So I seemingly have gone through 2 boost solenoids now for some reason I am not 100% sure of. Is it possible a solenoid will deteriorate over time if exposed to too much heat in the engine bay? Or any other problem that would cause them to fault over time?

My problem is the car is no longer holding boost but instead the wastegate just stays shut and boost shoots up straight to boost cut without stopping. With my first solenoid we tuned the car on the dyno and it held boost perfectly fine. After about 3-4 weeks I started hitting boost cut and had to lower the solenoid duty cycle in my Smanager to keep it from over boosting. It got to a point to where it would no longer hold boost period and would just hit the boost cut all the time. I could turn the solenoid off and run just off the wastegate and the gate would open and work normally.

After a lot of troubleshooting I decided to replace the solenoid with another Hondata branded 'noid. It worked fine again for a couple weeks and held boost like it should. But recently it has started acting up again and I'm hitting boost cut when I get on the gas.

I think I have ruled out any other cause of the problem (wg, plumbing, wiring, hondata software, etc) and it appears that the solenoids are crapping out. I just am not sure why.

I have my solenoid mounted on the vertical brace next to my half radiator, and just in front of the wg/manifold/etc:


I am thinking I will have to buy yet another solenoid and this time mount it elsewhere in the bay where it is away from heat sources.

Justin

 

At one time I used a greddy solenoid that was on a friend's car which had no dumptube and was blasting hot exhaust gas directly onto the solenoid turning it nice and black. It still worked perfectly fine. This doesn't mean yours isn't being damaged by heat, but its just a thought.

 

Problem turned out to be the filter on the front of my solenoid. It clogged up and was not releasing the pressure from top of the wastegate. I took the filter off the 'noid and it was working fine again.

Justin

 

Yup, same exact thing happened to a friend of mine. Good to see you realized that.