The Dephaser Pulley/Solenoid

[JamesCC]

Right ive been trying to find the answer for ages and feel ive read every post on the internet abouut dephasers

1.6vvt 50k miles
Service history shows it has had updated pulley fitted by an indy garage 3 years ago/8k miles ago

The car starts doesnt sound like it grinds as ive heard its an obvious noise
The car idles for 5 ish seconds then stalls
With the solenoid disconnected the car idles perfectly
Tested the solenoid and it clicks but i didnt examine if the holes opened and closed fully
Tried a different camshaft sensor and same problems

Therefore:

Solenoid or pulley?

If i cant figure it out its going to renault.. I have searched high and low and some have said they observed the solenoid wasnt opening or closing properly and replacing it solves it..

I personnally cant hear an obviously loud grind but thats just me..

If you unplug the solenoid start the car then plug it back in it will still idle and handle throttle

So any help? Cars been on the drive for 2 weeks now

[AlexB]

There is not much to "figure*. The original cause was lubrication failure, everything else is quite obvious.

[JamesCC]

Forgive me alex but i assume you are implying that the pulley is the cause then?

[mickeybo]

The de-phaser pulley should have the inlet cam locked in the full retarded position at idle. These do not activate until approx1500 rpm As their soley controlled by the ecu. If I were checking this I would disconnect the 2 pin connector & put a noid light on it. The problem your encountering is most likely a wiring fault interference from another circuit. Hth Regards Mickeybo

[JamesCC]

Right thats what i was thinking.. But apparently the ecu advances the pulley on startup for it to fill with oil but again if it would not go back to the retarded position and that caused the stalling then surely it would still be advanced when disconnecting the solenoid thus the problem should re-occur..

This, like you said points towards it not being the pulley. How would i connect the light? + and - from the light into the two pins or find the live of the two pins and hook it to the light and another wire off the light to the negative on the battery?

Or is it worth just chucking it in for diagnostics @ renault to locate the problem?

[cliopapa172]

Hi James. We are having a similar problem. The car starts, sometimes with a rattle, sometimes without. Then it cuts out and you have to re start giving it plenty of revs. This keeps it going until you take the foot off the gas then it can die again. Re starting with revs again and you get loads of blue smoke and a strong smell of petrol. When you set off and get to a junction, it sometimes stalls and can be a real beggar to start again, or it very slowly sets off then kicks into life! Once the car is warmed up its completely fine! My mechanic has replaced the Lambda sensor and another sensor, (I can't remmeber which one), flushed both fuel and oil systems and non of these have improved the problem. He insists its NOT the dephaser, yet I do. Its the last straw really. We are going to replace the dephaser and if that doesn't cure the problem, the car is going. After driving Clio's for about 20 years, I have to say this Megane is THE WORST car I have ever owned. May not help you, but don't throw your money away, the bus is cheaper!!

[JamesCC]

Im understanding your pain mate.. All clios in the household are perfect but as soon as a megane comes along it causes trouble and funnily enough its half the mileage of the clios as well

Its in a diagnostics (psh ) now so hopefully it pops up with something as ive seen others with dephaser trouble had it pop up with some sensor errors..

I did at first believe its a dephaser problem but as disconnecting it makes a difference the logic suggests otherwise as mickey and my mechanic friend has pointed out.. Perhaps this is what your mechanic is getting at? But still if it is electrical (wouldnt suprise me with meganes) it is indeed a nightmare to diagnose a specific issue.. Times like this when i wonder why i drive again but then i remember im not a patient person so waiting isnt my strong point

I do love the car though its pretty much spotless (except for a missing tow eye) and the value is still holding well on ebay and as i got it rather "cheap" even despite if it needs an expensive repair bill, its still hopefully sellable come the end of our time for a profit (touch wood)

[grizzly14]

Hi.Might sound a bit thick on The Solenoid issue but can you tell me where to locate same

Please Grizzly14

Ok I found it but its tight in what force is usually needed to get it out after removing the lone stud