V50 1.6D No Boost - No error codes
 

Good Evening,

Been having some trouble with my V50 1.6 Drive (2009 model).

Simply put the turbo isn't spooling/producing boost.

Car drives fine around town at low revs and is nice and smooth, when trying to accelerate there is no pick up in pace as the revs increase. Eventually after cleaning sensors I got the turbo to boost after 3500RPM, better but still not right. The engine does rev round to the redline but it is slow and sounds strained.

I took the car to a Volvo specialist who had it on Vida and it shows no errors, the following tests were carried out.

Smoke Test - all good, no leaks
Software update on ECU - Direct from Volvo
Known working MAP, MAF & DPF pressure sensor fitted to test - No change - live readings look fine.
Accelerator pedal checked to show it is registering input. Vida function/self test completed ok.
Turbo checked - Check for free play, little bit but acceptable, actuator moving freely.
Forced DPF regeneration - no change

I've taken the car back to the supplying dealer and they can't find anything either but agree it is down on power. I took it to a Volvo specialist to get an independant view and to confirm there was an issue.

My question is, has anyone had an issue like this and some pointers to other items to check would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ben.

When was the fuel filter last changed?

Honestly not sure, the service books are at the garage with the car, I will say to them to give it a check. At worst a new filter won't hurt.

Thanks

To update this,

The car was sent to a Volvo main dealer who have said that there is nothing wrong and they all do this. I still disagree but the garage I bought it from are siding with Volvo. This is after telling me they felt it wasn't producing the power it should. It really is slow, can barely keep itself at 70 on a motorway, gets quite woeful going up a hill.

So I'm to go to the dealer who are looking at the car when I'm home on Wednesday and go a test drive with a Technician.

I will see how that goes but at the minute my impression is I won't get anywhere with them.

I have read that a split diaphragm in the turbo system can cause a no power feeling, is that worth pursing? As said in the original post it does sometimes boost after 3.5K RPM which feels like it rules out turbo failure.


Thanks.

Did you figure it out?

I have very similar symptoms to you after I discovered a vac line from the dps sensor to near the front of the engine was broken. I fixed it and now I have your symptoms! I'm going to post a thread on it and I'm stumped.

I've got exactly the same as the OP - 2009 1.6D DrivE with no error codes, no warning lights, no strange noises, no smoke and no power. Feels like the turbo has given up. Crawls up to 70 on m'way and slows down on slightest incline.

It's with a local independent garage who say it is a blocked DPF so they'll do a forced regen. I don't know if it's an Adblue issue as many posts say it should be topped up around 36000 miles - none of the service bills show any topups and it's just gone thru 41000 miles. I don't know for sure if it's got an eolys tank or not but as I don't do short journeys, it seems mighty strange that the DPF would block unless the Adblue is needed and has run out.

Anyone know for sure about the Adblue issue on a 2009 1.6D DrivE and if that will fix it together with a DPF regen?

AdBlue and EOLYS are two completely different things. Your 1.6D won’t use AdBlue, but as it’s a 2009 with a DPF, it has an EOLYS tank. The EOLYS level can only be checked with Vida. If you run out you should get a error message. The DPF won’t be able to regenerate without the fluid, but there could also be other reasons for DPF issues. Bet bet is to get it to someone with Vida so they can take a proper look at what the ECU is saying.

If the DPF is blocked up, you will go into limp mode. You won’t be able to rev over 2800 rpm, and you’ll have trouble getting from 30mph up. It’ll take an age to get to 60, and you’ll struggle to get to 70 at all. You should see an engine warning light with this scenario, although I think some people report being in this situation with no light. There’s is of course other issues that could cause a loss of power, hence the importance of running it through Vida.

Well, just got the car back from the independent garage and it is now back to normal. It seems that this model does have the eolys tank underneath the vehicle and, as I knew, it had never been topped up as no-one, including me, knew of it's existence until now.

So after a chargeable diagnosis, DPF regen, eolys refill and labour, I now have a very significant bill. Hopefully I'll get another 36000+ miles before it fails again or get the eolys topped up before the DPF blocks.

Why is there no warning light or dashboard error display for this eolys tank level? With countless sensors thru the vehicle and many fairly useless messages displayed, surely this is one of those which would be useful.

So for those people who have had their DPF regen'ed or replaced only to find that it blocks again after 1000 or so miles, check to see if you've got an eolys tank underneath and make sure it is topped up in time. I'm just hoping that this fix has fully resolved the issue and I will not suffer the same failure in a 1000 or so miles.

I too can't understand why there isn't an easier way to gauge the EOLYS level, given that it's so integral to the car's operation.

Even in VIDA, you have to go through this weird ritual of restarting the car 3 times to get a bizarre reading of a fraction of 15 to see how much of this magic juice you have left. I'm currently on "10/15".

Then they hid the tank and its tubes in the most inaccessible place, so most people don't even know they have it.

Plus, there should be an indication on the dash when there's a regen in progress, so you don't end up stopping and interrupting it. If you knew it was going on, you could drive on a few miles until it finished, rather than arriving at your destination and then realising that the fan is still running when you get out of the car. I've never been able to tell by the "slight loss of power" (usually cruising on the motorway), "increase in fuel consumption" (that can go up and down depending on what side of a hill you're on) or things like the rear window heater spontaneously turning on to put more of a draw on the engine (never happened to me).

It seems like the whose system was designed to frustrate.