V50 General : Diagnosing/understanding the problem

[ArkV50]

Hi,

I am feeling for few months that my 2008 V50 1.6D has some kind of problem but I can't state it, I hope somebody can help.

First of all, engine light is not on and there is no error code with OBD scanning

Issues;

1. Engine lost a bit power not much but slightly noticable, I felt little bit more power in 2nd gear 6 months ago
2. Fuel consumption is higher, again not much probably less than 0.5l per 100km
3. DPF regenerating itself more frequently, around every 150 km in city cycle as I remember it was around every 250 km before
4. Engine rpm slightly get lower than normal when the car is slowing down while my foot on brake pedal, goes back to normal if I lift off my foot or right after full stop

Everything leads to vacuum problem, I couldn't find any leak or bad pipe (even renewed that connection pipe between air box, pcv and turbo).

What else it can be, maybe bad vacuum pump or vacuum solenoid valve? But why there is no any error code?

[IainG]

Hi
The car can't report any faults on the vacuum side as there are no sensors. However if something operated by the vacuum doesn't work properly a fault code could come up relating to that item.
I fitted a vacuum gauge "T'd" in on mine to test it. It is then easy to test for leaks.
At least prove you have full vacuum there with no leaks as a starting point.

[ArkV50]

Originally Posted by IainG

Hi
The car can't report any faults on the vacuum side as there are no sensors. However if something operated by the vacuum doesn't work properly a fault code could come up relating to that item.
I fitted a vacuum gauge "T'd" in on mine to test it. It is then easy to test for leaks.
At least prove you have full vacuum there with no leaks as a starting point.

Thanks for the vacuum gauge test tip, I'll check it later on. This happened with 10.000 km Poland-Turkey trip, I felt it first on the road back. In Turkey fuel filter (it clogged due to bad fuel and it was giving P0089 Fuel pressure error + limp mode), air filter, intake pipe before turbo and injector sealing renewed.

Anyway, I guess I found the starting point, PCV is leaking oil around (it can be connected to vacuum) and it was't like this in Turkish mechanic shop. First, I'll change it and report back.

I forgot to add that I got a pending P0335 Crankshaft position sensor code a month ago while I was trying to see if there were any codes about the problem I have. Anyway, I deleted that time and it never come back again.

[ArkV50]

Reporting back, I guess I found the issue. Anyway, I removed and cleaned throttle body (it was already clean and perfect condition). I bought Ford OEM valve cover and Febi intake pipe, I will replace them after few weeks with oil change.

I saw soot around turbo wastegate and exhaust leaking from there. Since it can't turn turbo all power due to exhaust leak so less air is going intake and it crates rich mix and that it reason for power lose, higher fuel consumption and frequent DPF regeneration.

I tested turbo actuator (it holds position and not jammed so considered that it is working), and I bought turbo boost solenoid and will replace it next weekend. I assume, that solenoid is broken and not fully closing or opening the wastegate. If not, I will consider to replace the turbo with a regenerated one (saw videos it is quite easy to replace turbo).

[ArkV50]

Hey, I don't know and couldn't figure out how to edit title to add (solved).

I fixed the issue, it was turbo solenoid valve, it didn't fully close the wastegate. I replaced it (quick and easy job) and power is back. Fuel consumption lowered, last cycle was 6.4lt in city and now 5.8lt (tested only 80 km).

So, these 2 solved;

1. Engine lost a bit power not much but slightly noticable, I felt little bit more power in 2nd gear 6 months ago
2. Fuel consumption is higher, again not much probably less than 0.5l per 100km

I'll monitor the 3rd issue (it is also connected to leaking PCV, I made mistake and bought bad Chinese quality so it is leaking oil to inlet)

3. DPF regenerating itself more frequently, around every 150 km in city cycle as I remember it was around every 250 km before

The 4th one is totally different thing I guess, but IMO it can be vacuum pump.

4. Engine rpm slightly get lower than normal when the car is slowing down while my foot on brake pedal, goes back to normal if I lift off my foot or right after full stop

[Sidji]

Hi ArkV50,

Thanks for posting this, and sharing your solution.

I am experiencing similar symptoms on my V50 1.6Hdi despite replacing the EGR, MAF and performed a complete DPF cleanup. I also suspected some problem with the wastegate / hose / solenoid, so your thoughts inspired me... My findings:
- wastegate actuator is air-tight,
- so does the hose to the solenoid valve,
- and I can clearly see the actuator's rod moving at engine startup / few seconds after shutdown. However I wonder: the actuator stroke is approx. 30...35mm, which seem large compared to the actuator body. Can it be that the flap does not completely close, leading in underpressure (ECM-1507 on VIDA) ?

So my question: at the time you did your magic, did you measure the stroke length of this actuator ? Any idea ?

Thank you again for your post and congrats for precise diagnostic !

[ArkV50]

Hey,

No, I didn't measure it. I tested actuator as shown in the below video, pushed the arm all the way down and actuator held it. At the end of video, he says check it after start and that time I noticed that arm was staying in the middle when the engine is running. I mean, it was going down more when I was pushing with my hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLsMzdKgI1o

I guess, first you can check the difference of actuator arm position while engine running and with the syringe test, you know to see if you can pull down more with a syringe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHwpyMeXNHg