Noisy EGR valve solenoid on a Ducato 2.3

[Guigsy]

...following on from my Dodgy diesel thread, turns out it wasn't poor fuel.

In summary, I have the following engine symptoms with my 2007 Ducato 2.3:
-Sometimes when starting, it idles but there's no power. This goes away after a couple of minutes.
-MPG seems to be about 15% worse at the moment.
-It sounds a bit grumbly under load and I think it's a little underpowered compared to earlier in the year.
-I'm getting an occasional whining noise from under the bonnet. I thought it was powered steering... but now...
-No engine warning lights or OBD codes (yet)

I've spent all morning trying to work out whether to attempt to replace by throttle body as the consensus is that it's probably the issue. However, it looks like the previous owner has already replaced it with the newer 'no water ingress' version:

I've got no idea why it's covered in oily crap on the outside, but I can't see any obvious leaks. I guess that lone yellow connector block was probably from the old throttle body and the new one connects back to the loom with a different cable?

Anyway, randomly I came across a thread on the O&A forum that suggested a test... so I gave it a go:


What you can't really hear from the video is not only does the solenoid stop buzzing, but the engine sounds much less laboured when the pipe is disconnected.

So it looks like my ERG solenoid valve is playing up. Do I replace it, or is something else causing the problem??? I've not found the part online yet. I'm hoping it's cheap!

 

[tonyidle]

The solenoid opens a valve into the inlet. Block the hole the valve opens to disable the EGR without the ECU finding out. That's if it is a solenoid - can't see the electrical connection.

 

[Guigsy]

The solenoid opens a valve into the inlet. Block the hole the valve opens to disable the EGR without the ECU finding out. That's if it is a solenoid - can't see the electrical connection.

There is an electrical connector block at the bottom of the barrel shaped body, pointing backwards.

I think I found the item:

 

[Guigsy]

Follow-up...

Took the van to see Nick in Leicester today (aka Euroserv). He's replaced my throttle body and the EGR control solenoid (and we had a good chat). Driving the van home, it's less hesitant and I've got my mpg back. For the past few weeks I've been granny'ing around at 60mph on motorways and only getting 30-31mpg. On the run back to Brum I did 70mph most of the way and still returned over 35mpg. Result.

So yes, it was another throttle body issue that has the knock-on effect of causing the ERG solenoid to suffer.

Nick showed me his progress as he went. Inside, the coking wasn't too bad, certainly not enough to cause issues. Apparently these engines generally run clean, so the coking is rarely the direct cause of issues on the Iveco 2.3. The throttle butterfly was also moving fine, so no mechanical problems. After taking it to bits, it appears that I had water ingress in the throttle body's electronics. Moisture had got past the gasket and bits of the circuit board were corroded. This was probably what was causing the intermittent power loss, poor mpg, lumpiness and the ERG control solenoid to max-out all the time.