VTCS plates

[SharkDiver]

How does the ecu know when the vtcs plates are open or closed? Is there a sensor inside the mani or what?
Ive got the P2006 code and I cant figure out what is broken or not working right.Im getting vacumme to the solenoid and the acuator will open and close the plates but I dont know if its opening and closing when it should.

Ideas?

[oaklandopen]

in the manual it's saying it could be any number of things. it could be stuck closed, the sensor could be bad (the vtcs has it's own sensor), pcm could be bad, or any other obvious electrical problem (short, open, whatever).

other than that it's a 2-page, 13-step diagnostic procedure to follow and my carpal tunnel is acting up ;)

[SharkDiver]

So you say there is a sensor that can tell if the plates are open or closed? Do you know what this sensor is called or where it is located on the engine?

[StealthWyvern]

I don't see this being to much different from the protege setup so see the following link


http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4072996&postcount=15

[oaklandopen]

I don't see this being to much different from the protege setup so see the following link


http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4072996&postcount=15

it's a little different, little more involved in the 3. but according to the 3 manual there IS a sensor for the vtcs

[SharkDiver]

I wish I knew were this sensor was..I dont even see it in my 3 manual.

[wassup61]

Its on the driver's side of the intake manifold. has a 2 wire connector attached to it.

[SharkDiver]

Its on the driver's side of the intake manifold. has a 2 wire connector attached to it.

Are you talking about the plug that is located right next to the shatter valve actuator?

[SharkDiver]

Its on the driver's side of the intake manifold. has a 2 wire connector attached to it.

I found it now..thanks. I tested it and its bad so that is my problem.

[SharkDiver]

So I had some time today to work with the car and I know I wanted to check out the vtcs sensor again. So I took the actuator sensor off the car and tested it and it tested ok,When I tested it in the car by pulling the actuator arm back by hand it tested bad. The problem seems to be that the plastic arm that is connected to the VTCS shaft/actuator that hits the sensor switch when the plates close was not coming up high enough to contact the sensor. Everything looked to be hooked up ok but it still needed to come a few MMs. So what I did was just heat up the plastic arm and bent it up a hair so it could hit the switch better. I put it all back together and it all tests ok now. I cleared my cel light and drove over 40 miles and it hasnt come back on.
It turned out to be a easy fix that took me forever to figure out. So if some of you are getting the P2006 code this may be something you want to look at. When you test this sensor push the sensor pin up by hand to see if it tests ok rather then just pulling up the actuator arm and testing it.

[oaklandopen]

interesting fix, hope it lasts for you. i had an electrical issue with my motorcycle starter one time that was very similar in nature. i ended up using some heat from a soldering iron to manipulate some plastic inside enough for the electrical connections to be made

it ended up looking like hell inside the starter casing, but it worked. i never wanted to find out how much it would cost for me to get a new one cuz im sure it would have been a lot, so i did it myself much like you did.

did research how much the part would have cost you?

[SharkDiver]

You cant buy that part,You have to buy a new intake mani.. It should last I hope or I will do a VTCS delete or buy a new used intake mani..