Driving home from work tonight and all as normal, little bit of wheel spin on the roundabout due to adverse camber change combined with direction change but car still driving OK. Went down a hill with a mixture of low boost from the lights, coasting, light throttle at 50 and no issues that I can remember. I think then I hit a couple of pot holes, one of them a bit harder than normal, but can't be sure thinking back if this was just before the running issues. Turned onto a flat straight bit and the car on gentle acceleration felt like it was pulsing, seemed less noticable on boost at first. Once I was aware of it not sure if it got worse or I just noticed more, but there did seem to be a strange feel to it. I wondered if it was the power pulsing somehow or if something was bent (suspension, drive shaft, warped brake disk binding, crankshaft :eek:) so got home and ran a scan and got 16396 - Bank 1: Camshaft A (Intake): Advance Setpoint not Reached (Over-Retarded).

SO:

are there any checks/resets that I can make using VAGCOM on the VVT sensor/controller etc some articles talk about output tests but no step by step?

I dont think it is a problem with the oil pressure as the sump was dropped on the last service and cleaned (on fixed service interval and semi synth)

Cam belt is due next service

Car starts and runs and seems OK when driving tried depressing the clutch and seemed OK so dont think it is something bent as that would not have made a difference

I am thinking that possible bad pothole might have caused chain to jump? or shaken electrical connector? don't think it could be timing belt jumped but hope someone has some ideas?

don't want to drive it if it is going to cause problems. BAH HUMBUG!!!!! I hate Christmas (wouldn't mind so much if I had plenty in the car fund but just spent £330 on rubber bands and it is due for service in 500 miles at which point new top mounts, braided hoses and dogbone mount were being done as well)

i had this before on my old car and once cleared it never came back

i did unplug the vvt position sensor and re connect before that.

try that and clear it see what happens

Edited 15 December, 201015 yr by westallc

There is a Leon with the exact same problem over on SeatCupra.net we are discussing.

More than likely a dicky VVT unit tbh, but needs looking into.

is that this one?

could a good bump over a pot hole have moved something? chain jumped a cog or something? as I seem to recall hitting one harder than normal, I have been feeling every bump at the moment as waiting to get the topmounts done due to a loud knocking on the drivers side

Yeah thats the thread.

One thing I noticed at the weekend while refitting the engine cover brackets etc., was that the wiring to the VVT thinger is quite tight to the engine lifting eye on that side, and could possibly become damaged from rubbing on it. Might be worth a look.

You can easily check the wiring from connector to ECU with a multimeter, as I did it a while back to try and diagnose a knock sensor fault. The pins are numbered on the ECU, so you just need the corresponding pin numbers. I have them somewhere so I can dig them out if you can't find them.

I haven't looked into it yet, but what about the Hall sensor? If it's faulty it could be mis-reading the intake cam position. I don't know much about that part of the engine so I need to do some reading!

The VVT thing is the other obvious place to look. As far as I'm aware the VVT is only active on cold start, and works in conjunction with the secondary air pump to warm up the cat. The VVT puts the valves into massive overlap mode, throwing unburnt fuel down the exhaust, which when combined with the air from the SAI system, causes a post-combustion in the cat, warming it up quickly.

not related to the original problem but with the electronic vvt is it possible to make use of it with a remap? I only ask as on mine I sometimes get a noticeable extra kick when boosting like something else comes in at 3500-4000 revs but the boost reading stays the same? the map is a DNA stage 1 that has been tweeked to smooth out the surging.

just been out and disconnected two plugs, one under the Y pipe and one on the cam belt end. Cleared the codes. Idles OK on the drive, starts at about 1200RPM then settles when warm to 800RPM. drove slowly up the road and pulsing but revs steady. Nearest I can describe would be if you had wheels that were shapped like an eccentric Cam instead of round. so still a problem :-( Have I bent something that could be causing it but it is only noticeable under load? when freewheeling no wobble?

Edit: just read it back and forgot to say Re-Plugged the two plugs as well:D

Edited 16 December, 201015 yr by karlbar2k

spoke to the garage I usually use and explained symptoms but he seems to think that the fact it idles OK rules out the timing chain having jumped a cog , however I though that if the exhaust and inlet valves are 1 step out of alignment could that not cause it? IE power feels like it is pulsing as one or the other of the valves is opening early/late causing the power to drop, more noticable on throttle than idle due to all the electrickery trying to adapt to keep the engine running?

OR

could I be looking at bent Drive shaft? need some ideas for what to check on the weekend so any suggestions/links to how to's greatly appreciated.

OK then update time.

spoke to a VW tech and he seems to think that any bump would have been more likely to bend something rather than knock chains etc. so tried going for a slow drive. When driving under load pulsing/wobble is more noticeable but after a while could hear what sounded like a bearing noise. the noises and pulsing seemed to get worse the longer I drove up to a point. So as the garage is closed due to snow, I am still trying to diagnose as much as possible myself. what sort of things can get damaged by a big pothole and where to start diagnosis. I don't think it is an ABS fault as there are no codes and it worked OK in the snow. I think the original HELP! 16396 - Bank 1: Camshaft A (Intake): Advance Setpoint not Reached (Over-Retarded) was a red herring as it is not returning.

Like I said the wobble is much more noticeable on an upward incline (more load) less noticeable as soon as you back off or dip the clutch but there is definately a mechanical noise.

moving forward I am trying to find out what faults make what kind of noise and what faults are related to Speed/engine speed/ load etc, I think it is more the right side front but can't be 100% so thinking possibly drive shaft not sitting in right?

you might have bent the lower arm

if its bent back slightly then you will get allsorts of issues with vibration and noises from driveshaft gearbox etc etc