Greddy Profec B spec II solenoid test ??

[Yotaholic]

I've been having all kinds of boost control issues for over a year now . I finally had the car tuned and the problem revealed itself on the dyno. The controller is failing on occasion and dropping back to stock boost for a few seconds and then back to normal. We checked all connections and tested for a power drop . Nothing ,, all connections and lines check out fine I didn't have time to fool with it much at the dyno so we tossed in a manual controller and continued on with the tune. No issues after that. Now I have this very expensive boost guage in my dash

Can anyone tell me how to test the solenoid or the unit itself ? The easy way would be to try each piece on another ride ,, i wish I could but i'm the only one around here with a Profec ebc. I really don't want to take a gamble and order a new solenoid if it's the unit that's faulty .

Any help would be greatly appreciated !

[NME308]

Hi mate,
I'm guessing you have a manual for this device - or have access to it HERE?
I'll also guess that you have probably tested the effect of raising or lowering the gain settings?
What about the Warning/Limiter feature for overboost cut? Is it set to a value which will drop the boost back to 'stock' level till the system recovers?

If you have already tested and tuned all of the above I would lean towards a faulty solenoid. I work with solenoids in equipment and they can begin to fail under duress by either sticking on or failing to switch on - and this can be intermittant!

My 2c worth...

Cheers,
Jason

[Yotaholic]

Thanks for the reply Jason. The ebc worked fine for the first year . Holding steady at 16psi, so I know it's not the settings. On the dyno it was holding fine,, then ,,blahhh 10psi . start a new run and voila ,, back to 19 and holding . It did this a few times without the unit itself losing any power . That's why I was thinking it was the solenoid. It's not cheap so I would like to test it to be sure.


How to test the solenoid is the problem

[NME308]

Kinda figured you probably had the settings thing covered!

What you need is a device to pulse the solenoid at 20 times per second and see if it locks up i.e. stops clicking.

My motec ecu has test function where I can set the pulse frequency and pulse width to test solenoids etc... Unfortunatly I could not see any self testing function in the profec manual.

With the unit installed in the car again - I am just thinking in type here - using a led test light T'd on the positive wire to the solenoid with the engine running supply regulated (25?psi) compressed air to the profec boost input line and the unit should start to pulse the solenoid. By listening to and or holding the solenoid while observing the test light you should be able to see if the solenoid is stopping while signal is still being supplied...

For what its worth...

Cheers,
Jason

[Yotaholic]

Kinda figured you probably had the settings thing covered!

What you need is a device to pulse the solenoid at 20 times per second and see if it locks up i.e. stops clicking.

My motec ecu has test function where I can set the pulse frequency and pulse width to test solenoids etc... Unfortunatly I could not see any self testing function in the profec manual.

With the unit installed in the car again - I am just thinking in type here - using a led test light T'd on the positive wire to the solenoid with the engine running supply regulated (25?psi) compressed air to the profec boost input line and the unit should start to pulse the solenoid. By listening to and or holding the solenoid while observing the test light you should be able to see if the solenoid is stopping while signal is still being supplied...

For what its worth...

Cheers,
Jason

Hmm that sounds like it's worth a shot . Thanks !! I'll let you know the results

The only problem I see is if the unit itself is faulty. It won't tell the solenoid to fire so i'll think it's the solenoid . I was hoping I would be able to test just the solenoid . .. maybe I can test the voltage the unit puts out to the solenoid and duplicate it on the bench with a power source and air . Hmmm... I have a greddy bcc that I can set voltage on so maybe i can use that ...hmmmm

[YLD-16L]

Just pull the vac line off the manifold that runs to the ebc and stick a decent sized syringe on the end of the hose. Turn the ignition on so the ebc is powered up and then squeeze the syringe until it registers a boost level on the ebc where the solenoid starts pulsing, then just listen to what the solenoid is doing and see if it stops pulsing while maintaining that pressure (they are easily loud enough to hear when the engine isn't running).

Just do that several times to replicate the car coming on boost and see if the problem arises.

The only problem I see is if the unit itself is faulty. It won't tell the solenoid to fire so i'll think it's the solenoid . I was hoping I would be able to test just the solenoid . .. maybe I can test the voltage the unit puts out to the solenoid and duplicate it on the bench with a power source and air . Hmmm... I have a greddy bcc that I can set voltage on so maybe i can use that ...hmmmm

To test just the solenoid you need to pulse it with a duty cycle as NME308 noted, just applying a straight current the way you mention above won't test it the way you are thinking it will. That's why without a PWM controller at hand your best bet is to let the ebc pulse it.

Also note that the profec B doesn't use a special solenoid, it's the same type many other brands use so they are not expensive to replace. You may just need to fit a new plug if you buy a non greddy one. You could even just replace it with a brand new solenoid from an XR6T, about $40 from Ford, they use a Pierburg unit.

[Yotaholic]

Ok that's easy enough. Thanks for the reply and the tip on the solenoid

[YLD-16L]

I just noticed you are in Canada, disregard the XR6T solenoid then as I doubt they are common over there.

The MAC solenoid that looks the same as the greddy one but blue on the top half should be easy enough to pick up though.

[NME308]

The only problem I see is if the unit itself is faulty. It won't tell the solenoid to fire so i'll think it's the solenoid . I was hoping I would be able to test just the solenoid . ..

My thoughts were that the test light as mentioned above will be flashing to indicate that the profec is pulsing the solenoid. If the solenoid stops pulsing while the test light is still flashing it is a clear case of solenoid fault. Should the test light stop flashing at the same time as the solenoid stops pulsing then the profec should be the fault.

Cheers,
Jason

[Dieseltrain]

Find someone else using the same EBC and swap the solenoid in for yours ...

You might actually find its a wiring issue. My mate had issues with his Profec B 2 and it was a wire that had been stretched and the signal was faulty .