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I have a 2008 Ford Focus (UK) with a 1.6 TDCi engine and 60K miles.

This weekend I got error code P242F stating "diesel particulate filter restriction ash accumulation" and the vehicle has gone into limp mode.

I first had the same error a few months ago and was fortunate enough to be able to clear it using my OBDII tool and a 'hi-rev' journey up and down the motorway. Unfortunately I'm not as lucky this time and I'm seemingly stuck with the error for now.

What's interesting is that at first the yellow check engine light shows and the red screen on my dash displays the "engine malfunction" warning sign. If I use my OBDII tool at this point it says "1 error code found" and shows P242F.
If I try to clear the code the yellow check engine light disappears and the tool shows 0 codes, but the warning screen still shows and the car is still in limp mode. After a day it goes back to the first stage again.

I've been doing a lot of reading to see if there's anything I can do myself before taking it to a garage and the general advice seems to be as follows:

  1. Clean the EGR valve (some recommend blanking or replacing it).
  2. Temporarily disconnect the MAF to clear the error code.
  3. Force a DPF regen using something like FORScan.

My problem is that I'm not 100% confident as to where these two parts are located and I've been unable to locate any documentation on this.

Here is a picture of my engine with the cover off. I've circled what I believe is the EGR valve, you can just see its barcode sticker in the picture (zoomed in):

Ford Focus 2008 TDCi 1.6

Questions:

  1. Is this the EGR valve? If not, where is it?
  2. The advice seems to unanimously be to blank it. Is this legal? I couldn't find any UK/EU law on this.
  3. Is this the MAF? If not, where is it?
  4. Is it safe to disconnect the MAF temporarily?
  5. Any other suggestions to try before contacting Uncle Ford?

I should mention that I'm a computer guy rather than a mechanic, so while I'm very confident in my technical ability to follow some instructions and "repair" these parts I'm not familiar with some terminology so go easy on me ;-)

UPDATE (26/11/2015)

I've tried to get some better photos but the light was terrible today (UK weather).

As requested, the engine with no labels:
https://i.sstatic.net/r5gBo.jpg

I'm confident that I've correctly identified the EGR valve based on the photos, but confirmation would be great.

EGR Valve (top of picture):
https://i.sstatic.net/91q77.jpg

I think @Paulster2 might be right about the MAF. I've taken some photos of what I think is the inlet for it, but it's so dark I'm not sure if you can see:

MAF 1 | MAF 2

Actually, I've just found a YouTube video detailing cleaning the MAF on an '08 Focus and it seems I wasn't far off!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toAvK-Xj9Oo

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  • I think your MAF is under your DPF label, but it is hard to tell because it is obscured. The thing you have labelled MAF looks like the input to the turbo.
    – HandyHowie
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 19:46
  • Thanks. I'll try and take a better photo tomorrow when it's light and edit my question.
    – Equalsk
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 19:48
  • 1
    The MAF is directly above the MAF label in your picture. It has the wires attached to it. It is just to the side of the air filter box. What you have marked as the DPF seems to be the heat shroud for the hot side of the turbo charger. I'm not sure n the EGR but it should be attached to your exhaust, which should put it on the other side of the engine bay. I'm not seeing it in the picture, but it could be under the DPF label.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 23:43
  • I've added some new photos. Unfortunately the weather was bad so they're not great, but hopefully they should give us a clue.
    – Equalsk
    Commented Nov 26, 2015 at 16:45
  • @Paulster2 is correct about the MAF, it makes sense for it to be there. It is not what you have circled though, it is directly below the MAF label on your photo with the connector with the red part.
    – HandyHowie
    Commented Nov 26, 2015 at 17:29

1 Answer 1

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Update March 2016

Still no errors regarding the DPF.
Had an issue with the engine cutting out at high revs after this which I have also solved.

Update 21st Dec '15

I've fitted the blanking plate this weekend and although the error didn't clear immediately it did after a short drive and hasn't come back after a few days of driving. Fingers crossed that was it!

Original post

So after several hours under the bonnet this weekend I can answer the questions above in the hope that this is useful to anyone else suffering from DPF issues with a Ford.

  1. Yes, that is the EGR valve. The piece you can see with the barcode is the stepper motor, and the valve is directly underneath.
  2. I can't see anything to suggest this is illegal in the UK. The consensus seems to be that on a diesel engine nobody will notice/care.
  3. The MAF is actually under the label in the original diagram. See the updated one below.
  4. Yes it is safe to disconnect it. The ECU will complain, but it doesn't cause any harm to the engine.

Here's the updated diagram labeling the parts:

enter image description here

The EGR valve was covered in a thick black gunk which I removed with a strong degreaser (don't put it on the stepper motor!) and gave it a shot of WD40 to make it smooth. I also gently cleaned the MAF using some MAF cleaner.

Unfortunately this has not solved the issue for me and the error is still occurring. I have now ordered a blanking plate like the one shown below and will fit this next to see if the error is resolved.

enter image description here

Hopefully this will do it otherwise I guess I'm off to the garage!

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