kb10ae

I just finished building a VVT engine and everything is running great...except the actual VVT. The solenoid resistance is reading 8.2 ohms which is outside the spec of 6.9-7.9, and while I'm certainly no electrical wizard, I wouldn't think that means the solenoid is necessarily bad. Especially since I manually ran 12v to one pin and grounded the other and verified the solenoid clicks/moves.

I have confirmed the connector I wired up is getting 12v on one pin (sourced from the white/red ignition cable out of the unused EGR plug) and I connected the other wire to the High Current Out 1 pin on the rear option connector of my MS3. This is where I am a bit unsure if I have things connected correctly or something else is wrong...

With the ignition off, the signal wire reads 0, and with the ignition on it reads 0.9v. So I believe there is continuity with the ECU, but when I enable VVT using the base map settings, it doesn't work and I get a VVT1 error. Furthermore, when I enable test mode and try to either turn On or "Pulse" High Current Out 1, the solenoid never clicks and I see no difference in the voltage output using a voltmeter. But going back to not being an electrical wizard...I'm not sure if I should expect the voltage to change and its only the frequency that's changing, which I would need an oscilloscope to read???

The only other thing I can think of importance is I did rebuild the VVT actuator using MiataRoadster's kit. I do not know for certain that it was working or that I didn't screw something up when replacing all the seals. But I don't think I have control of the solenoid at the moment which should be independent of the actuator on the cam. If someone can point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it

Caterpillar

Try a PWM/medium current output.

Ted75zcar

iTrader: (2)

Ok, some high points ...

The actuator is mechanical, nothing you could have done there would have impacted the electrical functionality. Let's start with the electrical...

You want to use a HIGH CURRENT OUTPUT, there are more than 1 (3), so make sure you have selected the correct one.
Check in the pin usage menus under the Basic/Load Settings tab to be sure you have assigned the proper one, and that you don't have a conflict
Turn off the range check angles option in the VVT settings window
Set both the min and the max angles to 0
Confirm that KOEO you have 12V at the Solenoid on the main relay side of things
Measure the voltage either across the solenoid (Config "A"), or from the ECU pin on the solenoid to ground (Config "B"). Using test mode, this voltage should go approximately as follows:
Config "A": V = (Duty/100) * Battery_Voltage
Config "B": V = (1 - (Duty/100)) * Battery_Voltage

Do these things and report back

Higgs Boson

set the frequency to 511 not 383

kb10ae

Okay I have it working now...well at least control of the solenoid. I'll need to take a drive and do some logs before I see how well it's actually controlling the cam.

I was a buffoon and crossed the VVT signal wire with a wire I am planning on using for oil pressure at the final crimp before the ECU. I checked this various ways multiple times during my troubleshooting but until I pulled all the wiring out I didn't realize my mistake. I've been berating myself all day for being such a moron

Thanks for the assistance everyone, I'll post an update after I take a drive.

kb10ae

Drove about 100 miles today. After I calibrated the min/max VVT positions it looks like all is working great. The quick peak I just took at the logs shows the VVT angle sweeping 20 degrees (which is the biggest value currently in my VVT map) and following the target very closely. I could feel it too...the car is definitely quicker.

In case anyone makes it this far, PSA to triple check your wiring before going down the troubleshooting rabbit hole!