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[maddp]

Very much appreciate the posts on here about the V6 multi-ram operation. I have confirmed that all vacuum pipes are correctly connected and no obvious leaks.
However, should I be able to see the Rear Actuator move when the engine is reved above idle, say >1000rpm, or does the ECU only trigger this when it detects the engine is under load i.e. driving?
At this stage obviously suspicious of the associated solenoid valve.
Thanks in advance.

[Jimbob]

give it full throttle very quickly, that should make the front or rear move

[Andy B]

Hi welcome to the forum!
This should help ...... http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1153840176 Not sure of the revs needed to move it, 4000rpm seems to ding a dong 

[maddp]

Thanks for the quick comments.
Will wait till it's warmed up before giving it some on the throttle.
Seeing the front one move (~4,000rpm) would be great but for starters would like to see some response from the rear.
One the plus side when I released the output of the front reservoir it hissed quite noticeably so I'm confident the system is holding vacuum.
Fiddling about with the breathers did cost me a broken T-piece off the brake servo pipe though which is a drag and a reminder to all that they do become fragile with age.

[Andy B]

......
Fiddling about with the breathers did cost me a broken T-piece off the brake servo pipe though which is a drag and a reminder to all that they do become fragile with age.

Be careful of the none return valve in the servo pipe. The vacuum connection(s) are easily broken from it! 

[maddp]

Hmmmn the wonders of hindsight! :-)
Continued trying to diagnose what I can before dismantling. Just saw the actuator blip briefly once today when reved but then never again. Seriously hoping it's not dodgy wiring to the solenoid, but discounting that is it more likely to be the solenoid at fault or the actuator itself?
Cheers.

[Broomies Mate]

Solenoid 1 (The rear one) should actuate at ~4000RPM

Solenoid 2 (The front one) should actuate at ~1000RPM


To test the solenoids, steal the one from the SAI, mounted to a bracket on the Right hand side of the Radiator (If your model has Secondary Air Injection).

Are you getting EML on Dash?  If so, what codes are you getting?

[Bionic]

Bust my tee piece too but instead of messing around with more fragile plastic bits and being handy I got busy and made up a soldered metal one from some bits of tube I had lying around. Hardest job was gently heating the Servo Vac pipe (the big one) until it let me pull the old tee apart from it. Did the job a treat and now I can pull things around without any fear of breakage.
Why they make these things from crap I will vever know!

[Andy B]

Bust my tee piece too but instead of messing around with more fragile plastic bits and being handy I got busy and made up a soldered metal one from some bits of tube I had lying around.  ......

The none reurn valve is available separately from Vx c£12 IIRC 

[maddp]

BM Many thanks.
No EML and no codes stored.
Aware that I could move the front solenoid but trying to diagnose first. I am expecting the rear to actuate at 1,000 though based on the docs posted above.
Bionic. Nice job. Guess I could equally tap onto the second T using some arrangement and seal up the broken one.
Andy B. Thanks for that but I fear the task of replacing the N-R valve is not that easy.
How easy does the servo pipe pull out of the servo body? Any special technique?

[Broomies Mate]

Maddp.

If you have no fault codes, I would suggest the wiring to the solenoids is working fine.

Generally speaking, if it is an electrical problem, you'll get Voltage High / Voltage Low code.

[maddp]

This is beginning to annoy me ..... !
Ok now changed rear solenoid valve since when it was bypassed the actuator moved. Still now movement when reved over 1,000rpm and solenoid taken off tests on 9V battery to be working OK.
Any chance the engine has to be hot before any of these actuators operate?
Further thoughts/suggestions welcome!

[Kevin Wood]

Take the vacuum feed to one of the solenoids off and check there's vacuum there. Better still, use a gunson low gauge or similar to watch it (typically 18-20 in.hg), and ensure it doesn't leak away as soon as the engine is stopped.

Kevin

[maddp]

Hi Kevin, I have completly bypassed the solenoid valve and connected directly to the actuator to check vacuum strength and all is well - it sucks and actuates - hence my suspicion of the solenoid valve.
Even 5 mins after stopping engine if I release the vacuum input feed to a solenoid there is a sustained hissing as the reservoir empties which seems to suggest that is working too as well as confirming there can't be any leaks in the pipework.
No fault codes either.

[Kevin Wood]

Hi Kevin, I have completly bypassed the solenoid valve and connected directly to the actuator to check vacuum strength and all is well - it sucks and actuates - hence my suspicion of the solenoid valve.
Even 5 mins after stopping engine if I release the vacuum input feed to a solenoid there is a sustained hissing as the reservoir empties which seems to suggest that is working too as well as confirming there can't be any leaks in the pipework.
No fault codes either.

OK. Sounds like all is well there. If the non-return valve in the reservoir fails the vacuum disappears when the throttle is opened but this sounds not to be the case.

I know on some cars it seems to be hard to move the actuators by blipping the throttle - maybe a different ECU firmware or something. :-/

The actuators can be operated using a Tech 2 to check their function. Might be worth popping in to one of us with a Tech 2 if you are close for a quick test.

Failing that disconnect the solenoid valve (should raise an ECU fault code) and connect a 12v supply to the solenoid coil and see if the actuator moves.

Kevin