Was changing oil today and slightly bumped into one of the wires that plugs directly into engine and it broke (connector was well worn from heat, etc over many years- see pics attached).

After oil change before doing anything to fix the broken wire connector or attempt to reconnect it — I test and car starts fine, no check engine light or anything, everything sounds and feels normal on test drive..

I get back and check error codes with scanner anyway to see what the currently disconnected circuit triggered and it triggered this (see pic attached also) — “Error code P0020: Intake Camshaft Position Actuator circuit / Open (Bank 2). DTC Severity 2 of 3: Repair”

So just to see what happens if I reconnect it — I take off the broke connector (see pic attached) and just ‘manually’ connect (tightly) the two wires (one red, one brown) to the pins on the receiving plug still in place.

I start engine and this time it has a rough start. I guess that it maybe has something to do with the fuel injector /timing /camshaft and maybe was adjusting to the circuit now being reconnected again, because after about 10-15 seconds the engine sounded perfectly normal again….

But then I check error codes and they are still there and come back after clearing them initially.

So my questions are:

1: what does this intake cam position actuator actually do and is it safe to drive or will it damage engine without it connected (until I get new connector part ordered) ?

2: do the two wires (see pic attached) that are red and brown from the broken connector — have a polarity that matters in reconnecting them? I checked on a multimeter and they both seemed positive based on the positive voltage, although the skinnier gauge of the two had less voltage coming from it (normal?). Wondering if the reason I still have the codes after thoroughly test reconnecting the wires to the engine manually without the plug piece, is due to the polarity or which of the wire poles they are currently attached two and maybe I need to flip flop them?

3: I got the rough start and idle on a warm engine only after reconnecting the wire to the engine. Would this mean I connected it backwards and just need to switch the order, or does it likely mean something else, like does the connector piece have some sort of fuse or relay init required or is it just a straight up connector? Just strange that I didn’t get any rough start and idle at all prior to manually reconnecting them, I.e. no issues noticed with nothing connected at all.

thanks so much in advance if anyone can help here!

supposed to take family on day trip tomorrow and they are going to be dissapointed if I “broke” the family car (temporarily) and then will end up wanting to take things back to dealer for maintenance 😅

pic of two wires after removing the broken connector:


circled spots are the broken connector (left) and the two wire posts where it formerly was connected (right)


Farther out pic of two wire posts that are disconnected so you can see what part of the engine they are at:


Code reading from my cheap harbor freight scanner:


Part number of the broken connector A031 545 48 26
which on the Mercedes part site actually lists description as “Clutch Housing”?

 

Bump. Any resident M276 experts here to opine?

 

Does anybody even frequent GLK forums anymore 😆

 

Sorry I am not able to help but I think you posted in the W205 C-Class forum and not the X204 GLK forum : )
Otherwise I recommend posting there although there might not be a lot of response too but that is where your vehicle is, you can alternatively post to W212 and W204, as there should be more activity there and I do believe there are vehicles models such as W212 E 350 and W204 C 350 that share your engine there.

 

1. The solenoid (actuator) changes position of the camshaft to the specified timing. I wouldn't drive the vehicle with the solenoid non-functional. Hard to tell what might, or might not, happen.
2. You need WIS/EPC. It's on eBay.
3. Compare the other actuator that is not damaged to see how the wires are connected to the actuator.

Buy a new engine harness from a dealer or ebay. They seem to be plentiful on ebay. Either hack out a repair section and cobble it into your harness (soldering skills needed) or replace your harness entirely (recommended).