Team-BHP - Diesel engine - White smoke on morning starts

I'm having a 2013 Ritz ZDi which is well maintained and clocked 70K KMS. The car is only serviced at Maruti A.S.S till date.

Recently the car is emitting considerable white smoke for morning/first start of the day. It was having a slight pickup drop for the lower gears and it got reduced(not fully removed) after EGR valve cleaning. :Frustrati

Had done the following till now:

EGR valve cleaning at 60K KMS
Intercooler cleaning at 70K KMS

But in vain.

The A.S.S is clueless and they only have EGR valve cleaning for white smoke under their belt! :Shockked:

Please help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shashank.nk (Post 4652017)

Can you post a video ? My Swift (2011 make) also emits white smoke on cold start, however its usually for ~5 seconds or little more depending on the weather. Apparently, some DDIS engines emit white smoke, so I've learn't to live with it. I'm planning an injector test and cleaning if required, in November.

I usually only see it in the mornings or at first start.

In my car the white smoke reduces after 10-15 seconds. The white smoke is there irrespective of the climate although its slightly more during cold starts.

This was the case with my car also and the white smoke would stay there for at least 20-30 seconds after a crank, especially after an overnight parking and it was only during overnight starts or longish gaps (more than 10-12 hours parking).

White smoke, especially during start hints about unburnt diesel and this is very normal in cold weather conditions due to partial combustion till the engine heats up. Hence you can very well smell raw diesel for those few seconds when white smoke comes out of the exhaust and later the smell also vanishes along with the white smoke. This is the same reason why you won't see the smoke when the engine heats up or you crank the car after a short break after a drive.

What I did to overcome this was to use 2 cans of Liqui Moly fuel additive (not Purge) in 2 tankfulls, back to back and this white smoke has permanently vanished even during a cold start. May be the additive helped clean the fuel and injector lines to certain extent and they are functioning efficiently because even the idle note is calm and settled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paragsachania (Post 4652040)

White smoke, especially during start hints about unburnt diesel and this is very normal in cold weather conditions due to partial combustion till the engine heats up. Hence you can very well smell raw diesel for those few seconds when white smoke comes out of the exhaust and later the smell also vanishes along with the white smoke.

What I did to overcome this was to use 2 cans of Liqui Moly fuel additive (not Purge) in 2 tankfulls, back to back and this white smoke has permanently vanished even during a cold start. May be the additive helped clean the fuel and injector lines to certain extent and they are functioning efficiently because even the idle note is calm and settled.

Edit - just saw this ^ and it is a very valid reason, faulty injection causing minor flooding in the chamber also can very well be the reason.

Original reply - Is there oil consumption by the engine? If so how much is it? If the oil consumption is minor, best to ignore this.

White smoke only at start maybe a very minor leak of oil into combustion chamber and then the oil getting settled over night or long duration park, this getting ignited when you start again. One such reason can be a sightly faulty valve seat that may be letting in oil from the valve head. This is apart from the usual culprit of turbo or other oil seals in the lubrication system and connected to intake side.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vigsom (Post 4652086)

I won't doubt the health of the engine at 70k kms.

I hope you start the engine as soon as the heater symbol cuts off.

For starters, why don't you just clean your air filter and see?

Yes, I start the engine after the heater symbol is off. Will try cleaning the air filter at A.S.S.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu (Post 4652041)

Original reply - Is there oil consumption by the engine? If so how much is it? If the oil consumption is minor, best to ignore this.

There is no oil consumption as of now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paragsachania (Post 4652040)

What I did to overcome this was to use 2 cans of Liqui Moly fuel additive (not Purge) in 2 tankfulls, back to back and this white smoke has permanently vanished even during a cold start. May be the additive helped clean the fuel and injector lines to certain extent and they are functioning efficiently because even the idle note is calm and settled.

Did you meant this: https://www.amazon.in/Liqui-Moly-Sup.../dp/B01INCWL0S

Haven't used any additives in my life :D

Is it safe? Any side affects?

Found a post elsewhere

Quote:

Basically there are 3 types of smoke emitted from a diesel engine: black, blue and white.

Black smoke:

Black smoke is the most common emitted from diesel engines and indicates incomplete combustion of the fuel. Black smoke causes can vary widely and include ..
· Incorrect fuel injection timing
· Dirty or worn fuel injectors
· Over fuelling
· Faulty turbocharger, or turbo lag
· Faulty or dirty exhaust gas recycling (EGR) system
· Incorrect valve clearance
· Incorrect fuel to air ratio
· Dirty or restricted air cleaner systems
· Over loading the engine
· Poor fuel quality
· Cool operating temperatures
· High altitude operation
· Excessive carbon build-up in combustion and exhaust spaces

Black smoke can occur across the entire operating range, but is usually worst under full power, or during the lag before the turbocharger boosts air supply to match the fuel usage such as in the early stages of acceleration and during gear changes. Moderate turbo lag smoke is acceptable; otherwise black smoke should be hardly visible in a correctly running engine.

Blue smoke:

Blue smoke is caused by engine lubricating oil burning. The oil can enter the combustion chamber from several sources including:

· Worn valve guides, or seals
· Cylinder &/or piston ring wear
· Cylinder glaze
· Piston ring sticking
· Incorrect grade of oil .. too thin and getting past rings, or valves guides
· Fuel dilution of the oil, making it too thin.

Blue smoke is often evident at cold start, which can reflect reduced oil control due to carbon fouling deposits around the piston rings and/or cylinder glaze. Blue smoke should not be evident at any stage.
An engine may burn oil without the evidence of blue smoke, because good compression burns oil quite cleanly, however, it is not acceptable for any new engine, or engine in good internal condition to burn large amounts of lubricating oil.

White smoke:

White smoke is caused by raw, un-burnt fuel passing into the exhaust stream. Common causes include:
· Incorrect fuel injection timing
· Defective fuel injectors
· Low cylinder compression

Low cylinder compression may be caused by leaking valves, sticking piston rings, ring wear, cylinder wear, or cylinder glaze. When white smoke occurs at cold start and then disappears as the engine warms up, the most common causes are fouling deposits around piston rings and/or cylinder glazing.
Continuous evidence of white smoke indicates a mechanical defect, or incorrect fuel timing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paragsachania (Post 4652108)

If it wasn't, I would have posted here :).

I don't use additives either. It's the first time I used only to clean the system. Earlier I had used Purge but the reason was different.

My vehicle has done nearly 180,000 Km.

Thanks. Is decarbonization required at this point? :confused:

Quote:

Originally Posted by hserus (Post 4652225)

Have you checked if your fuel filter (diesel filter) is due for a change yet?

No, haven't replaced the diesel filter at 70K service. Don't know whether they have checked it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithun (Post 4652330)

Thanks. Is decarbonization required at this point?

Absolutely no need If you have been careful enough to use good quality (less adulterated) diesel all the while and have been religiously replacing fuel, air and oil filters at prescribed intervals.

If there is a serious issue, you as a driver should be able to relate this with many other symptoms apart from smoke alone. In your case it is only during a cold start where you experience white smoke that vanishes after some time which is very much normal.

As others have pointed, check when was the fuel filter replaced. 20K km is the replacement interval for the same.

My daily ride is a 6 year old, 115K KMS driven Swift ZDi. I have noticed the white smoke problem on cold starts for the last year now and have also noticed a drop in engine pick up and peppiness. Last week I went for the DFSC from 3M . While the white smoke on cold starts still persist, there was a brief return of peppiness to the drive. Please suggest the next steps I can follow to get rid of the white smoke and get that peppiness in the drive that I loved about my swift. The engine oil change is due in another 1.5K, so I can get the necessary air/oil filters changed. Should I be looking for anything else?

Quote:

Originally Posted by New2Carz (Post 4678195)

Considering you have run the car for 115k kms you may want to replace all the gaskets before replacing the oil. Oil leaks could cause what you are experiencing.