Originally Posted by
rondetto
I probably should take it up and down the dual carriageway and put metal to the pedal a few times.
No need to thrash it. Not sure how it works on Fords but for BMW's you just need to have the engine at full operating temperature and once you get above 38mph the dpf regen will begin. Then you just need to keep it above 38mph for a 20mins or so to let it complete the cycle. All this happens without you even knowing. Again, not sure about Fords but BMW's will also do some kind of regen during short journeys. I think it might be called a passive regen. Dont think it's as good as a full proper regen though. I think my 330d was in the middle of one when I got home from work yesterday which is just a short trip across town. The tell tell sign was that when I got home, the fan kicked in when I switched the engine off suggesting the temperature had been increased to perform the regen. No problem though as I'm off on a long drive tomorrow, so the full regen will then complete.
Some things that will prevent a regen from happening (again this is for BMW but may be similar with Fords), is a failed thermostat preventing the engine from reaching the required temperature. Also faults with glow plugs and/or the controller will prevent a regen from happening.
The whole regen process might be completely different on a Ford but at least it gives you an idea of what happens.