Latest News:
Our focus is on DPF training – courtesy of Darren Darling, founder of The DPF Doctor Network, with case studies from respected DPF Doctors: Alan Landale, Keith Shanahan, and Barry Lawson.
DPF Training Delivered by Darling
Darren provides more details within the autotech supplement, which begins on page 30.
How does your DPF training portal work?
We have three main sections, ‘Live Training’ where we broadcast in full HD from our training academy; ‘Training Reruns’ where we upload every training session for 24/7 viewing. There are currently 80 2-hour training sessions! And finally, a ‘Video Guides’ section – a searchable series with 100+ short training videos offering ‘just in time’ training for when you have a job in your workshop. Members have unlimited access to our training portal. And they can attend as many live training sessions as often as they like. There is no pressure to learn everything to perfection first time around.
How is the training structured?
We offer a 12-part course delivered over 3 weeks; four two- hour sessions per week. We encourage workshops to attend live refresher training at least once every six months so they can remain up to date with everything DPF related. Our training and the resources offered ensure workshops stay at the top of their game.
What does all this cost?
The subscription is just £1,500 a year, covering every person in the business. Within weeks the cost is recouped with the business a DPF specialist with a superb first-time fix rate. There is no other provider delivering DPF training to this standard, at this value with such an incredible return on investment. Our industry leading training is accessible from the comfort of your own workshop or home so no travel or hotel bills.
Contact Darren on www.the-dpf-doctor.com to find out more about DPF training.
Learning from the Best…
Three DPF Doctor technicians at the top of their game:
Alan Landale, A & J Fleetcare, Leeds
Since becoming a DPF Doctor we’ve carried out many DPF assessments. One was a car booked in by the local Hyundai dealer. The Seat Alhambra 2016 model, 28000 miles, was showing p2463 code, DPF soot accumulation. I carried out a DPF assessment followed by the JLM Engine Oil Flush and a filter change. I completed a stage 3 DPF Clean using the JLM DPF Cleaning Toolkit with the Cleaning Fluid and Flush Pack, reset the DPF values…and following a successful test drive, reported a 100 % fix to the dealer. They had been convinced the DPF was beyond repair. It wasn’t!
The second vehicle was an Audi A4 2 litre TDI 57 plate. We carried out a DPF assessment which recorded a fault code P2002 Particulate trap, bank 1 – efficiency below threshold. DPF pressure was over 2000 mb. The customer was frequently topping up oil. The car had previously been fitted with an injector. A forced regeneration with a relative compression test confirmed low compression in cylinder 3. No amount of DPF cleaning would have solved this problem yet the DPF was being blamed. Our customer was delighted that for under £100 we had found the fault other garages couldn’t. And he knew what had to be done to bring his vehicle back to peak performance.
Keith Shanahan, Shanahan Auto Services
Our customer asked us to carry out an on-vehicle DPF clean on his Mercedes. At the appropriate time we can facilitate this using the JLM Lubricants’ two stage, clean and flush products, but was that needed in this case? We don’t take what the customer tells us is the problem. We proceeded, as we always do, by questioning the customer about the history of the vehicle, its issues, the work carried out to date including any regenerations and additives used. As part of The DPF Doctor Network we go through a set of checks in an initial assessment.
This entails gathering key data, checking the physical condition of several components, checking for trouble codes and more. Asking the customer about their driving, fuelling, and servicing habits is essential. During the initial assessment we gathered enough information to ascertain that firstly the DPF was not blocked and secondly that further diagnosis of a fault in the DPF pressure sensor was required. This ultimately led to the discovery of a failed sensor which was the actual cause of the DPF trouble in this vehicle.
Barry Lawson, Ewan Lawson Motors
We were presented with a 2013 Mercedes Benz CLS250, 102k miles. The engine management light was on, and the car had no power. Despite being carbon cleaned at another garage the problem remained. We talked to our customer to understand how they use and maintain their car, when these faults had occurred, how long the light had been on.
This is something that Darren instilled in us at the initial training and every event since! I explained that we work to our own findings rather than basing our actions on another technician’s diagnosis. And you shouldn’t clean the DPF without knowing if the system components are operating correctly.
The Engine Management light remained on with a short road test confirming the car was flat – no power or boost. Scanning showed various fault codes. Those to concentrate on were: P2463 – the DPF soot content was not OK. It had a component fault. And P2279 – a leakage was identified in the inlet air system. The signal comparison was faulty.
Looking through the live data and logging it while driving the car we could see that the commanded boost was much higher than the actual boost. A big red flag. During the assessment we were gathering the data from the ECU but also undertaking manual checks including the engine, looking for obvious faults.
The fault causing the low boost and contributing to poor combustion resulting in too much soot? A split intercooler hose – which had been checked before coming to us. This shows the importance of carrying out a pre-clean assessment because this would have caused the DPF to rapidly block again. We also found a faulty pressure sensor on the assessment.
We carried out the DPF Doctor 3 stage clean using the JLM Lubricants’ professional toolkit and JLM DPF products so the DPF didn’t have to be removed from the vehicle, saving time (on modern vehicles this is a lot!) and money. The car now had a DPF within specification.
Find out more about JLM’s range of professional DPF cleaning products at www.jlmlubricants.co.uk.
