Words of Wisdom from the DPF Doctor
AUTOTECH 2022
If you were fortunate enough to attend The Big Weekend recently you will have met Darren Darling, founder of the, now global, DPF Doctor Network. In the last 10 years, Darren has established himself as a genuine DPF expert, so much so that he bottled his ‘secret sauce’ by founding the network and has since been joined by over 120 DPF Doctors. It’s a number set to double in 2022. There are now DPF Doctors in Australia, Holland, Ireland, and the UK with many countries in between; with every top technician proudly bearing the logo of the DPF Doctor Network, committed to upholding the standards set by Darren and equally committed to ongoing learning via Darren’s live and interactive online training, the DPF Doctor portal and
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the DPF Doctor members' forum. At The Big Weekend, Darren spoke about a common trend he and his doctors have been seeing over several years – namely, the misuse of products and damaged beyond repair DPFs. Such is his passion for this subject we were delighted when he took some time out of his schedule to write a few words for us.
Damaged DPF’s and the misuse of additives “Something we are seeing at an alarming rate is damaged DPF’s that are beyond repair,” says Darren. “The unfortunate thing for the motorist is that in most cases it has been a mechanic that has caused the damage. The most common causes of damage are forced regenerations when it is not safe to do so, resetting DPF adaptations when it is not safe to do so and the misuse of DPF additives. “In my opinion, if you do not know what effect a reset or adaptation has then don’t do it. If you are not sure if a regeneration is safe to carry out, then don’t do it. And if you are not sure what effect an additive has then don’t use it! However, all of these things can be overcome with some training or some self-learning on fault-free vehicles. If you spend some time out on the road recording live data to get familiar with that type of car, this will give you a benchmark with some good DPF data. If you are using in-tank DPF additives, then repeat this process with and without the additives and this will show you if the brand of additive is safe to use with a blocked DPF.
