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After looking into disconnecting the solenoid I kind of have a plan but I’m not hopeful. I have a 2020 S560 4Matic.
And thanks to @CaliBenzDriver for his and others work on this.
I bought the solenoid and the connector that goes to it, hoping to disconnect it and install a dummy one so no codes. Part numbers based on my vin are in the pictures.
First off, getting to the solenoid is not a DIY job. To get to the part, Y130 in a below pic you have to remove the oil pan and that requires pulling the engine. No thanks. Same as with previous gen engine?
So I need to find the connection to the wire harness near the 6 circled in red and disconnect and connect my parts there. It’s also the blue arrow where the connector goes up thru the block since it has a green gasket, same as the oil drain plug. It’s a vertical connector and guessing it’s between the block and alternator, and probably super tight in there. Maybe remove the alternator but that’s a job too. I’ve looked at harness diagrams but nothing clear in that area, about the best I’ve found is 5 in the pictures below, engine wiring harness.
I’ll poke around when I have time, most likely in the spring when I’ll change the oil.
After looking into disconnecting the solenoid I kind of have a plan but I’m not hopeful. I have a 2020 S560 4Matic.
And thanks to @CaliBenzDriver for his and others work on this.
I bought the solenoid and the connector that goes to it, hoping to disconnect it and install a dummy one so no codes. Part numbers based on my vin are in the pictures.
First off, getting to the solenoid is not a DIY job. To get to the part, Y130 in a below pic you have to remove the oil pan and that requires pulling the engine. No thanks. Same as with previous gen engine?
So I need to find the connection to the wire harness near the 6 circled in red and disconnect and connect my parts there. It’s also the blue arrow where the connector goes up thru the block since it has a green gasket, same as the oil drain plug. It’s a vertical connector and guessing it’s between the block and alternator, and probably super tight in there. Maybe remove the alternator but that’s a job too. I’ve looked at harness diagrams but nothing clear in that area, about the best I’ve found is 5 in the pictures below, engine wiring harness.
I’ll poke around when I have time, most likely in the spring when I’ll change the oil.
Great, you're almost there!
You have parts on hand and diagrams: ready for action.
Now you need to find an easy access to the solenoid circuit on the ECU side.
-1- PLAN A: outside of engine block (not inside oil pan!)
-2- PLAN B: at/near the ECU connector.
The solenoid circuit begins at one of the ECU ouput pins shown on engine schematic.
You can strip the mechanical piece of solenoid to keep only its smaller electric coil. That's all a dummy load needs to be.
(ECU very likely measures load current so a 1k resistor would be sensed as an open circuit. )
-3- PLAN C: WHEEL WELL ACCESS
It may be easier to remove a front wheel to gain easy access to the desired engine area on the front passenger side.
oil pan connection on pass. side
oil pan circuit: connector + harness + solenoid.
You're the M176 pioneer!
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Dec 28, 2024 at 02:34 PM.
While you have your thinking cap on chassing the pump solenoid circuit, pay attention to your alternator connector.
Is it a single wire LIN connector?
If so you have the opportunity to easily cancel another factor of chaos.
ALT LIN unplugged for self-regulated 14.15V output 👏
The M276 and perhaps M176 are not compliant have poor compliance with variable voltage.
By unplugging ALT LIN, the chassis becomes supplied by 14.15V regulated fixed voltage.
This improves engine throttle response + tranny shifts learning conditions as well as the electric steering centered bias holding at highway speeds.
It brings back lost bandwidth and stability to all CAN networked modules: radars, cameras, brakes...
This is experimental... so do a little honest poking before assuming suitability.
Learn to setup IC to display voltage + current while driving. You should see a flat 14.15v with perfectly low charging current under 10Amps.
++++ List/compare your whole list of chassis faults before and after.
Watch COM related faults being retired over stable networking
+++ REFERED PAIN:
The long story short is the engine core timings (ignition/injection) are unfortunately linked to the availability of CAN-Bus bandwidth. Ouch!
This bug detunes essential performance... now restored under 5mn.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Dec 28, 2024 at 05:19 PM.
While you have your thinking cap on chassing the pump solenoid circuit, pay attention to your alternator connector.
Is it a single wire LIN connector?
If so you have the opportunity to easily cancel another factor of chaos.
ALT LIN unplugged for self-regulated 14.15V output 👏
The M276 and perhaps M176 are not compliant have poor compliance with variable voltage.
By unplugging ALT LIN, the chassis becomes supplied by 14.15V regulated fixed voltage.
This improves engine throttle response + tranny shifts learning conditions as well as the electric steering centered bias holding at highway speeds.
It brings back lost bandwidth and stability to all CAN networked modules: radars, cameras, brakes...
This is experimental... so do a little honest poking before assuming suitability.
Learn to setup IC to display voltage + current while driving. You should see a flat 14.15v with perfectly low charging current under 10Amps.
++++ List/compare your whole list of chassis faults before and after.
Watch COM related faults being retired over stable networking
+++ REFERED PAIN:
The long story short is the engine core timings (ignition/injection) are unfortunately linked to the availability of CAN-Bus bandwidth. Ouch!
This bug detunes essential performance... now restored under 5mn.
I’ll read up on this also. I’m out of time for the holidays and getting the car on the lift. Planning for spring, and I was thinking of the passenger wheel well for access, so your Plan C is in the works, plus getting my remote camera thing out to get a visual on impossible places.
Last edited by NbyNW; Dec 30, 2024 at 09:23 AM.
Reason: edit
If anyone is wondering I signed up for a month of access to the workshop manual from Alldata.com. Might be alldata repair or DIY. Easy to use and worth $19.
I’ll read up on this also. I’m out of time for the holidays and getting the car on the lift. Planning for spring, and I was thinking of the passenger wheel well for access, so your Plan C is in the works, plus getting my remote camera thing out to get a visual on impossible places.
Make any progress on this? I have an M176 powered GLS that I plan to keep until it dies and have previously read about the bypass solenoid elimination.
Make any progress on this? I have an M176 powered GLS that I plan to keep until it dies and have previously read about the bypass solenoid elimination.
It is pretty much the same location as the M276 though.
I had this solenoid fail on my car and it is now apparently not functioning which means that the oil pump is pumping at 100% capacity by default. I took my car in for the RMS leak issue and they found this out when they pulled codes. The MB AMG tech told me that they have to fix this and that they do not advise that this solenoid should be bypassed. He indicated that deactivating this solenoid for any extended period of time could cause issues with seals and rings along with a few of the emissions components on the car. Not sure but not worth the risk to me. And they did have to drop the motor to complete this work.
Last edited by superpop; May 21, 2025 at 06:24 PM.
I had this solenoid fail on my car and it is now apparently not functioning which means that the oil pump is pumping at 100% capacity by default. I took my car in for the RMS leak issue and they found this out when they pulled codes. The MB AMG tech told me that they have to fix this and that they do not advise that this solenoid should be bypassed. He indicated that deactivating this solenoid for any extended period of time could cause issues with seals and rings along with a few of the emissions components on the car. Not sure but not worth the risk to me. And they did have to drop the motor to complete this work.
That's interesting position you find yourself in.
You have a failed solenoid that enables normal oil pressure.
We can assume it is not the other way around because your engine would be history by now.
Notice after solenoid replacement if stock oil pressure causes weaker throttle response under 3000Rpm, mire confused tranmy shifts and hotter engine... all from limited oiling.
I had this solenoid fail on my car and it is now apparently not functioning which means that the oil pump is pumping at 100% capacity by default. I took my car in for the RMS leak issue and they found this out when they pulled codes. The MB AMG tech told me that they have to fix this and that they do not advise that this solenoid should be bypassed. He indicated that deactivating this solenoid for any extended period of time could cause issues with seals and rings along with a few of the emissions components on the car. Not sure but not worth the risk to me. And they did have to drop the motor to complete this work.
Which car is this, confirmed pressure good and not jammed?
Make any progress on this? I have an M176 powered GLS that I plan to keep until it dies and have previously read about the bypass solenoid elimination.
No update. I changed the oil a few weeks ago after some maintenance on another of my cars. I took a long look up around the area and decided it wasn’t worth the aggravation or time. There is no room and I didn’t see anything for wiring or harness plugs. I’m pretty sure it’s close or behind the alternator and again, impossible to see or even reach up there to do anything.
Maybe trace the harness wire back up to another junction to disable it there? The wiring diagrams I downloaded are not that detailed.
It's not easy to pioneer progress!
You best need real motivation for your engine.
Stock M276-NA limited oiling volume provides an interesting list of unnecessary issues.
In that order :
pistons heat accumulation
extreme heatsoaks after stop
"$10k-oil-in-harness" CPS leakers
leaky coolant radiator/exchanger
vaporized oil on intake valves
laggy engine throttle
carboned up stuck rings
drafty unbalanced cylinders
weak misfires lean trims
"Fan: ON" winter/summer
Once you know what you're after it's easier to search for solutions.
If your engine oil burns up black around 1500.Mi engine has poor heat removal. Low oil pressure does that to "save gas".
I agree with the benefits. Maybe when it’s on the lift next time I’ll lay there and study it more. It is the M176 engine and with the 4 Matic system to the front axles and other hardware it’s crazy tight.
At this point I’ll change the oil every six months with Motul good stuff.
I agree with the benefits. Maybe when it’s on the lift next time I’ll lay there and study it more. It is the M176 engine and with the 4 Matic system to the front axles and other hardware it’s crazy tight.
At this point I’ll change the oil every six months with Motul good stuff.
Your newer M176 may NOT have the same list of issues.
Some of these issues are hard to diagnose until drafty cylinders misfires from lean mixtures.
> You wise M176 owners really want to assess how engine + tranny run ??
> How throttle responds hot vs. cold ??
> OIL MATTERS...
PAO oils (MOTUL + AMSOIL + ...) are tough: they keep their viscosity up despite extreme GDI pistons heat.
The tell-tale signs of cheaper blends is they turn into black carbon early.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; May 23, 2025 at 09:11 PM.
In the case of OP's engine being the M176, it is a tight reach as shown in the diagram posted last year.
Pulling the plug is not an easy step... that's why you want genuine motivations.
> Does M176 engine :
-- has better driveability without solenoid active ??
-- run stock with extreme heat level ??
It may well be newer M176 engines are compatible with limited oiling.
We know it has a solenoid we suspect is pump low-pressure control.
Some engines have a solenoid to disable pistons spray-cooling.
Gambling is not a recipe for winning, right?
I disconnect plugs to defeat chaos but I'm not one to say disconnect everything without educated guess.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; May 23, 2025 at 09:43 PM.
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