Diesel Particulate Filter Gauge , Is It Working

[AH64ID]

My order date was December '21, built February '22. I don't remember any notification of missing emissions equipment at time of order or build but the recall notice says FCA's agreement was with CARB, not the EPA and I live in Kansas.

Which recall notice?

 

[Blythkd1]

Please see post #174

 

[superjoe83]

The missing particulate sensor is used for monitoring DPF health and shouldn't have any effect on DEF dosing.
If you had excessive particulates making it past the DPF for whatever reason this sensor would pick up on that and eventually set a dtc for DPF efficiency

 

[AH64ID]

Please see post #174

Sorry, missed the Y43 in your post. More coffee I suppose

Found a copy online. Reads like CARB, Cali emissions requirements, may have been why the sensor was added, and since they are all 50 state compliant it would apply to all of the trucks with 6.7’s. The guy who posted his Y43 does not live in California, nor was the truck originally sold in California.

His truck is also for a C&C truck. Maybe they are fixing them first.

 

[mbarber84]

His sig says he has a '21, which means the sensor should be installed, correct?

I didn’t see that. If it’s on a 21, it should have the sensor.

 

[mbarber84]

I just found my recall notice. It says my particulate matter sensor may not have been installed during the manufacturing process. It says they will install the sensor and module, reprogram the PCM and attach an authorized modifications label. It references Emissions Recall Y43.

Wow! So the recall does exist! I wonder why I haven’t received one for my 2022 truck yet? Nothing showing up in my Ram app either.

 

[mbarber84]

Sorry, missed the Y43 in your post. More coffee I suppose

Found a copy online. Reads like CARB, Cali emissions requirements, may have been why the sensor was added, and since they are all 50 state compliant it would apply to all of the trucks with 6.7’s. The guy who posted his Y43 does not live in California, nor was the truck originally sold in California.

His truck is also for a C&C truck. Maybe they are fixing them first.

Yes that would make sense. Probably need to get the commercial trucks done first.

 

[techman]

3300 miles and always registering zero. Mixed driving during the week, 100 plus miles on weekends, and one 700 mile highway trip. Air temps between 50 and teens Fahrenheit.

 

[Will_T]

@AH64ID this was the one I was referring to. The PM1% on that banks monitor. Maybe it pulls data from the missing sensor?

That is my truck and it is an early 2021 so don't believe it is missing any sensors.

If you look at posts 143, 145, and 155 you can see my current status. Makes very little sense.

As noted in post 145, as per @AH64ID suggestion, I am watching for a possible regen at the 24-hour mark from the warranty appointment. Not there yet though. I have put only a couple thousand miles on the truck this year as camping trips were more local and we had a wedding here for our youngest so stayed at home more with that prep, etc. Now having issues sitting for long periods of time so long trips are off. I am sure I will eventually get to the 24-hour point though and will post what happens here.

 

[mbarber84]

That is my truck and it is an early 2021 so don't believe it is missing any sensors.

Well, that shoots that idea down.
Thanks for confirming

 

[AH64ID]

Took a peek at my truck and the sensor is not installed. I didn’t find the notice paperwork either, but have one more place I can look. It doesn’t ring a bell thou, and I’m pretty sure I’d remember it.

My DPF gauge works as I would expect, so I don’t think the particular sensor is for that.

Since filling with DEF I haven’t done any towing. It appears I’m getting over 500 mpg DEF, which is inline with 19-21 HO’s. I’ll top DEF off this next week and find out what exactly it is for empty milage.

@John Jensen I found the PID on my CTS3 to monitor regen trigger percent and it appears to be working. It will trend higher than the percent per hour during slow city style driving, but then drops on the interstate. Currently reading 75% and I’m at 18 hours since my last regen. Thanks.

 

[John Jensen]

Took a peek at my truck and the sensor is not installed. I didn’t find the notice paperwork either, but have one more place I can look. It doesn’t ring a bell thou, and I’m pretty sure I’d remember it.

My DPF gauge works as I would expect, so I don’t think the particular sensor is for that.

Since filling with DEF I haven’t done any towing. It appears I’m getting over 500 mpg DEF, which is inline with 19-21 HO’s. I’ll top DEF off this next week and find out what exactly it is for empty milage.

@John Jensen I found the PID on my CTS3 to monitor regen trigger percent and it appears to be working. It will trend higher than the percent per hour during slow city style driving, but then drops on the interstate. Currently reading 75% and I’m at 18 hours since my last regen. Thanks.

Glad you found it. Mine operates similarly to what you are seeing. If the PID hits 100% before a 24 hour period it will regen.
Here's a picture of what I'm monitoring and att are my Edge notes that may help you.

By the way, that missing sensor has nothing to do with your DPF, its purpose is to report the Nox level which determines how much DEF to inject. Notice I monitor DEF Command, I wonder if that PID is reading the sensor I have but you don't have? Not sure.

 

[AH64ID]

DEF commanded works just fine on my truck without the sensor.

Not sure how a particulate sensor has any effect on DEF, but I’ve read that as well. NOx sensors are integral for that.

Is your 26% DEF mixed/diluted or like that out of the jug? Pump DEF has been 32-34% for me.

 

[John Jensen]

DEF commanded works just fine on my truck without the sensor.

Not sure how a particulate sensor has any effect on DEF, but I’ve read that as well. NOx sensors are integral for that.

Is your 26% DEF mixed or like that out of the jug? Pump DEF has been 32-33% for me.

Thanks, tells us the missing sensor has nothing to do with DEF Command

They call it a particulate sensor which is misleading but technically may be correct. Should call it a Nox sensor.

For every 2.5 gallons of DEF, I add 1 gal water = 26%. Keeps it above the alarm level which is 22%. Not to save money but I've read it will keep injectors, etc cleaner than pure DEF. I only use this truck 2-3 times a year for towing TT and tripping SoCal to Oregon. Have never seen it go below 26%. The picture I sent you the truck has been sitting for 4 months with 8 months old DEF mixture

 

[flan]

Thanks, tells us the missing sensor has nothing to do with DEF Command

They call it a particulate sensor which is misleading but technically may be correct. Should call it a Nox sensor.

For every 2.5 gallons of DEF, I add 1 gal water = 26%. Keeps it above the alarm level which is 22%. Not to save money but I've read it will keep injectors, etc cleaner than pure DEF. I only use this truck 2-3 times a year for towing TT and tripping SoCal to Oregon. Have never seen it go below 26%. The picture I sent you the truck has been sitting for 4 months with 8 months old DEF mixture

Do you use any special type of water?

 

[superjoe83]

The particulate sensors only purpose is to monitor DPF health, it has nothing to do with regens or DEF dosing. I copied this right from the service manual:

The Particulate Matter (PM) Sensor is used to determine the efficiency of the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) by measuring the amount of particulate matter (soot) remaining in the exhaust gas after the DPF. The PM Sensor is located at the outlet of the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Catalyst, and consists of a probe and module. The probe and module cannot be serviced (or diagnosed) separately. The probe and module are serviced as one unit. The module communicates with the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) over CAN Bus communication circuits.

The probe contains three internal parts: a heater, a temperature sensor, and a set of particulate measuring electrodes with a high electrical resistance. During normal operation, the module will activate the heater and perform a regeneration of the electrodes to burn off any deposited soot before taking a measurement. After sensor regeneration is complete, soot particles from the exhaust gas are then collected onto the electrodes and form conductive paths between the electrodes leading to a drop of the electrical resistance. The decreased resistance results in an increased current across the electrodes, which is compared against calibrated thresholds to determine sensor functionality and DPF efficiency.

Before starting a new measurement, the PM Sensor will perform a regeneration of the electrodes to burn off the deposited soot so that each measurement starts at similar conditions. The regeneration is considered successful if the probe’s heater is able to maintain the regeneration temperature and the PM Sensor transitions into measurement mode.

 

[John Jensen]

Do you use any special type of water?

Distilled is required

 

[flan]

Distilled is required

Good to know, thanks.

 

[Blythkd1]

I thought DEF required deionized water? Which doesn't make any sense from a dollars and cents standpoint since bottled DI water costs more than DEF. But if you've got other motives for dilution and can use distilled water, then it starts to make sense.

So no problems with the distilled water I guess?

 

[John Jensen]

The particulate sensors only purpose is to monitor DPF health, it has nothing to do with regens or DEF dosing. I copied this right from the service manual:

My 2020 HO manual makes no mention of the particulate sensor. What year and HO or So do you have? Does your manual describe "health"? Can you send a picture or pdf of the page that says what you posted? Not trying to be an ass, just curious and would like to know just what the sensor in question does. I still believe it determines the dosing amount. That Ram was allowed to deliver trucks without it because they set the software to an EPA approved continuous fixed amount of DEF.