CEL P0011 and also a strange engine noise. PLEASE HELP (Along with N205 location pic)

[Markie93]

Hey guys,

I'm pretty new to this forum and "foruming" in general, so please point me in the right direction if I posted in the wrong place as I know some people are quite picky on that.

I have an 06' Audi A4 (B7) 2.0T with about 150k miles. First Audi i have ever owned, bought with 132k miles to see if I'd like it. No mods of any kind due to higher mileage.

I did some maintenance during Christmas break of 2013 (about 3 months ago) myself, which included the timing belt, water pump, thermostat and a few other pieces of hardware. I just recently (last couple of weeks received P0455 Code for an Evap emission control system leak. I replaced the purge valve and the problem hasn't reappeared. I also got the P0011: "A" Camshaft Position -Timing over - Advance or System Performance (Bank 1)

I did some research and didn't find a whole lot. Some people had issues with their Camshaft Adjustment valve aka N205 valve i believe, replaced it and it was fixed, but found about 10-12 ohms of resistance on the sensor and about 13.5 V coming to the sensor when the car was on. This makes me think the sensor is good seeing as this website shows how to diagnose the sensor:

http://www.audiforums.com/forum/audi-a4-8/p0011-code-among-other-things-191121/

Here are a few pictures for your reference leading up to the testing of the N205 valve. I know this is starting to turn into a DYI but just trying to show the steps on how I tested the sensor in case i did something wrong.


Here is a big picture from under the hood (Standard, unmodded B7 2.0T):




Here is a closer up of the N205 Camshaft adjuster valve is:





Finally a close up of the actual N205 Valve:





To remove, there are two T-20 Torx bits:





Here is the N205 Camshaft adjuster valve:






Testing the resistance in the sensor(11.9 ohms):





So those were the steps I took to check the sensor. Does this mean it is for sure good or bad? The sensor is like $130 so i am trying to do all the trouble shooting I can before ordering the part.

On a side note after I had pulled that sensor out and re installed it, I got a strange noise. (I plan to make a separate thread for this but wanted to mention incase it was related somehow)

After re-installing the N205 sensor, I got this noise anywhere from idle on up. Any idea's as to what could be causing it? Oil cooler maybe? Has anyone else had a similar issue?



I also tried diagnose the sensor a different way, I unplugged it completely to see if it would throw the exact same code. Turns out, when I unplugged the N205 Camshaft adjuster valve (electrically) I got this code, not the P0011, but have seen these two code together in some other posts. Are they related?:



Anyway, I know this is alot of random information but I am really trying to get this figured out so I don't have to take it to the dealership.
Thanks again,
Jake

[Markie93]

Any ideas?

[jtravis]

The part itself wears out and loses pressure so it is unable to properly adjust cams. I had the same problem, mine was leaking a bit of oil from around the o ring.
Diagnosed it by the P0011 code, took car to dealer (MAG is Columbus) to diagnose code, super professional with me, wanted $369 to do the job though.

[Markie93]

Thanks for the response! I did notice something else. I go to school in the UP (Houghton, MI) and we have a ton of snow on the ground. So I haven't been very nice to it drifting around everywhere and probably wore it out the N205 valve because it only gets used at higher RMPs. The last few days I've been driving like an old lady and to my surprise, haven't gotten any codes. So I bet your right. Pretty expensive though. I'll probably buy one if I see the code again after a day of drifting lol. Thanks again jtravis!

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[RM3]

I'm about to order 1 ...just got the same code 2 days ago and just today took it out and the connector had oil inside...


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[Markie93]

Hmm not sure

[betyouaint]

Think I'm suffering the same issue right now. I thought my symptoms (power loss under acceleration) were a failure to properly diagnose and fix my earlier fuelling issues. I've too been driving like an old lady and this seems to keep the symptoms at bay. However, I occasionally have to boot it and hope that I don't lose power half way through critical acceleration. Needless to say these symptoms don't stay hidden for long and tonight, during one such moment of heavy throttle, they appeared along with some misfires for good measure.

When I got home, I fired up VCDS, which revealed a whole bunch of (10) occurrences of the P0011 and not the fuel pressure regulator codes I was expecting...!!! I'd recently (at 117,000 miles) had the full cam and HPFP warranty repair done and also changed my LP fuel pump. But maybe that problem is fixed and all that remains is the camshaft adjuster..!!? Oddly, despite the codes, there was no engine light on.

So, that brought me here , to find out what this thing is, what it does and where it lives. I see JH and ECS have the OEM for around $170 but noticed a figure of $130 in the original post. Is that an aftermarket part price? Also, is there any setup to be done on the replacement or is it an easy swap?

Thanks for the photos BTW... It's amazing how many searches you need to do before you actually discover where this thing is located.

[betyouaint]

I did a quick resistance check (not as quick as it sounds) and got a resistance of 11.7 ohms. This seems like a reasonable value for a solenoid although I think I read that the specified value should be 5-8 ohms. I'm tempted to just replace but it's not a cheap way of diagnosing the issue. I'll try to run the full manual test procedure to check for voltages tomorrow. Is there a VCDS test I could try too?

Also, as I unplugged the harness from the solenoid I swear that I saw the front right headlamp flash on for a second. Am I going nuts or could this indicate a weird wiring issue?

[NickyD]

Is the car automatic or standard? If it's automatic it could be the pump for the oil


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[chaos2984]

well resistance doesn't matter. All that matters is if resistance is within spec or not. If you have 10-11 and spec is 5-8 its out and needs replaced. When i worked at Chevy we had problems with those things with multiple engines. Those things are very sensitive. Any debris on the screens or anything can cause issues with it. If its out of spec replace it.

[Markie93]

The noise ended up being the oil filter believe it or not. And I never got the p0011 code again after reinstallation.

[Markie93]

The oil filter had collapsed, what kind of forum for my other post where there is more information and proof that it was the oil filter.

[chaos2984]

The oil filter had collapsed, what kind of forum for my other post where there is more information and proof that it was the oil filter.

What filter did you use Non factory or did you go crazy long on an oil change. Iv'e seen both deformation of cartage oil filters if its not factory they don't like to last as long as factory and collapse. And if you go past recommended oil change interval with factory filter you can collapse them as well. Mind your oil change invervals

[Markie93]

It was the correct filter but I didn't buy a good brand. I change my oil way before it's due so that wasn't the problem.

[plpete]

Had a similar issue not too long ago and kept on throwing the P0011 CEL. Car ran fine with no noise but could not get rid of the light. Since the car was just purchased and I didn't trust the oil change claim I went ahead and had the oil changed. The level was too high and the filter fell apart at the time of removal. Looks like the filter is a good place to look before forking out money for a new sensor.

[betyouaint]

Turned out that my codes (and other symptoms) were caused by metallic debris on the cam position sensor, likely leftover metal shavings from the cam follower failure that Audi fixed under their extended warranty. Once I'd cleaned it off, all was fine and dandy.