You must avoid the costly exercise of replacing expensive emissions components by regular on time maintenance and ensure these components last longer. By getting after-treatment services, you can significantly improve the fuel efficiency of your vehicle. Reduce the fuel your equipment or vehicle utilizes to reduce your carbon footprint.
You must significantly reduce vehicle downtime, which would save money. We have the fastest turnaround times in Australia, which means less downtime and more time spent driving or working.
With our services, you can keep your hard-earned income! You may save money on fuel by maintaining clean filters in your DPF, DOC, SCR, and CAT converters. This periodic maintenance will result in fewer regenerations and a vehicle that runs as efficiently as the manufacturer designed.
Services
The Alfa Romeo after-treatment system is made up of 5 essential components. These consist of the following:
- Diesel particulate filter
- Diesel Oxidation catalyst
- Exhaust gas recirculation system
- Selective catalyst reduction system
- Catalytic converter (Petrol powered engines)
Because the catalytic converters on their 2017–2018 Giulia and 2018 Stelvio vehicles could overheat, Alfa Romeo has recalled vehicles. The cars can stop or even catch fire as a result of this.
Drivers may experience the following symptoms if overheating occurs:
- A lighted check-engine light on the dashboard
- A temporary lack of engine power or, in difficult situations, a burning smell.
An engine misfire appears to be the root of the problem.
Like most diesel cars, Alfa Romeo’s have issues with its EGR valve, cooler, and intake soot. If driving slowly through the suburbs, consider putting DPF issues as well. SCR can also be troublesome if it isn’t kept up with.
Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)
A DPF is installed in every diesel-powered Alfa Romeo vehicle to aid in lowering the number of dangerous pollutants released into the atmosphere. People with respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema are particularly vulnerable to the soot diesel engines release.
The regeneration process burns off the remaining ash from the particles trapped in the filter, which might ultimately cause the DPF to become blocked. Regular maintenance is necessary to keep the DPF operating correctly, keeping your Alfa Romeo’s operating expenses low while maintaining performance and efficiency.
With our cutting-edge, industry-leading equipment providing clean emissions and trouble-free drive, the Australian DPF Centre are your go-to experts for DPF cleaning. Please ensure that the sensors are kept when you or your mechanic bring your DPF for a cleaning. We’ll clean them as part of the maintenance at no additional cost!
Diesel Oxidizing Catalyst (DOC)
Your DOC is a crucial component of the complete after-treatment system that transforms the nasty pollutants from your Alfa Romeo’s engine into clean emissions for us to breathe and no longer hurt the environment. Regular maintenance intervals are advised to ensure the stellar performance of the DOC system while also avoiding costly failures, time without your car, and high repair costs. Using our innovative Italian-made machinery, Australian DPF Centre will keep your DOC running smoothly.
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR)
By bypassing a tiny amount of the engine exhaust back into the air intake, the EGR technology on Alfa Romeo automobiles lowers the combustion temperature. By mixing intake air with engine exhaust, which is no longer flammable, the air/fuel charge becomes less combustible.
The fuel injection system closes or opens the EGR valves to regulate the flow inside this EGR system. The EGR valve interconnects the intake manifold and exhaust manifold. When the engine is cold, idling, or under heavy acceleration, the EGR valve is generally closed, and no EGR flow is present. The EGR flow is at its highest when driving at a constant speed and under a mild load. This has a quenching effect that reduces the temperature of combustion and lessens NOx production.
The rate of cooling that the EGR system originally supplied will be lost if it is made unworkable because it was unplugged or tampered with. When accelerating or pushing the engine sans EGR, the engine will frequently knock and ping (detonate). Over time, this can harm the engine.
Over time, your Alfa Romeo’s EGR cooling system and valves may completely block due to the accumulation of impurities from the recirculation of engine exhaust back into the intake system, including carbon, oil, and contaminants.
The following are typical:
Pinging (Spark Knocking or Detonation) – As a result of a malfunctioning EGR system, a carbon-clogged exhaust port, or a disabled EGR valve.
Rough Idle or Misfiring – Since exhaust gases are seeping into the intake manifold and the EGR valve is not closing.
Hard Starting – A vacuum loss into the intake manifold is caused by the EGR valve not shutting.
Selective Catalyst Reduction System
Your EGR cooler and valve can be cleaned appropriately and returned to their former state thanks to the Australian DPF Centre industry-leading expertise. The two most significant advantages are fuel conservation and improved performance for your Alfa Romeo. For your vehicle to gain as much as possible from our EGR system cleaning, we advise having your technician do an intake clean simultaneously.
Since 2015, Alfa Romeo has used SCR exhaust gas treatment processes with its diesel engines in several of its vehicles here in Australia. Since approximately 2010, foreign SCR systems have been in operation. Nitrogen oxides in exhaust gases are significantly reduced thanks to SCR innovation.
Nitrogen oxide (NOx), produced by the diesel engine, is minimally reduced by Alfa Romeo BluePerformance Technology. Because the actual combustion reaction is unaffected, the engine’s high-efficiency level is maintained. To satisfy the legally needed EU6 emissions targets, You must use Alfa Romeo BluePerformance technology. This technique further optimizes the pollutants of the diesel engine. The SCR significantly reduces nitrogen oxide levels in the exhaust gas with AdBlue infusion in conjunction with the diesel particle filter and NOx catalytic converter.
Catalytic Convertors (CAT)
Catalytic converters are a critical part of the after-treatment system to lower the amounts of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide significantly, and nitrogen oxides in Alfa Romeo vehicles with petrol engines and make them safer for the environment. These combustion-related byproducts are hazardous if left untreated. This process is to make sure your Alfa Romeo is working in a way intended by the manufacturer, not to hurt the environment as well as us as humans; it’s crucial to assess the health and status of the CAT converter!Australian DPF Centre can thoroughly clean the CAT converter in the Alfa Romeo, returning it to “as new” effectiveness and significantly lowering the likelihood of expensive maintenance costs, higher operating expenses, and, most importantly, environmental harm!
Additional Services
Other than the five most essential treatments, the following are additional techniques and solutions your vehicle needs.
AdBlue
AdBlue, a mixture of urea and water, is fed into the vehicle’s exhaust system before NOx leaves the exhaust. It reacts with the NOx that the combustion process releases in the exhaust after being introduced and transforms it into clean nitrogen and oxygen.
Here, introductory chemistry is in effect; at very high temperatures, AdBlue changes into ammonia, a substance that breaks down NOx. As a result, there are much fewer NOx particles in car emissions.
This process is managed using a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system. In principle, AdBlue is fed through the exhaust catalyst.
Diagnosing SCR issues
Numerous other problems, including running out of DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid), might put an Alfa Romeo with SCR technology into a limited start or no-start condition. This is done to stop massive amounts of NOx from being discharged into the environment when the SCR system fails to function as intended. It needs to be carried out to safeguard expensive parts in the exhaust after-treatment system.
DEF Depletion
When an SCR-equipped vehicle is operating normally, the capacity of a tank of fuel DEF is estimated to last the duration between scheduled services. DEF is kept in a specialized tank. However, persistently reckless driving can cause the DEF supply to run out more quickly. For every 100L of diesel, anticipate using 1-4 litres of DEF, typically used at a rate of 1-4% of diesel.
The level of the DEF tank and the number of additional restarts the car can make with the DEF it still has in the tank are both visibly indicated to the driver in all Alfa Romeo vehicles equipped with SCR. The engine will automatically enter a no-start condition if the DEF tank runs empty. This mode will last until the DEF tank is filled and the system is rebooted.
You need a machine with Alfa Romeo-specific firmware that can monitor and show Alfa Romeo-specific real-time data and conduct SCR overrides to perform the resetting procedure.
You must extract all current and impending fault codes, but you must not clear the ones you discover. Even if all repairs are properly completed, the system will engage “Tamper Mode” and immediately enter a constrained start cycle if any codes are cleared.
Contaminated / Expired DEF
A blend of 62.5% deionized water and 32.5% high-grade urea, the source of the ammonia that breaks down NOx into water and nitrogen, makes up all high-quality DEF. In the above ratio, the water and liquid urea freeze and thaw at the same rate, preventing one constituent in the mixture from separating the mix at freezing temperatures. Significant aspects of SCR systems, such as the injection rate and storage space, are designed around these percentages.
Although Australia does not experience freezing conditions, most SCR systems today feature a heat exchanger in the tank to maintain the DEF at a predetermined temperature. The maximum shelf life of all DEF formulations sold worldwide is only 12 months, and they all contain identical proportional amounts of urea and water. The DEF injection system’s malfunctions are the primary cause of most SCR catalyst problems. Too much or too little DEF is injected due to obstructions and leaks anywhere in the system (especially leaking valves/injection nozzles). Both circumstances can negatively impact the catalyst filtration itself. We can clean the catalyst filtration system at Australian DPF Centre using our patented, market-leading machines. It is also recommended for the SCR catalyst convertor be cleaned at regular service-type intervals to maintain optimum efficiency.
Faulty NOx sensors
As with oxygen sensors, SCR systems use upstream and downstream NOx sensors to assess the catalytic converter’s performance. To determine the SCR catalytic converter’s efficiency rating, the ECU/SCR control module analyzes the output of the two sensors.
However, due to the high cost of NOx sensors, you must investigate all alternative explanations before any NOx sensor is declared malfunctioning.
Metering valve issues
An appropriate scan technique can be used to test the measuring valve once you are assured that the DEF injection systems and storage are working correctly. The measuring valve is taken out of the exhaust system for this test, which entails remotely operating the injection pump. The DEF released during the testing should measure roughly 15 g, and the valve must emit a very fine atomized spray pattern with three distinct cones.
Intercooler
Your Alfa Romeo’s intercooler is a crucial component of the engine’s fuel injection system. The efficiency, performance, and durability of your vehicle are all significantly improved by reducing the temperature of the entering air. Upkeep-wise, intercoolers are frequently neglected until a problem arises or the vehicle’s efficiency noticeably declines. A dirty, oil-filled intercooler will be less effective at cooling if a turbo malfunction or other engine-related issue has occurred. In that case, the intercooler may already trap the impurities in your intercooler and be ready to be ingested back into the engine, perhaps doing more harm. The cutting-edge equipment from Australian DPF Centre can restore your intercooler to core functionality and like-new condition, providing you with peace of mind and trouble-free driving.