P0018 Code...

[Jamestl]

Double posting here from the TSB forum since there seems to be less traffic there...

Hey guys,

Just got the P0018 last night on the way home, was accelerating and then there was a loss of power (not all the way, just went into limp mode). I pulled over and then erased the code (had my OFT in the car) to see if it'll go away. The drive home was fine, but it came back this morning.

I'm wondering if this is a mechanical issue with the sprocket (vs. an issue of an electrical nature) because the car basically ran as limp mode even after erasing the code and before it came back. My question is, do you guys who have dealt with this more think that is a correct diagnosis? I don't have an explanation for why else it would still be in limp mode after the reset. Note that I did not pull the battery so I could try that tonight, but at the same time if it's a mechanical issue I'd rather not put more miles on the engine.

Engine mods: oil cooler, headers, TRD exhaust came with the car, OFT tune. Doesn't matter either way since I have close to 90k miles on it but in case anyone is wondering.

Would appreciate any insight here. Thanks!

[Ultramaroon]

Read my advice from the other thread. Isolate by swapping solenoids to see if code follows swap. Starting a new thread in place of a currently active one just makes more work for those of us who contribute.

[Jamestl]

Thanks for the quick response. I did see your recommendation and I’m just wondering whether to skip all of that if I have good reason to believe the cam sprocket failed. It’s already going to be expensive and I just don’t want to pay for labor and parts when it’s likely not the cause. But I don’t know enough is seeking advice. Thanks again.

[guybo]

What weight oil are you running?

Why do you have an oil cooler?

[Jamestl]

I was at 5w30 synthetic but changed it to 0w20 on way home. Will go reset the car in a few min.

The cooler is for the track

[Jamestl]

So i got the oil changed to 0W20 and then came home to reset the code, and then disconnected the battery. The car rebooted and i drove it around for about 45 min. The codes haven't popped back up, but the car felt underpowered. I'm not sure if that's because i didn't really get on the gas (since i don't want to fuck up the engine...) but at 2-3k range it felt like it had less power than before...

It seems like i can log parameters through the OFT - is there anything i need to look for if I do that? I've never logged anything before so a total newbie... :/

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Jamestl

It seems like i can log parameters through the OFT - is there anything i need to look for if I do that? I've never logged anything before so a total newbie... :/

Plug in oft. Let it boot. Turn car on. On oft: car info > diagnostics > real time data display (or something like that) Press the record button. Drive around. Park the car. Press the save button and name the file. Turn off car. Unplug oft. Connect oft to computer. Pull log off oft.

There's probably a YouTube video from openflash describing this as well. Also, the software tuning section of the forum has a million threads about oft and using it, as well as a thread to post logs and ask questions. Google is your friend.

Edit, you will likely need to pick some of the parameters to log first. I suggest looking around on the software tuning section for what you will need.