What Can Cause Vanos Fault Code

G

George.E89

Member
 Kent
I have a E89 35i and keep having issues with Vanos fault codes, I’ll be driving and all of a sudden it goes into limp mode, however if I turn it off and turn it back on it’s perfect, the drives perfect, and this is very intermittent, it could happen 2 days in a row/50 miles apart or go months with no issues and over a thousand miles, so very intermittent

The only thing that isn’t running perfect is that on tickover it has an occasional misfire, not sure if this could be related but thought maybe relevant

I replaced the VANOS solenoids and exact same thing is still happening, anyone have any idea what this could be or what things I could test to try and find out
 
Fresh clean oil? VANOS driven by oil..any issues with oil and..

There was an a cam ledge wear issue on N54s which caused this issue resolved with a later seal redesign.

What do all the fault codes say?
 
B21 said:
Fresh clean oil? VANOS driven by oil..any issues with oil and..

There was an a cam ledge wear issue on N54s which caused this issue resolved with a later seal redesign.

What do all the fault codes say?
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Oil is fresh so no issues with that it’s been serviced, the fault code is for Vanos Intake 2A82 I think it was that is the only code, well 3100 too but that’s for limp mode due to the 2a82
 
George.E89 said:
Oil is fresh so no issues with that it’s been serviced, the fault code is for Vanos Intake 2A82 I think it was that is the only code, well 3100 too but that’s for limp mode due to the 2a82
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How many miles does the car have…age..service history?
 
B21 said:
How many miles does the car have…age..service history?
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It is flagging the VANOS intake fault code on diagnostic tools, what can cause this, I know the Vanos intake solenoid of cause but I bought new Pierburg ones a couple months ago, and it happened again a few weeks after I had them, should I just return them and try those first or is it unlikely they have the same exact issue straight away
 
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B21 said:
What oil are you running in the car ..spec?

Generally this problem is cam ledge wear related..weight and quality of oil has a bearing on it..

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ive read that before, it mentions a number of potential fault codes but I’ve specifically only had Vanos intake and exhaust, when I switched the solenoids the code switch to the other, I can’t remember which way round it was but it did switch so that confirmed the solenoids I thought, I got the new solenoids, Pierburg ones, and a few weeks later I had a engine fault on idrive again limiting power, switch the car off and on and this fixed it, there’s a slight occasional misfire on tickover not sure if this has relevance but it’s not lumpy running, power is delivered perfect and it drives well all round and these Vanos fault codes I’ve been having are getting more common now but we’re very sporadic, from 50 miles apart to 500 miles apart

Does this sound like cam bearing ledge wear, or should I return the solenoids and try another set?
 
Who supplied the Vanos units…seems illogical that you had a fault, you replaced a part, you still have a fault…

Possible ..

So what’s a good brand of oil…make, spec?
 
Initially you say you only got an intake code. Now you say the code changes when you swap the solenoids over?
Can you please let us know which statement is true as the two states you mention will point to different component faults.
 
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enuff_zed said:
Initially you say you only got an intake code. Now you say the code changes when you swap the solenoids over?
Can you please let us know which statement is true as the two states you mention will point to different component faults.
Also worth finding and reading the ‘Project Spa’ thread. E85 but same engine. It will give you pointers to all the things I tried. Eventually it turned out to be a faulty oil filter cage.
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It’s a N54…albeit I suspect with similar parts..
 
enuff_zed said:
Noted! My mistake. Xmas brain fog.
Ignore my Spa comment but the code query remains extant.
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The same issue of cam ledge wear apparently does exist across n52 as well..but the ‘proper’ fix is even more punitive
 
B21 said:
Who supplied the Vanos units…seems illogical that you had a fault, you replaced a part, you still have a fault…

Possible ..

So what’s a good brand of oil…make, spec?
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Pierburg Vanos solenoids from AUTODOC, oil I’ve used is Castrol Edge 5W-30
 
George.E89 said:
Pierburg Vanos solenoids from AUTODOC, oil I’ve used is Castrol Edge 5W-30
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Pierburg is usually a very reliable supplier…personally I’d find that surprising…

One trick is to use slightly thicker oil and see if the fault disappears…5w-40
 
enuff_zed said:
Initially you say you only got an intake code. Now you say the code changes when you swap the solenoids over?
Can you please let us know which statement is true as the two states you mention will point to different component faults.
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So originally I had the intake code, then I switched them round and next time it came up the fault code switched so I assumed it must’ve been solenoids so I bought new ones, with this new set it’s been an intake fault code again but I haven’t switched these ones around again as I assumed surely the solenoids aren’t bad again, shall I switch them
 
B21 said:
Pierburg is usually a very reliable supplier…personally I’d find that surprising…

One trick is to use slightly thicker oil and see if the fault disappears…5w-40
Click to expand...
Shall I switch the Pierburg ones round, if the fault code does switch to exhaust then would this confirm the solenoids or not necessarily?

And out of curiosity, not to question you obviously but how would thicker oil stop it triggering the engine reduced power mode, because this isn’t a permanent issue just every now and then it goes into engine reduced power mode, then I turn car off and on and it’s normal again
 
I don’t know if you can swap intake / exhaust Vanos units around ..

If you look at this fault code amongst N54 on other cars then oil pressure / quality are indicators of this behaviour…

So anything that improves oil pressure / quality is something to try..

Often these faults boil down to marginal issues where some cars suffer and others don’t ..
 
B21 said:
I don’t know if you can swap intake / exhaust Vanos units around ..

If you look at this fault code amongst N54 on other cars then oil pressure / quality are indicators of this behaviour…

So anything that improves oil pressure / quality is something to try..

Often these faults boil down to marginal issues where some cars suffer and others don’t ..
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I have read the solenoids are interchangeable and when I swapped them last time the car drove perfectly fine until the fault code came back again

What would you say are the list of things I should try ?
 
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