exhaust filter cleaning message question
 

so after 1,450 miles i had my first message come up on the display "cleaning exhaust filter." i remember reading through the manaul when i first bought the truck and i thought i remember seeing that it said to drive a certain way. so i took a detour home ( about 5 extra minutes ) so the exhaust could clean. when i got home i let the truck idle as i read through the maunal again about the exhaust cleaning. it said "that if operator is not able to drive in a manner to allow automatic cleaning or the operator wishes to perform regeneration while at idle the "OCR" will need to be performed. so i look under "OCR" and follow the manual till it says press the info button on the steering wheel untill the message center reads EXHAUST XXX% FULL. thats where my first problem came and my first question in following directions, where do u find in the info. center EXHAUST XXX% FULL???? i couldnt find it.. second question, while driving around and the "cleaning exhaust filter" message comes up and you cant drive that long before needing to park, does it automatically enter "OCR" if u let it idle??? if i were able to drive around for a long time, is there a message that says "cleaning complete" or anything of that nature??? the manual says that regenerations should occur every 500 miles, is it normal that i havent seen this message or noticed a "exhaust cleaning" untill 1,450 miles???? and finally my last question is, does it hurt anything if this message comes up and i cant or dont have time to drive, and dont know how to start the "OCR" when i actually have time to let the truck sit and idle???

^sorry for all the questions, this is just the first time i saw this message and didnt have time to drive around, i worked a long shift and wanted to get home and go to bed, but reading the manual gave me more questions then answers. any help would be AWESOME!!

I had my first cleaning notice pop up at ~1100 miles during a highway drive...What was clear was watching the MPG display read-out take a dive from ~18.5 mpg to ~12.5mpg for what seemed like 15-20 minutes. There was no message that the cleaning was complete but clearly my MPG came back to the pre-cleaning mpg rate. I figured the cleaning was done then.

I don't think our trucks have the OCR software function. I looked too but could not find any of what was described in the Diesel Supplement Manual for the OCR steps.

The instructions you are referring to are for the cab and chassis trucks.

Specularius is correct. OCR is for C&C trucks.
Check out Paul's post at the URL below:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ml#post9542838

If you can't allow it to complete, it will retry when it needs it next time you are near or at operating temperature.
The only way to tell if it is in regen is by your instant fuel economy screen if you missed the message.
With my basic info center, it's a bar graph and I know how it reports with normal driving and when the engine is in a regeneration state.
The graph or whatever the 4.2 screen shows will return to normal when it is done.
There is not a complete message.

You have most likely had one or two regen's since this one, you just didn't see the message.
I try to notice it when I think the truck is due for a regen but I still miss most of them.

While it's best to let them complete, if you have too many interrupted regen cycles, your truck will then display a static message reporting "drive to clean exhaust" or something similar.
I've never seen this so I can't remember the exact wording.
In this case, you'll want to make sure you drive until your MPG graph shows cleaning might be completed.
Like I said above, over time you'll learn how that graph behaves.

There's probably a very good chance you've had the message before but didn't notice it. I seem to get the message quite a bit when I'm just about to the house. Based on feedback from others here, I don't worry about taking a detour that will keep my speed up to finish the process; I just ignore it. I have just over 10,000 miles now and haven't had any problems yet and I've never received the message that tells you to drive to clean the filter. I wouldn't worry about it.

It never fails, there are days I drive 300+ miles on the interstate without a regen.
The next day, I have one driving around town at home.
If the stupid thing would regen on the interstate @ 75 MPH, it would have an easier time vs 35 MPH stop/go.

24000 miles...who knows how many missed "cleaning" messages or incomplete regenerations...and not one "drive until..." message. My mileage drops around 4 mpg and the regens last 10 minutes.

The more you drive the truck...the more you will find that the DPF and DEF systems are non-issues.

Enjoy those new trucks

Regards

Hi Guys
73000 km on my 2011, no issue so far, -40 this winter, no problems, at hwy speeds mine will regen for 10 minutes then stop, it is always the same time and mileage, if you pull over when it is in regen mode the smell is quite strong at the exhaust pipe.

thanks everyone!! you all helped me out here and i appreciate it! im guan be doing some more driving this weekend but pulling a cargo trailer so maybe it will try to clean again cause its about a 30 min drive both ways

okay i lied, one more question i wasnt sure about haha. if the truck does enter "cleaning filter mode" and you drive around for a little bit but then come home to let it sit and idle, does it still clean at idle or does it need to be higher rpm's then idle???

it will clean at idle, but you don't want to do that. regeneration is all about exhaust temps. if you enter active regeneration (it doesn't happen very often but you get that message when it does happen), it means your EGTs aren't high enough to burn off the soot... so it has to dump in a bunch of extra fuel. Driving means that EGTs will be higher (due to the load), so less extra fuel will need to be dumped in.

Well, the official response from Ford is no.
djjoshuad has the best advice.

But you can continue reading...

However, I have a resistor wired up to allow for 1,400 RPM idle with SEIC.
Mine does still continue to at least partically regen after it has already started.
I know it is in regen from the smell and there is a small turbine noise and clicking noise in the DPF area under the truck.
If I let it complete while parked, it doesn't need a regen for another several hundred miles as normal so I personally think my truck does regen under SEIC as long as it started on the highway several miles prior to parking.
Measured 420 degrees F at the tips the last time I allowed it to do this.
Idle temps are much cooler and I need to measure those.
I can hold my hand in at the tips without an issue at non-regen idle but can't get my hand anywhere near the tips if it is cleaning the DPF.

This is just something I figured out.
Not saying it will work.

The regen process is something that appeared to improve with one of the flashes because a regen will continue even after I stop at a traffic light (now).
When I first purchased the truck, it would cancel the regen and try again several miles later if I stopped.

alright, thanks a lot guys! :-wink thats all my questions!... for now haha!

I have noticed regens at approximately 200 mile intervals. They typically last about 10 miles/minutes. Instantaneous fuel economy drops about 10 mpg during this time, then returns to normal. Normal is around 24 mpg at 55 on level with no headwind.

When I'm towing my trailers, I rarely see the cleaning DPF come on. The truck seems to get enough heat for a passive regen from the work of towing a heavy trailer.

Winter came and I didn't tow as often and I had all summer and fall and I started seeing more regens.