Car is a 2011 C30 T5,
So i got the head reconditioned and installed it with no issues. I followed the procedure for the timing belt and it started and ran fine but I was getting cam position sensor codes and I checked the vvt desired / actual and the exhaust is a little off on idle but when I rev it it matches up pretty good. The intake vvt desired angle is +27 degrees at idle which the actual is right around the same. The issue was when the desired would change to anything else the actual would not move and it would stay at +27. The camshaft deviation was I think 7 and 8.
I figured I did something wrong with the timing since it was my first time doing it. After reading up on it more and watching multiple videos as I waited for new cam caps to come I figured I would try it again.
This time I lined the crank up on the line and my timing marks up top were perfect so undid the t55 bolts and put the cam lock tool in again and realigned the marks using the original marks. Everything looked spot on so I tightened them down again and cranked it over 2x after removing the cam lock tool and it looked perfect. The cam lock tool also slid right back in place so I figured it would be good.
After I got it all together the deviation was closer I think like 5 and 6 or something like that but I’m still not getting any movement from the intake cvvt camshaft. I swapped cam sensors and nothing changed, I pulled the cvvt solenoid out and checked the gaskets, plugs and positioning and it all looked good. They looked very clean and I could see the metal screen through the little holes. Still nothing.
I’m starting to suspect that the cvvt solenoid is bad but I wish I would have checked it before I did the timing belt to have a control to base it off of. This issue has me running in circles in my head and I’m sure I got the timing right. I’m still not getting any actual movement from the intake cam even though its desired angle is being sent. The code it’s throwing is ecm-611b which is a cam sensor code.
What am I doing wrong and what should I try next?
____
[THE FIX]
So after some testing, the wiring all checked out and I had voltage at the solenoid connector.
I removed my solenoid and tested it with 12v and it actuated like it should, that is what puzzled me during this process.
Luckily I was working not to far from a salvage yard (my favorite place in the world) and they had a few p1 cars there. They had an 04 s40 with the same intake solenoid as my 11 c30 but I didn’t have any tools. The next day I went and they removed the whole row and crushed it, I was kind of mad that I was 1 day away from getting it but as I was walking around I seen an 07 v50 that wasn’t even in the system yet. It was clean inside and seemed nice but it was in a small wreck. I was able to pull the vvt solenoid and I took the vvt sprocket also just in case. I got a few interior pieces I was missing and the best part was it still had the top half of the battery cover. I’m not going to lie that was my favorite part because I’ve been looking for one since I got the car and it was only a couple bucks. They also had one of those ugly Mazda 5 mini vans so I took the rear caliper brackets so I can do the Frankenbrake setup later on, those were $10 each.
In total I think I payed $35 for all of it plus a bunch of bolts and misc little things they pretty much just let me have.
When I got home I checked the solenoid and it worked so I cleaned it out the best I could then put a little oil on it. I also tested the vvt sprocket with compressed air and it actuated so that was good too. So far everything was looking good
Well just now I went out and first I replaced the solenoid and hooked up Vida to check for actuation. Sure enough it started working again. The desired/actual value follow each other perfectly on the graph and I finally got my full power back.
I have 2 theories on why this happened.
1: as I was rebuilding it I had the solenoids stored sitting upside down so it’s possible that oil could have somehow found its way into the top plastic part where the electric parts are.
2: I think this is most likley the cause. I know some of you have had to take these out before and you probably know how hard they can be to remove. The only pry point is the little tab that the bolt goes through. I think while I was prying and twisting to get the original one out it bent the tab a little.
I’m thinking since it was slightly bent when I put the t30 bolt back in to secure it, it slightly lifted it up and made it a little crooked causing leakage around that bottom gasket. To me this would explain the flutter in the graph of the actual movement. I think the flutter was the same rhythm as the oil pump and when the solenoid opened the slight rhythmic pressure of the oil would cause the flutter while the pressure itself would never build up because that bottom seal was not seated correctly.
This is just a wild guess but it makes sense in my head.
I’ve had a few people tell me that they had to replace the solenoid after doing a job like this and this makes sense to me because it cannot be a coincidence.
TLDR: I changed the solenoid and it’s working now. Possible cause of failure is storing it sitting upside down or having the tab for the bolt bent from prying to remove it. Possibly resulting in the bottom seal to not make full contact and make a good enough seal for the oil to pressurize in the solenoid or the vvt hub meaning no movement of the camshaft.