Stop start error

[Bobbydaisy]

New van ,21 plate Ducato Elddis CV20, started van to move to new site and has Stop/Start error message , also light on panel below right of steering wheel showing light illuminated for Stop/Start . Pushed button on the panel and tried restarting van and error showing still. Stop:Start not operating when stopping at traffic lights etc , drove about 80 miles and at new site, still got error , any ideas ? Thanks .

 

[jockaneezer]

Interesting that they are all failing around the 2k mark though ?
I bought a pack of 10 motor brushes for the wife's mobility scooter, swapped a set over and off she went. Got a call 40 minutes later to say she'd broken down. Brushes were knackered, so replaced those ones too and had exactly the same breakdown at exactly the same spot the next day !
I also had a rear tyre delaminate on the motorhome a couple of years back, put the spare on and the other rear did the same in less than a hundred miles, their quality control standards were exemplary !

 

[Ditcha]

My sensor failed on the test drive van had 49 miles on the clock.

 

[BikerDJ]

Okay so I think I'm another victim at just under 2500 miles. Waiting for Fiat Professional garage who insist on their own diagnosis but RAC Commercial (who provide the Camper Assist breakdown) read the same error as others have shown on here ie the Particulate Matter Sensor so I'm expecting to become yet another Off Road Camper for weeks to come.

I'm not mechanically minded but my understanding is that if the Matter sensor has failed then no burn off of the soot that builds up in the Diesel Particulate Filter will take place. The DPF is a very expensive consumable item (around £1000 I believe) so driving with no recycling will simply reduce the lifespan of the DPF when it will eventually clog up with soot and either need professional manual cleaning or replacing. My expectation is that the lifespan should be years and/or many tens of thousands of miles so it should be okay to use until the sensor can be replaced but I'm not sure I'd like to take the chance.

I think it's also a possibility that the engine could go into 'Limp home mode' with reduced power and speed if the recycling is not taking place. I'm not sure to what extent this could be a safety issue (if on a high speed road) or an inconvenience if travelling a long distance as I have no experience of what loss of speed or power might actually result from this mode.

If any of the more knowledgeable Funsters know or have a good understanding of what a 'normal' lifespan of a DPF should be, I think it would be of interest. Also how long it might take for a DPF to 'clog up' with soot without the burning off recycling taking place.

 

[BikerDJ]

Okay so I think I'm another victim at just under 2500 miles. Waiting for Fiat Professional garage who insist on their own diagnosis but RAC Commercial (who provide the Camper Assist breakdown) read the same error as others have shown on here ie the Particulate Matter Sensor so I'm expecting to become yet another Off Road Camper for weeks to come.

I'm not mechanically minded but my understanding is that if the Matter sensor has failed then no burn off of the soot that builds up in the Diesel Particulate Filter will take place. The DPF is a very expensive consumable item (around £1000 I believe) so driving with no recycling will simply reduce the lifespan of the DPF when it will eventually clog up with soot and either need professional manual cleaning or replacing. My expectation is that the lifespan should be years and/or many tens of thousands of miles so it should be okay to use until the sensor can be replaced but I'm not sure I'd like to take the chance.

I think it's also a possibility that the engine could go into 'Limp home mode' with reduced power and speed if the recycling is not taking place. I'm not sure to what extent this could be a safety issue (if on a high speed road) or an inconvenience if travelling a long distance as I have no experience of what loss of speed or power might actually result from this mode.

If any of the more knowledgeable Funsters know or have a good understanding of what a 'normal' lifespan of a DPF should be, I think it would be of interest. Also how long it might take for a DPF to 'clog up' with soot without the burning off recycling taking place.

Okay, I managed to get some info from a very knowledgeable family member which has provided me with some reassurance about the DPF and associated replacement cost. He says that the 'normal' lifespan of a DPF should be 10-15 years and 100,000 miles plus. Lots of short journeys will reduce this because the engine temp will never reach the level where a 'regen' could take place. However, in his view, a regen is unlikely to take place that 'often' anyway - he thinks probably every 1000 miles or so. The sensor will monitor how full the filter is getting and then trigger a 'regen' when it reaches the trigger point. The failed sensor will prevent a regen from taking place but as mentioned, 1000 miles or two shouldn't make much difference. He doesn't think that 'limp home' mode should occur but one option is to purchase a cheap code reader that will allow the error to be cleared so that you can cancel limp home mode in the event that it is triggered.

We all need to use our own judgement on this one but I thought I would share the info that I have.

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[Old Gibber]

I think you are over-worrying the problem. Firstly the sensor appears to be switched off completely until about 2000 miles, so therefore it can't cause that much harm. All indications are that it is quite safe to drive so long as you don't rev it hard. This sensor actually senses the amount of NOx in the exhaust. There is a separate sensor to detect when the DPF is blocked, so you are safe on that front.

Finally I suspect by now most failing sensors have been replaced, so there probably won't be an issue. Mine was replaced within 2 hours of diagnosis back in February.

 

[BikerDJ]

I think you are over-worrying the problem. Firstly the sensor appears to be switched off completely until about 2000 miles, so therefore it can't cause that much harm. All indications are that it is quite safe to drive so long as you don't rev it hard. This sensor actually senses the amount of NOx in the exhaust. There is a separate sensor to detect when the DPF is blocked, so you are safe on that front.

Finally I suspect by now most failing sensors have been replaced, so there probably won't be an issue. Mine was replaced within 2 hours of diagnosis back in February.

Thanks for the response. I'm unable to evaluate whether I'm over-worrying the problem without knowing the facts of the matter. It's difficult when the RAC tech tells you not to drive the vehicle more than just a few miles with this fault even though I appreciate that this is probably just the official line to cover themselves.

With regard to replacement likely not being an issue...the Fiat Professional dealership confirmed today that there is a world wide shortage of this sensor and they themselves have over a dozen vehicles on their premises that have been waiting up to 3 months for delivery with no confirmed date for delivery.

I will hopefully know more in a couple of days.