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I was changing the head cover gasket today and I was working faster than usual as my wife was *****ing about how much time I spend working on the car...
Make a long story short, I pinched the solenoid wire. I realized before I had tightened it all the way down but still damaged the wire enough to get a crank no start. I'm good with wiring, but haven't done anything yet. Does anyone know how many conductors are in there (looks like 2)? I haven't cut back the jacket yet to see but I'm assuming I can repair this. Hopefully I'm not the only idiot who has done this before.
I don't want to replace the entire solenoid if I don't have to.
W204 C200, BMW E30 M3, 1980Gt Mini, Toyota Corona, KTM 200 EXC.
My advise is to bite the bullet replace with genuine new wipe any codes the non start has left and move on.
I am good with wiring and harness repairs but would not wast my time with something which could fall again unless it was ultra expensive then it would be look out for used part.
My advise is to bite the bullet replace with genuine new wipe any codes the non start has left and move on.
I am good with wiring and harness repairs but would not wast my time with something which could fall again unless it was ultra expensive then it would be look out for used part.
Leaning towards that... Can I change it out without removing the front cover? It seems it might be easier overall to just remove it than try to get the bolts out from the bottom of the solenoid... I don't have a code reader though I should at this point. What is a cheap one that will read/clear?
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
The VVT solenoid has a 2-pin connector, so there's only two conductors. I can't tell from the pic, but if the cable is coaxial (shielded) and the braided shield is one of the two conductors, I would replace the solenoid with a new one. If there are just two straight wires and you're good with a soldering iron, you could properly fix it (use smaller heat shrink over the individual wires and then a larger one over the whole area where you removed the jacket) - but whether it's worth your time is a different story.
My wife is also well acquainted with the various smells and smudge marks from all of my mistresses, but I think she much prefers that I spend time with them instead of hanging out at the pub with the guys.
The VVT solenoid has a 2-pin connector, so there's only two conductors. I can't tell from the pic, but if the cable is coaxial (shielded) and the braided shield is one of the two conductors, I would replace the solenoid with a new one. If there are just two straight wires and you're good with a soldering iron, you could properly fix it (use smaller heat shrink over the individual wires and then a larger one over the whole area where you removed the jacket) - but whether it's worth your time is a different story.
That's exactly what I was thinking. I'll give it a try. Worst case I'll order a new solenoid.
Do they sell 2 version of the solenoid... meaning one with a longer cable than the other?
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
Originally Posted by skullbox15
That's exactly what I was thinking. I'll give it a try. Worst case I'll order a new solenoid.
Do they sell 2 version of the solenoid... meaning one with a longer cable than the other?
There have been five different revisions of the VVT solenoid (part numbers ending in 0965, 1065, 1165, 1265 and 1465), but I don't know if any of them had longer wires than the others. The current P/N that supersedes all of them is A1560501465.
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
If you just want to read and clear a code now and then on your C63 and don't need to access functions like ABS or SRS, any ~$50 OBD2 scanner should suffice. If you're regularly working on the car yourself, I'd suggest something a little more advanced, but I wouldn't know which one to recommend (I've seen iCarsoft MB-specific units mentioned here previously, but have no personal experience with them). I have access to an up-to-date DAS Xentry / EPC / WIS if I really need it for something, but I don't really wrench on the cars myself much any more.
4 faults current and stored. Still crank no start:
1347 - Mass Air Flow Sensor 1 Has A Short Circuit to Ground
3690 - Component "B2/6 (Left hot film mass air flow sensor)' Has A short Circuit to Ground.
2182 - Mass Air Flow Sensor 1 Has A Malfunction
3741 - Mass Air Flow Sensor 2 Has A Malfunction
I'm assuming MAF1 is on the passenger side since that's the box I removed to access the valve cover. I didn't touch the drivers side at all. I cleared the codes and they all come back on first crank. I've checked both MAF connections and inspected the sensor inside the airbox. Everything looks fine. Could there a problem with the other end of the wire(s) for the MAFs? I don't know where those go.
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
With the MAF completely disconnected, are you still seeing the "short circuit to ground" messages? If you still have a short with the MAF completely disconnected, it's obviously not the MAF - it's the harness. Check if you have pinched and/or otherwise somehow shorted any other wire.
We were chasing a similar electrical gremlin on one of my race cars that took us months to find. When a new, young and careless mechanic (now long gone) was reconnecting the wiring after an engine rebuild, he didn't properly route and secure the wires to keep them out of the way, and one cable was just close enough to touch the exhaust manifold. When we were tuning the car on the dyno, once the manifold got hot enough after the first couple of pulls it melted the insulation on the cable and shorted out whatever signal it was carrying. He afterwards cleared the codes and tucked the wires out of the way, but the insulation was melted / burned on both wires where the cable touched the hot manifold and the wires would then touch and short out every once in a while from the vibration or jerk when you went over a bump or the curbing on the track.
I figured it out. There was a 20 amp fuse (position 8 I think) that was blown. Swapped the fuse and it fired right up. Thanks for your insight Diabolis! My assumption is that the solenoid wire touched the metal under the head cover which shorted it and blew the fuse. The MAF must be mapped back to that fuse as well. I haven't checked the codes again but I suspect if I clear the stored ones they won't come back. I'll post again if the result is contrary.
02-04-2023, 04:39 PM
