“Emissions Tampering”
More than 80 participants logged on to the web event organised by CITA in collaboration with Applus Iteuve last Thursday, 9 September. The objective of the webinar was to show the experience of purchasing a commercially available AdBlue tampering device, installing it in a Euro VI truck and verifying the results from both an OBD and emissions monitoring perspective. The research was conducted by Applus Idiada in the vicinity of its headquarters near Barcelona, Spain.
The test checked the functioning of the truck’s OBD and compared the performances of the vehicle with and without the tampering device installed. The OBD system monitored the emissions systems in accordance with homologation standards, while the device proved effective in eliminating all AdBlue consumption without triggering OBD alerts, fault codes or MIL lighting. NOx emissions have increased by almost 400%.
The experts emphasised the simplicity of the system, which only requires a constant voltage signal to be fed into the ECU to simulate the operation of the AdBlue injection pump. It was not even necessary to tamper the NOx sensor. Remarkably, the cost of the tampering device could be recovered in about a week of international use of the track through AdBlue savings. This test shows the urgent need for better design of certification standards, making falsification more difficult and coordination with inspection standards to facilitate its detection.