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Operator Commanded Regen (Ford Only)
I know this isn't a Ford forum, but since this is where I hang out the majority of the time there may be others (like me) that had no idea this capability existed.
What capability? Using Forscan, there is a menu item that can be added and enabled on the truck's SETTINGS screen so the operator can (temporarily) avoid, and then manually initiate, a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) cleaning.
Why would you want to do this? If you're running a local errand and it's time for a DPF cycle, the cleaning may not complete before you turn the truck off. I'm no expert, but from reading doing this repeatedly is not good for the truck's DPF system. (This post is not about what the DPF is, what the regen does, or how it does it--so for more info on that do some googling!)
I learned about the capability this post is focused on first by a vague reference to "OCR" from ARod on his Powerstroke Tech Talk Youtube channel. I had no idea what OCR meant or what it was, so I went searching. I finally found out what it was and how to get it to work at https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...n-forscan.html
The video linked at the end of this sentence shows a manual regen started using this capability. It's not the best quality video, but it will show an owner who has manual control and how he used it: 017+ Ford 6.7 PowerStroke manual (OCR) DPF clean
Now the bad news--it took a full morning to get my laptop to sync with the OBD MX scanner plugged into my truck. The OBD MX firmware required updating, the bluetooth on my laptop didn't work so I had to install an external micro USB adapter ("borrowed" from my Victron CCGX temporarily), and then finally figured out in Forscan to set the connection to "AUTO" connection and Comm 15. (Yours COMM port may be different.)
Then, with the OBD MX adapter and the laptop connected via bluetooth, when Forscan started it looked for and found the connection. Three plus hours of work and troubleshooting to get to that point!
Naturally, to do the changes within Forscan an extended license was needed. No big deal--45 minutes later after I submitted the request for a free two month extended license it showed up in my email.
For those at this point that want to know more about Forscan, check out https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...readsheet.html and https://forscan.org/forum/index.php The specific thread about getting an extended license is here: https://forscan.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18697
For specifics on the exact settings to change in Forscan to enable the Auto Regen settings option, see https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...n-forscan.html
Note there is a basic understanding of how to use Forscan that's required--the steps in the link above are very specific so for a "newb" it will likely be confusing.
So below is the new Auto Regen available to me on the Settings screen.
When I uncheck Auto Regen this message pops up:
When the DPF gets to 100%, the truck will tell me the filter is full and I can choose to turn Auto Regen back on (if I'm on the road and know I'll be running for at least 30 minutes). According the ford-trucks forum discussion (and the YouTube video linked above), I'll also have the ability to manually initiate a DPF cycle while parked.
Nice to have this additional option.
Howard
P.S. If you're new to Forscan, be sure to set aside enough time to learn how to use it as it's not necessarily intuitive. Use the resources at the linked sites above and there are a multitude of YouTube videos, too.
What capability? Using Forscan, there is a menu item that can be added and enabled on the truck's SETTINGS screen so the operator can (temporarily) avoid, and then manually initiate, a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) cleaning.
Why would you want to do this? If you're running a local errand and it's time for a DPF cycle, the cleaning may not complete before you turn the truck off. I'm no expert, but from reading doing this repeatedly is not good for the truck's DPF system. (This post is not about what the DPF is, what the regen does, or how it does it--so for more info on that do some googling!)
I learned about the capability this post is focused on first by a vague reference to "OCR" from ARod on his Powerstroke Tech Talk Youtube channel. I had no idea what OCR meant or what it was, so I went searching. I finally found out what it was and how to get it to work at https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...n-forscan.html
The video linked at the end of this sentence shows a manual regen started using this capability. It's not the best quality video, but it will show an owner who has manual control and how he used it: 017+ Ford 6.7 PowerStroke manual (OCR) DPF clean
Now the bad news--it took a full morning to get my laptop to sync with the OBD MX scanner plugged into my truck. The OBD MX firmware required updating, the bluetooth on my laptop didn't work so I had to install an external micro USB adapter ("borrowed" from my Victron CCGX temporarily), and then finally figured out in Forscan to set the connection to "AUTO" connection and Comm 15. (Yours COMM port may be different.)
Then, with the OBD MX adapter and the laptop connected via bluetooth, when Forscan started it looked for and found the connection. Three plus hours of work and troubleshooting to get to that point!
Naturally, to do the changes within Forscan an extended license was needed. No big deal--45 minutes later after I submitted the request for a free two month extended license it showed up in my email.
For those at this point that want to know more about Forscan, check out https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...readsheet.html and https://forscan.org/forum/index.php The specific thread about getting an extended license is here: https://forscan.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18697
For specifics on the exact settings to change in Forscan to enable the Auto Regen settings option, see https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...n-forscan.html
Note there is a basic understanding of how to use Forscan that's required--the steps in the link above are very specific so for a "newb" it will likely be confusing.
So below is the new Auto Regen available to me on the Settings screen.
When I uncheck Auto Regen this message pops up:
When the DPF gets to 100%, the truck will tell me the filter is full and I can choose to turn Auto Regen back on (if I'm on the road and know I'll be running for at least 30 minutes). According the ford-trucks forum discussion (and the YouTube video linked above), I'll also have the ability to manually initiate a DPF cycle while parked.
Nice to have this additional option.
Howard
P.S. If you're new to Forscan, be sure to set aside enough time to learn how to use it as it's not necessarily intuitive. Use the resources at the linked sites above and there are a multitude of YouTube videos, too.
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