Having spent some time trying to resolve the non-regenerating DPF, with apparent success, we set off on our European adventure. Newcastle -> Amsterdam ferry and then driving to SW Poland for a few days, followed by Krakow for a week, then four days in NE Poland and finishing with a few days in Warsaw before heading back to Amsterdam.
Setting off from the ferry we were making excellent time and, due to a substantial tailwind, we were doing in excess of 52mpg, even though we were heavily laden and carrying a roofbox. Then, just south of Magdeburg we had what can only be described as a meltdown. Horn and lights on, uncommanded, a rolling display of error and warning messages and a roughly running engine. To the side of the autobahn, next to a rescue phone. I wanted to disconnect the battery but, despite most people moving into the outer lane as they passed us, I was not trusting enough to do so and had to listen to the horn (presumably) melt itself into oblivion over the next fifteen minutes. The lights also stayed on. They stayed on for the hour plus it took a tow truck to come and the 30 minutes it took to bring us to a repair place. We managed to extract enough stuff for an overnight before it locked itself and it was then unresponsive to the key fob.
Next morning the battery was disconnected and recharged and it behaved as if nothing had happened. We paid the bill and set off again. After 50km or so, it went into a sort of limp mode. 2000rpm/70mph and no acceleration to speak of. It stayed like that for the rest of the time...
Trying to make an appointment with a DPF guy.
Nightmare - which year is your Galaxy?
It's 2014, just on the cusp between MkII and MkII. The bugger let us down again yesterday, when the battery failed without warning. On the trailer home again.
Hopefully, that's all the travails for now. It appears that the meltdown was a combination of dying battery and blocked DPF. The blocked DPF kept it in limp mode. Once we got home, I called a well-known franchise for DPFs but there was no reply. So I fixed it myself. Knowing that the vapouriser was likely frozen in place and not wishing to battle with it on ramps, I drilled a hole at the front of the DPF, later tapped for a well anti-siezed screw, and squirted DPF cleaner in through the hole. Left it for an hour and then reapplied. Still didn't use the whole can.
Then ran it for a while, monitoring the differential pressure in FORSCAN. When it had come down substantially I reset the learned values. It's been running for a week now and seems, if anything, better than previously. Not surprising, as the DPF was probably blocking up for quite some time. Will do some more applications over the coming weeks, as the hole location allows me to be covering the vapouriser with cleaner. Hopefully that will work to unbung it, which I will be able to tell by initiating and running to completion a regen. If not, it will get taken out and cleaned/replaced at the next service.