Regen info

Pickledrick

Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Location
Ireland
TDI
Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI
Hi , im new to this forum . I bought my first car there a few months ago , a 2015 diesel golf Mk7 . Im a city guy and don't do much driving however I was told about the regen thing and so did a little research. From this I now drive on a motorway for around 30 mins and keep my revs at 2k all the time . I presume that this is enough and I do this every 3 weeks. My question would be am I wasting too much time doing it this often ? I would only be doing less than 30km in the 3 weeks without this regen and although the regen light has never come on it seems a nasty and expensive fix if you dont look after it . So basically how often should I do this regen in my circumstances? Thanks in advance
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
We have ScanGauges in both of our ‘15s. I have programmed them to read EGT and DPF temperature. If we see anything above 1000 F, there’s a regen happening so we just keep driving until the temperature drops below 600 or so. I also don’t shut the car down until the temperature is below 450.
 

bigb

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2018
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Sportwagon S
If you are a city guy and don't do much driving you have probably purchased the wrong car. If you want to keep up on regens with your driving requirements the only sure way is to know when the regens happen and to do that you will need something to monitor like VAG-DPF. Otherwise you could waste a lot of time and fuel going for a long drive when a regen might not even happen. These cars are great for long trips but for short trips & city driving you might be better off with a gas or electric vehicle.
 

Pickledrick

Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Location
Ireland
TDI
Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI
Honestly I'm Clueless about cars I don't know what a scan gauge Is but ill Look into them. Yes unfortunately I have probably made a bad move rushing into a diesel but I don't think I could swap it now for a petrol . I have sometimes turned the car off and it had stayed on which I read is the regen taking place . So if I'm driving non stop for 30 mins the car might now regen or burn away the deposits ? From what I read as long as your doing a long drive you will be burning away the residue from it ? As i said I know nothing about cars and i just getting this info from online which of course has to be taken with a pinch of salt ha
 

Duke_962

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Location
Northern new jersey
TDI
2003 jetta 5spd
If your doing that few driving in a city it will never get a good regen. Like others said invest in a vag-com (Ross-tech.com) cable or a scan gauge to know when it is actually regenerating. The car will tell you before it’s to late by the dpf light (little filter light with dots on the inside) if you see that don’t stop driving go hit the freeway and open her up (like she was intended) steady pedal 2,000 rpm then when the lights off your back to a empty filter. But if you are never really getting the car hot 30 mins of driving at speed you are just hurting yourself and prolly bought the wrong car. Diesels need to get warm and are for longer commutes if you are only going a few miles go get a gasser. Hope this helps
 

Pickledrick

Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Location
Ireland
TDI
Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI
If your doing that few driving in a city it will never get a good regen. Like others said invest in a vag-com (Ross-tech.com) cable or a scan gauge to know when it is actually regenerating. The car will tell you before it’s to late by the dpf light (little filter light with dots on the inside) if you see that don’t stop driving go hit the freeway and open her up (like she was intended) steady pedal 2,000 rpm then when the lights off your back to a empty filter. But if you are never really getting the car hot 30 mins of driving at speed you are just hurting yourself and prolly bought the wrong car. Diesels need to get warm and are for longer commutes if you are only going a few miles go get a gasser. Hope this helps
I get you . Sadly it's well too late now and the same models in petrol are 2k more and it's probably lost a lot of value now already. I bought the obdlink mx scan tool, I presume that is It ?
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
You are in Europe and I would suggest the app Vag-DPF for monitoring regens. This is the free version to try and see if it works for you.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.applagapp.vagdpf_free&hl=en

If it does this is the paid for version (very worth it):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.applagapp.vagdpf&hl=en

This app and a Bluetooth dongle and android phone will show you exactly what you need to know. You can stop all that needed driving and only do it when needed. Just driving whenever doesn't really do much unless you just get lucky and have a regen while driving. Mostly a waste of time and fuel though. The app writer is from Europe and should be good for you. He doesn't support US cars unless they happen to match a European car.
 

Pickledrick

Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Location
Ireland
TDI
Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI
You are in Europe and I would suggest the app Vag-DPF for monitoring regens. This is the free version to try and see if it works for you.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.applagapp.vagdpf_free&hl=en

If it does this is the paid for version (very worth it):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.applagapp.vagdpf&hl=en

This app and a Bluetooth dongle and android phone will show you exactly what you need to know. You can stop all that needed driving and only do it when needed. Just driving whenever doesn't really do much unless you just get lucky and have a regen while driving. Mostly a waste of time and fuel though. The app writer is from Europe and should be good for you. He doesn't support US cars unless they happen to match a European car.
Thanks I will look into this . So do I need something to connect this app or will this connect straight to my car ?
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
You need an android based phone and a Blue tooth dongle as I said.

The most reliable and best of the OBDII tools in my opinion are these:
https://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/smart-phone/

They work very well and are very high quality. There are all kinds of clones and spinoffs of these on Amazon and Ebay for $15 or so but they may or may not work or work for long. I tried 3 of the cheap ones before I bought the good one and have been happy ever since. Once you have the phone, the OBDII dongle then download the trial software and set it for your engine/car and see if it works. If so then pay for the full version and use it to monitor your car.

I run this in my car all the time just so I know where it is at and what it is doing. An older used cheap android phone just for this can also be used if you prefer an Apple or something else. Simple to use and understand exactly what is happening. Read the details in those links and see if your engine is listed there. Stop all that driving around and wasting your time and fuel and money for nothing.
 

bigb

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2018
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Sportwagon S
The Bluetooth adapter that came with your OBD MX kit will work and in fact it's about the best one out there. Don't bother with the app it comes with, just install VAG-DPF then plug in the OBD-MX and find it on your phone, connect and your'e off to the races......er the city streets I mean. The MX adapter can be left plugged in all the time as it has auto shutoff. Just remove it when you take the car anywhere for service.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
torque pro can also be set up for custom gauges that monitor all the EGT probs.

there's a custom xls file out there with all the math and parameters.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
True, and another good app to have on hand but more difficult to set up for just tracking regens. I keep it around though as it can do more if you are willing to take the time to set it all up. It will also read and clear codes. That custom file works for some but not all cars. You just have to try and see. Fortunately my 2015 Beetle is well stocked with gauges for the normal items already. It came with the center dash pod console as well as the MFD gauges. I was also surprised it came with paddle shifters. I never noticed them for almost a year after I bought it.
 

Pickledrick

Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Location
Ireland
TDI
Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI
Thanks for the info guys , the obdlink should be here on the 10th so Ill sit tight till then .
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Download the Vag-DPF trial version and get used to it. Set it up for your car. Then all you will have to do when the OBDII dongle arrives is pair it.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
True, and another good app to have on hand but more difficult to set up for just tracking regens. I keep it around though as it can do more if you are willing to take the time to set it all up. It will also read and clear codes. That custom file works for some but not all cars. You just have to try and see. Fortunately my 2015 Beetle is well stocked with gauges for the normal items already. It came with the center dash pod console as well as the MFD gauges. I was also surprised it came with paddle shifters. I never noticed them for almost a year after I bought it.
yeah i think i have about 8 leagues set up, Coolant, IAT, boost and EGT 3 are the ones I look at the most, pretty cool seeing fuel pressure move around too. It's impressive how soon you can hit the EGT limiter soon as speeds are higher than 80MPH.

Sadly the wife doesn't let me nerd out and use the gauge too often, and on the Alltrack there are so few sensors I haven't even bothered trying to set some up.
 
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