With the harness connector removed, you should be able to do all three tests with the solenoid still mounted. Not sure how easy it will be to hear the clicking. The first two tests would be safer with solenoid mounted because the multimeter is low power and will not spark. Third test can cause sparks so be careful if fuel is around! If you don’t have a multimeter, and it is in your budget, you can get an inexpensive one from Amazon with audible continuity (beep) testing for under $15. If you are in a hurry and live close to Harbor Freight they have a cheap meter for $6.99 that will do the Ohm test but it doesn’t beep for continuity. It’s still useful for checking voltage and ohms (resistance). The multimeters at Harbor Freight with audible continuity (beep) testing start at $19.99. In case you are unfamiliar, the symbol for Ohms is the greek letter Omega. This is often used on the selector instead of spelling out Ohms.
For safely reasons I DO NOT recommend using the battery in the car!!! When working in the engine compartment of a car, ALWAYS disconnect the negative terminal wire from the battery!!! Any chance you can get a cheap multimeter? What kind of car are you trying to test a solenoid on? Year, make, model?
@@fiveable yeah i have my hands on a multimeter, it’s on a 2009 Ford f150 5.4 triton, so can I safely use the battery by disconnecting it from the vehicle?
I can see you made plug n all. But can I test it using just the battery on the car? Like connect 1 wire to positive and then touch the wire to negative to test?
You might be able to but I wouldn’t do it without disconnecting the ground wire from the battery and using two wires. Otherwise you risk shorting the positive wire on anything metal on the car including the engine. Plus sparks can cause big problems so be careful! You can safely do a continuity test with the solenoid mounted on the car with a cheap ohmmeter. If you are close to one, the cheap tool store HF has meters for under $10.
So when you say that it's an electrical problem when the code comes back right after clearing it, before engine even starts... Does that mean it's a wiring issue and that the solenoid should be fine? Or does it mean the solenoid is 100% the issue? This is happening to me on my Nissan rogue. Thanks!
It has been a while. I don’t remember the specific DTC code on my Volvo was giving but it would throw one and the check engine loght would come on. In my case since the solenoid was burned out I could clear the code and it would come back before I started the engine. Also gas mileage went down. There may have been a cold start or rough idle symptom too.
The solenoid I tested in the video is simple and doesn’t have any circuitry, like diodes, to limit flow of electricity to one direction through the coil. If you need to know polarity for your particular application you might try taking a reading from the connector on the car. When I tested the solenoid in the video by energizing it, polarity did not matter because the coil is just a wire loop that creates a magnetic field. Polarity also did not matter when I tested the coil for resistance (Ohms) or continuity. I was only testing to see if there was a break, or burned out spot, in the coil wire somewhere.
Hello I need help please , I conform mine both work good got them out in clean them and test them they work fine , I still get the code back immediately after clearing the code everytime. Tip : my problem started after oil change . 2004 volvo xc90 2.9L . Codes : p0011 , p0014.
@@fiveableThere were no additives uses on the recent oil change when the problem happened. But I'm sure I over filled the Engine with 1 quart. I had the p0011 and p0014 and thick white smoke from the exhaust. However I managed to get them to work well there chncks of goo inside the holes . The codes went away but I'm still dealing with the thick white smoke I have no idea what is it . A lot of smoke comes out when I'm on ideal only it's make me think it's turbo problem this car is 2.9l XC90 biturbo.
Glad you got them to work. Chunks of goo would definitely cause problems. Some of the oil passages for the VVT system are narrow and might get clogged. If the engine has an extra quart of oil in it I would try to siphon some out through the dipstick tube. Not good to run it with too much oil. Good luck to you with the smoke problem. I hope you get it fixed soon!
@FiveAble oh I'm sorry I didn't mention that I made new whole oil change with 7 quarts solid this time that was after I installed the cleaned vvts and before Even starting the car . But yeh I'm still figuring what went wrong , this thick white smoke on idle is too much. I can't even drive the car anymore. 😫
Hi. On my valve, when connecting multimeter on two pins (one pin on black, and one on red) I have sound. I thougt that that is bad, because "Sound" means that plus and minus are connected!(Short Circuit). But you said when you hear sound that is valve good? I am comfussed now.
Hi Joe. The coil is just a winding of wire that needs to be continuous with no break to work. You can think of it kind of like a light bulb filament. If there is a break the electricity can’t complete the circuit and it is not continuous and it won’t work. The sound from the meter indicates continuity, no break in the circuit. In other words the electricity made it all the way through the coil and the sound indicates that.
Of course it is be possible that a short happens in a coil in a way that would show continuity but prevents the coil from creating a magnetic field when energized. In that case measuring ohms, resistance, would be a better indicator of a short or not. You would need to know the range of ohms the reading should be within. You might be able to find the resistance, ohms, range for a solenoid in the specs somewhere but if you have access to a good solenoid you can take an ohms reading and use that as a reference point. The continuity test showed is just a quick way to tell if it is dead. The better test in my video is where I actually make the valve work by hooking it up to a battery and could hear it move when power was applied. I didn’t have to get bogged down in measuring for a specific ohms range because I could hear it working. I hope this helps. Thank you for commenting!
Today I make serious test on 11v.I was terrified because today not get sound, but on period about 2 hours, sound show then desapear.Valve position is not very clear sound,like it is not open/close 100%. -First test on 11v. No-Sound(continuity) Set 200ohms show 83. Valve not work. -Second test Sound Yes 30ohms. Valve work this time. -Third test Again No-sound 300ohms. -Fourth test No-sound the biggest 1500ohms now. Now I am afraid that completly is stop working.I can't get sound anymore. Maybe I damage it. I returned into car,maybe will restart. So, I need new one? Edit: one more thing. On rest, valve have some little space from above, where I can see trough, and I see part of spring.It's not 100% cover valve on that place.
@@joeg946 something doesn't sound right. One thing I did with the used VVT solenoid I installed was to clean it out with a cleaner like Mass Airflow or Throttle Body cleaner. I sprayed it inside the valve area to remove the buildup of old oil and gunk. I looked up another video for you and this one seems to give a lot more info than my quick tests. ua-cam.com/video/y8i3i3Dxidc/v-deo.html It could be that you need to replace the VVT Solenoid you have if it is unreliable. Don't be terrified! The one I got a good used Volvo one on eBay for $35 that was supposedly tested before it was shipped out.
Not sure how to check power coming from a live harness connector. It might be simple but you have to be careful. I have seen some professional mechanic videos indicating that using a multimeter to test harness connections with the device disconnected can cause problems and possibly damage the ECM.
Here's the gig (ignition on / engine off) (Gm 3.6 over Advanced exhaust) When you plug in all four actuators Three of the actuators engage and when you start the engine it runs absolutely terrible. The fourth solenoid has power but does not activate the solenoid but the solenoid is good cuz I checked it manually. But with the fourth one plugged in and the other three solenoids unplugged the engine runs perfect cuz three of them are not engaged. plug any other actuator in and the engine runs pathetic
That’s a weird one for sure. Are all the solenoids the same part number? Wondering if you could swap them around like you can do with ignition coil packs to get more clues.
Does not solve my issue once so ever. When i replaced my old vvt solenoid with a brand new one the dreaded p0011 code came on then i replaced my camshaft sensor just incase still had the code and check engine light on at a p0011 then i thought heck maybe it is my pcv valve bought a new one replaces it. Still throwing the check engine light and a p0011 code even after clearing the codes and doing a oil and oil filter change still have the dreaded p0011 code even checked the wiring for voltage and voltage was there with dc volts checked with bost pins indie the connector on each side. i do not think anyone on youtube can accuarately describe or even find a fix for the issue bause i have found no video at all that solves this issue of the p0011 code.
Interesting, I have replaced mine and had the code go away. Sounds like your situation is different. Maybe oil passages to the VVT system have gotten clogged? When you replaced the solenoid was the screen on the gasket really dirty?
I believe it is possible to get the code if a timing belt isn’t installed quite right. Did you replace the belt yourself? The gears on a VVT hub have a range of travel and it the gears are held in place during belt change it can be a little tricky to get is set right again.
Bench test shows full function, then I plug it back into the engine bay harness but don't install it. I turn key to on, NO FUCTION, DEAD! my harness shows it's sending 11.5 What's the deal here??
@@fiveable no I just did a bench test 1st and then tested it on the actual harness without the solenoid installed. I didn't see a need to bench test it again, am I missing something? Thanks for replying
No you aren’t missing anything. I’m wondering if it’s intermittent problem. Like a loose connection with the harness connector or a winding that is on the edge of being 100% burned out.
I wish it was that simple. I'm worried The ECM is damaged and it won't turn the vvt on. Or the ECM is fine but cuts power to it until the motor turns over and there is no issue(is that even possible???) I don't even know how these things work with the ECM, can't find any info online. I wouldn't care if I didn't have a P0300 code.
I hope it’s not an ECM problem. What year/make/model car are you working on? Which side? Intake or exhaust? Any chance you had timing belt changed recently?
Great video! Huge help!! Thank you!!
Thank you. Clear and very helpful information.
Glad you found my video helpful! Thank you for
your kind comment!
Great vid. Thanks for this.
Can I do the third test with the solenoid in the engine? It is a tedious job to remove from the engine so I want to diagnose it before I do any work
With the harness connector removed, you should be able to do all three tests with the solenoid still mounted. Not sure how easy it will be to hear the clicking. The first two tests would be safer with solenoid mounted because the multimeter is low power and will not spark. Third test can cause sparks so be careful if fuel is around!
If you don’t have a multimeter, and it is in your budget, you can get an inexpensive one from Amazon with audible continuity (beep) testing for under $15. If you are in a hurry and live close to Harbor Freight they have a cheap meter for $6.99 that will do the Ohm test but it doesn’t beep for continuity. It’s still useful for checking voltage and ohms (resistance). The multimeters at Harbor Freight with audible continuity (beep) testing start at $19.99.
In case you are unfamiliar, the symbol for Ohms is the greek letter Omega. This is often used on the selector instead of spelling out Ohms.
@@fiveable thank you so much, can i use the car battery for the battery test?
For safely reasons I DO NOT recommend using the battery in the car!!! When working in the engine compartment of a car, ALWAYS disconnect the negative terminal wire from the battery!!!
Any chance you can get a cheap multimeter?
What kind of car are you trying to test a solenoid on? Year, make, model?
@@fiveable yeah i have my hands on a multimeter, it’s on a 2009 Ford f150 5.4 triton, so can I safely use the battery by disconnecting it from the vehicle?
Or is it more of an electricity risk?
I can see you made plug n all. But can I test it using just the battery on the car? Like connect 1 wire to positive and then touch the wire to negative to test?
You might be able to but I wouldn’t do it without disconnecting the ground wire from the battery and using two wires. Otherwise you risk shorting the positive wire on anything metal on the car including the engine. Plus sparks can cause big problems so be careful! You can safely do a continuity test with the solenoid mounted on the car with a cheap ohmmeter. If you are close to one, the cheap tool store HF has meters for under $10.
Very helpful, thanks!.
Thank you!
So when you say that it's an electrical problem when the code comes back right after clearing it, before engine even starts... Does that mean it's a wiring issue and that the solenoid should be fine? Or does it mean the solenoid is 100% the issue? This is happening to me on my Nissan rogue. Thanks!
In my case, 2000 Volvo V70, it meant the solenoid coil was burned out. A break in the wiring, or a loose connection, could also do the same thing.
Which check engine light did you get when that solenoid faild? Which symptoms?
It has been a while. I don’t remember the specific DTC code on my Volvo was giving but it would throw one and the check engine loght would come on. In my case since the solenoid was burned out I could clear the code and it would come back before I started the engine. Also gas mileage went down. There may have been a cold start or rough idle symptom too.
This sounds exactly like what I was dealing with. I used engine gunk cleaner and the CEL is gone.
Yeah sometimes they get clogged up. Mine was burned out so had to replace the solenoid. Glad the cleaner worked for you!
Which input pole is negative or positive?
The solenoid I tested in the video is simple and doesn’t have any circuitry, like diodes, to limit flow of electricity to one direction through the coil. If you need to know polarity for your particular application you might try taking a reading from the connector on the car. When I tested the solenoid in the video by energizing it, polarity did not matter because the coil is just a wire loop that creates a magnetic field. Polarity also did not matter when I tested the coil for resistance (Ohms) or continuity. I was only testing to see if there was a break, or burned out spot, in the coil wire somewhere.
Hello I need help please , I conform mine both work good got them out in clean them and test them they work fine , I still get the code back immediately after clearing the code everytime.
Tip : my problem started after oil change .
2004 volvo xc90 2.9L .
Codes : p0011 , p0014.
Seems odd that this would start after an oil change. By any chance were any stop oil leak additive products used?
@@fiveableThere were no additives uses on the recent oil change when the problem happened. But I'm sure I over filled the Engine with 1 quart. I had the p0011 and p0014 and thick white smoke from the exhaust. However I managed to get them to work well there chncks of goo inside the holes . The codes went away but I'm still dealing with the thick white smoke I have no idea what is it . A lot of smoke comes out when I'm on ideal only it's make me think it's turbo problem this car is 2.9l XC90 biturbo.
Glad you got them to work. Chunks of goo would definitely cause problems. Some of the oil passages for the VVT system are narrow and might get clogged. If the engine has an extra quart of oil in it I would try to siphon some out through the dipstick tube. Not good to run it with too much oil. Good luck to you with the smoke problem. I hope you get it fixed soon!
@FiveAble oh I'm sorry I didn't mention that I made new whole oil change with 7 quarts solid this time that was after I installed the cleaned vvts and before Even starting the car . But yeh I'm still figuring what went wrong , this thick white smoke on idle is too much. I can't even drive the car anymore. 😫
very good!
Hi. On my valve, when connecting multimeter on two pins (one pin on black, and one on red) I have sound. I thougt that that is bad, because "Sound" means that plus and minus are connected!(Short Circuit).
But you said when you hear sound that is valve good? I am comfussed now.
Hi Joe. The coil is just a winding of wire that needs to be continuous with no break to work. You can think of it kind of like a light bulb filament. If there is a break the electricity can’t complete the circuit and it is not continuous and it won’t work. The sound from the meter indicates continuity, no break in the circuit. In other words the electricity made it all the way through the coil and the sound indicates that.
@@fiveable Thank you for detailed explanation, now understand. Also good video tutorial. 👍🏻
Of course it is be possible that a short happens in a coil in a way that would show continuity but prevents the coil from creating a magnetic field when energized. In that case measuring ohms, resistance, would be a better indicator of a short or not. You would need to know the range of ohms the reading should be within. You might be able to find the resistance, ohms, range for a solenoid in the specs somewhere but if you have access to a good solenoid you can take an ohms reading and use that as a reference point.
The continuity test showed is just a quick way to tell if it is dead. The better test in my video is where I actually make the valve work by hooking it up to a battery and could hear it move when power was applied. I didn’t have to get bogged down in measuring for a specific ohms range because I could hear it working.
I hope this helps.
Thank you for commenting!
Today I make serious test on 11v.I was terrified because today not get sound, but on period about 2 hours, sound show then desapear.Valve position is not very clear sound,like it is not open/close 100%.
-First test on 11v.
No-Sound(continuity)
Set 200ohms show 83.
Valve not work.
-Second test
Sound Yes
30ohms.
Valve work this time.
-Third test
Again No-sound
300ohms.
-Fourth test
No-sound
the biggest 1500ohms now.
Now I am afraid that completly is stop working.I can't get sound anymore. Maybe I damage it. I returned into car,maybe will restart. So, I need new one?
Edit: one more thing. On rest, valve have some little space from above, where I can see trough, and I see part of spring.It's not 100% cover valve on that place.
@@joeg946 something doesn't sound right. One thing I did with the used VVT solenoid I installed was to clean it out with a cleaner like Mass Airflow or Throttle Body cleaner. I sprayed it inside the valve area to remove the buildup of old oil and gunk.
I looked up another video for you and this one seems to give a lot more info than my quick tests. ua-cam.com/video/y8i3i3Dxidc/v-deo.html
It could be that you need to replace the VVT Solenoid you have if it is unreliable. Don't be terrified! The one I got a good used Volvo one on eBay for $35 that was supposedly tested before it was shipped out.
How do i can test the connector?
Not sure how to check power coming from a live harness connector. It might be simple but you have to be careful. I have seen some professional mechanic videos indicating that using a multimeter to test harness connections with the device disconnected can cause problems and possibly damage the ECM.
Here's the gig (ignition on / engine off) (Gm 3.6 over Advanced exhaust) When you plug in all four actuators Three of the actuators engage and when you start the engine it runs absolutely terrible. The fourth solenoid has power but does not activate the solenoid but the solenoid is good cuz I checked it manually. But with the fourth one plugged in and the other three solenoids unplugged the engine runs perfect cuz three of them are not engaged. plug any other actuator in and the engine runs pathetic
That’s a weird one for sure. Are all the solenoids the same part number? Wondering if you could swap them around like you can do with ignition coil packs to get more clues.
@@fiveable I do believe they are interchangeable I'll try that Thx
Thanks men
Does not solve my issue once so ever. When i replaced my old vvt solenoid with a brand new one the dreaded p0011 code came on then i replaced my camshaft sensor just incase still had the code and check engine light on at a p0011 then i thought heck maybe it is my pcv valve bought a new one replaces it. Still throwing the check engine light and a p0011 code even after clearing the codes and doing a oil and oil filter change still have the dreaded p0011 code even checked the wiring for voltage and voltage was there with dc volts checked with bost pins indie the connector on each side. i do not think anyone on youtube can accuarately describe or even find a fix for the issue bause i have found no video at all that solves this issue of the p0011 code.
Interesting, I have replaced mine and had the code go away. Sounds like your situation is different. Maybe oil passages to the VVT system have gotten clogged? When you replaced the solenoid was the screen on the gasket really dirty?
Have you started seeing this code possibly after timebelt change? :)
I believe it is possible to get the code if a timing belt isn’t installed quite right. Did you replace the belt yourself? The gears on a VVT hub have a range of travel and it the gears are held in place during belt change it can be a little tricky to get is set right again.
Did you solve the problem any chance I did all what you did it's still the same code coming back p0011 p0014 .
Bench test shows full function, then I plug it back into the engine bay harness but don't install it. I turn key to on, NO FUCTION, DEAD! my harness shows it's sending 11.5 What's the deal here??
That’s weird. If you pull it off and test it again does it seem like it’s working?
@@fiveable no I just did a bench test 1st and then tested it on the actual harness without the solenoid installed. I didn't see a need to bench test it again, am I missing something? Thanks for replying
No you aren’t missing anything. I’m wondering if it’s intermittent problem. Like a loose connection with the harness connector or a winding that is on the edge of being 100% burned out.
I wish it was that simple. I'm worried The ECM is damaged and it won't turn the vvt on. Or the ECM is fine but cuts power to it until the motor turns over and there is no issue(is that even possible???) I don't even know how these things work with the ECM, can't find any info online. I wouldn't care if I didn't have a P0300 code.
I hope it’s not an ECM problem. What year/make/model car are you working on? Which side? Intake or exhaust? Any chance you had timing belt changed recently?