Oil pressure diagnostics for the VW up! in the workshop: the conundrum starts here

A VW up! had to be taken to the workshop. Its owner had noticed the malfunction indicator lamp (the check engine light) was lighting up and also realised that the car was no longer achieving its optimum performance level. So troubleshooting began.

Troubleshooting in the workshop: checking out the VW up! to get to the bottom of the problem

After completion of the initial diagnosis carried out by the service technician in the workshop, the following errors were read out from the engine control unit:

• P0010 = Camshaft adjustment, on the intake side, left, at the front, cylinder bank 1, malfunction

• P0016 = Position of crankshaft – position of intake camshaft not plausible

• P0088 = Fuel distributor rail/system pressure too high

• P0341 = Camshaft position sensor A, cylinder bank 1, malfunction

The subsequent error diagnosis confirmed that sensors were operational and also that everything along the periphery of the injection system was in good working order. Even the checking of the valve timing returned a positive result …

The solution to the oil pressure puzzle surrounding the VW up!

Despite the positive results, the workshop did manage to discover the problem: a contaminated oil pressure valve on the intake camshaft that was interfering with the valve timing. The mechanics removed the oil pressure valve, examined it thoroughly and replaced it with a new one because it showed signs of contamination and was also damaged.

And an extra tip: pay attention to the VW up! cylinder head

And also clean the opening for the oil pressure valve in the cylinder head, normally carried out with camshaft adjustment. Rinse this out with clean oil and make sure that no pollutants find their way into the cylinder head. Finally, it is a good idea to go on quite a long test drive. You'll find a lot more tips for workshops in our TECH WORLD at www.hella.com/techworld/za/.