulate filter breaks down on a Mercedes Sprinter, there are only two solutions to the problem:

1. Purchase and installation of a new particulate filter
   Unfortunately, this is quite expensive and does not preclude the filter from failing again over time due to other possible unresolved problems
    
2. Particle filter removal - both physically and on a software level as well
   The best option in case of appealing to good specialists - this will lead you to a solution of a problem with the diesel particulate filter once and for all

Some craftsmen, and even some companies, offer another cleaning method - washing the diesel particulate filters, which often helps for some time, but not for long. In the process of such washing sometimes ceramic cells of the diesel particulate filter can be damaged, which can only aggravate the problem. We do not apply and do not approve of this approach, since in the end the car owner still has to choose between installing a new diesel particulate filter or removing it.

 

We recommend choosing a physical removal of the particulate filter in order to forget about the problem forever.

Removing the diesel particulate filter on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

Proper removal of the diesel particulate filter on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter should be carried out in 2 stages:
1. Physical removal of the diesel particulate filter from the car
2. Software shutdown of the diesel particulate filter in the engine control unit

If it is limited only to physical removal of the diesel particulate filter, then in fact the car will still be faulty and most likely go into emergency mode with engine power limitation, so don't save on it and always insist on the correct removal of the diesel particulate filter!

The diesel particulate filter on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is located at the beginning of the exhaust system after the turbine. To complete the removal, we dismantle the body of the diesel particulate filter from the car, remove the clogged ceramic honeycomb. Also, at the request of the owner, we can remove the catalyst.

Possible reasons for the failure of the particulate filter (FAP / DPF):

If the ceramic cells were clogged with sulfur, then most often the cause of a failed particulate filter is poor-quality fuel. Some gas stations sell diesel fuel with a high content of various impurities and additives, usually there is a lot of sulfur in such kind of fuel, which does not burn through the regeneration filter. Gradually clogging the honeycomb of the diesel particulate filter, sulfur blocks the exit of exhaust gases and intersperses with soot overflows the filter. In addition to poor-quality gasoline, there may also be software errors and malfunctions in the filter sensor, which are responsible for regeneration. In this case, the regeneration either stops working, or works in the wrong mode thus cannot clean the diesel particulate filter in time and eventually cannot protect it from contamination.

As mentioned earlier after the physical removal of the particulate filter, a software shutdown is required. In order to programmatically disable the diesel particulate filter in the first place it is necessary to download the factory firmware from the control unit. On the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, it is possible to do this by connecting via the OBD II technical connector. Next is the following:

• Reading factory firmware
• Disable the particulate filter in it by programmers
• Writing to the control unit of the updated firmware

As a result of the work, repeated diagnostics, a short-term test drive, and verification of the correct operation of the firmware are performed. If everything was done correctly, then at this stage the removal of the particulate filter is completed and you can continue to operate your Mercedes Sprinter normally.