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I appreciate the input. It's always good to learn as much about an important component as possible before attempting to fix it. The delay in the belt tension warning system is important to understand, particularly when troubleshooting the tensioning system. Thanks for the insight.
The thru-case connector
...falls right out of the hole in the case b/c nothing is holding it in. I'm thinking that the contact inside the cap is shot.
Is it the washer or contact that holds it in? I need to fix this even if it's not the culprit - which I think it is. (thanks for the photos, Carl)
What's involved in replacing this little connector? Does it need to be soldered into the line a few inches up the harness, or is there a snap connector?
In this post, Carl Fausett is suggesting that replacing this end isn't as simple as plug & play...unless it's this part: 999 659 001 40
Is the pin in the belt cover connector still there?
Didn't read all the replies - may have already been addressed.
If it is consistently coming on after 3-4 minutes then you have a short to ground in the warning system.
The system has a 3 minute delay before sending the warning.
Correct thought, but a "short to ground" would keep the warning system from working. The system is "fail-safe", so an open circuit generates the warning.
Away from the car at the moment. When I get the chance, I'll take a couple of pics and keep this thread updated as to what the issue is.
Thanks again for taking the time to weigh in!
Got back to the car today. Confirmed that the stud connector coming through the case was intact. Tested for ground and got .004, so I'm assuming the tensioner circuit is good - at least when not operating/vibrating. I plugged the connector back in and made sure that the it was solidly seated. The warning came back on after a few minutes.
I guess the next step before removing the covers would be to keep the connector disconnected and ground it to see if the warning reappears. If it doesn't, I guess that there is an issue at the tensioner to the thru-case connector and the covers come off.
If the warning comes back with the connector grounded, what next?
Just to be 100% sure - when you tested with Kempf tool were you at 0 BTDC? And when you got a reading "at far end of window" that's same as top end, right side as you look at tool when using it?
Given your problem appeared after you did the tensioner the old adage "Go back to what you did last" would seemingly apply here.
That you had the system apart and replaced old with new suggests that there is nothing mechanically wrong with the system. False alarms cause all kinds of mind games - now it is a question of what you chose to believe until you fix the issue with the alarm whatever it may be- the obvious suspicion being with that washer on the tensioner piston assembly.
Perhaps you can expand on how you tested for continuity to earth- presumably from the piston to the engine casing somewhere?
0° TDC with the cam gear notch at the tab, cold engine; Kemph tool gap measured at the belt tooth closest to the center cover; tool was oriented so that lifting up moved the gauge like in Kibort's picture here (he has the center cover off - mine was on).
; lifted up until the tool made contact with the back of the cover; indicated the far end of the notch/window (end closest to the engine).
Now that I'm going over it in my mind, at one point I may have pushed the car backward a foot or two when in 2nd (engine turning backward). I know that's fine when lining up timing marks, but probably not fine when doing a belt tension test. I'm trying to think of everything here...
Fred, this go-round I didn't rebuild the tensioner - or even have the center cover off. I just checked the belt tension and added oil. The tb/wp/tensioner job was done a couple of years ago. Belt was retensioned last year. All was good for several hours of track time. The tension warning appeared on its own - not after a specific job. I tested continuity between the thru-case pin with the connector/plug disconnected and the engine block. Now you have me thinking of this, I might plug the connector back in and test for continuity by poking through the insulation of the wiring from the plug to the cluster. It can't hurt.
John, at first, the plug wouldn't stay in the hole in the cover. Kevin had made a little metal external retainer that held it in by pressing down on the connector. Since that wasn't stock, I decided to correct the issue of a loose fit. I suspected that the socket wasn't clamping on the pin, so I crimped it slightly. The plug now snaps onto the pin. I'm not saying that the wiring beyond the connector in the direction of the harness is good - I didn't see any chafing.
Dave, I'm definitely not ruling out a cluster f*ck. If the warning reappears after disconnecting from the tensioner and grounding the connector, I guess I'm heading in that direction. I'll find out when I ground the connector today.
JP, You've confirmed that the switch, such as it is, in the tensioner arm is intact when sitting. next step is to go ahead and ground the end of the wire coming to the front cover connector, and see if the warning appears again as it is now, after five minutes of engine run time. If the warning comes back, there's a wiring problem between the plug connector and the cluster. If the warning stays off, problem is in the connector in the cover, or the switch in the tensioner tip is erratic.
I suspect that the sensing circuit uses a small DC voltage to sense the continuity to ground through the senor on the plunger tip. Use your DMM to test for a small DC voltage in the wire to the switch, connector lifted, key on. If there's nothing at the wire and after the previous testing, that would confirm that the problem is between the wire end and the instrument cluster.
Any reason to believe you might have had a mouse inside the car? They love to nibble on wires.
If I understand Dave's post correctly this suggests that the logic solver is in the display unit and you sem to have eliminated the possibilities in the engine bay. I have never tried to follow the wiring diagram for this system yet alone try to fathom out how it works. Hopefully you will soon get to the bottom of this so that we can learn a bit more.
I'm assuming that this warning circuit is as simple as a light switch and there's no reset procedure (belt tension code stored in the ECM that needs to be reset???)
Because the tensioner wiring behind the case to the pin is indicating ground when the engine is off and the warning comes on like clockwork, and I've confirmed good belt tension and an oil filled tensioner, I'm 90% ruling out a mechanical/tension issue.
Bob, I'll try the voltage test at the plug.
I did poke through the switch wire insulation with the DMM probe, switch plugged in, and got continuity/ground reading. I guess it wouldn't hurt to test continuity again, this time with the engine running/revving to rule out a loose spade connector (I guess it's obvious I'm trying my best to avoid having to pull the center cover
Fred, I'm all for using my car as a lab rat to help those who have helped me immensely, learn whatever they can.
..and speaking of rodents, the car sat outside all winter. I'm not seeing chewed wires, but that doesn't mean they aren't.
09-03-2016, 02:34 PM
