AL4 Gearbox P1167 Fault Even after Solenoid Change?

[Sam-Kelly95]

Hi Team,

New member, long time forum reader here!

I have recently bought a 2007 Peugeot 207cc which has the AL4 Gearbox- I have replaced the solenoids following the error code P1167 and set the correct oil level following the procedure (60 Degrees, Level Ground) but, I am still getting an audible "thump" when changing gear followed by the "Gearbox Faulty" warning message.

After analysing when this happens, I think that this only happens when the gearbox gets hot... which when reading online points more towards a pressure regulation issue or temperature control problem?

It is worth noting that following the Solenoid replacement, the car drove for 70 miles with no issues- nice, buttery smooth gear changes and lovely power curve through all gears (I was a happy chap!). But, 2 days ago- the fault has now returned which has left me scratching my head on what the possible cause could be?

I have read some other forums which point towards:
- Gearbox Fill Breather (Water Ingress)
- Blocked or Failed Oil Cooling Matrix
- Faulty EPDE" (Electrovanne de pilotage du débit dans l’échangeur) device?

Does anyone know of any definite methods to check the AL4 performance? (i.e.- working pressures, oil temperatures)- I would like to monitor these values to help uncover any unusual figures which could point me in the right direction. I was thinking of buying the Lexia 3 full chip kit from Ali Express (As below Link) to live monitor the values?

Diagbox V9.91 Full Chips Gold Edge Lexi ... C Lexia 3

Also- can anyone help with the detail behind the code P1167? as my Basic reader just says "Manufacturers Control".

Thanks all- Any help will be greatly appreciated as I am losing sleep over this!

[mickthemaverick]

Hi and welcome,
You might find this video helpful:

[ozvtr]

There are 2 classic reasons for a pressure regulation error.
1) A faulty electro valve.
2) A faulty pressure sensor.

The electro valves are not of a high quality!! Even a brand new one can be faulty.
The pressure sensors can go faulty or they can get damaged. They sit under the gearbox and the electrical loom can get scraped and broken.

A third is the oil pump, but that will give you other symptoms as well and is not as common.

[Sam-Kelly95]

Hi and welcome,
You might find this video helpful:

Hi Mickthemaverick- thank you for sharing but this is the exact video I followed to replace the 2x Gearbox Solenoids so I don't believe that the solenoids are the issue. As mentioned, the car drove for 70 miles after the solenoid change with no issues which tells me that the change was completed successfully.

Do you know of any methods to view the gearbox temperatures as a live value? as I think this is now the problem as the issue only occurs when the gearbox is hot. If it was a solenoid issue then this would occur regardless of temperature?

[Sam-Kelly95]

There are 2 classic reasons for a pressure regulation error.
1) A faulty electro valve.
2) A faulty pressure sensor.

The electro valves are not of a high quality!! Even a brand new one can be faulty.
The pressure sensors can go faulty or they can get damaged. They sit under the gearbox and the electrical loom can get scraped and broken.

A third is the oil pump, but that will give you other symptoms as well and is not as common.

Hi ozvtr, as stated above, I have already replaced the 2x solenoids within the gearbox so I do not think that I need to re-visit these again. The car drove for 70 miles without issue following the solenoid change. So, I am more thinking this is temperature related- possible blockage in the cooling matrix for the AL4?

Do you know of any OBD devices (Relatively cheap) which can be used to live- track the gearbox oil temps so that I can confirm this theory?

[Sam-Kelly95]

Hi Again,

I am still struggling with this issue.. it seems to be in either gear 3 or 4 where the "thud" happens- I am going to take the car out for a spin in manual mode to see if that makes any difference.

I am still unsure on the cause here... I am reluctant to strip the car down again to access the solenoids as this will mean more £££ on coolant/ oils and possibly replacement Solenoids (again).

One strange thing I did notice yesterday though... shortly after the "thud" changing into 4th, there was a slight mist of "smoke" coming from the passenger side air vent- how is this possible and where could it be coming from??

[ozvtr]

I have participated in forum posts where a member had to replace a brand new solenoid because it was faulty.
I am NOT saying that it is the solenoid but you don't have too many options.
IMHO you only have 3 choices. Replace the solenoid, replace the pressure sensor or seek professional help.

The cheap OBDII readers are only for engine related faults and even then mostly centered around the monitoring of the performance of the antipollution gear. Your best bet is to take the plunge and get Peugeot Planet.

I don't think the oil temperature is related to the P1167 error. I'm sure the gearbox could throw up an over temp error if oil temp was the problem.

[mickthemaverick]

One other cheap thing you could do, if only to satisfy your suspicions about the temperatures is get an infra red laser thermometer like this:
[https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/365817266788 ... R66Eof-oZg]

which I use to check temperatures in and out of the oil cooler and radiator etc [viewtopic.php?p=844761#p844761] to confirm that it is working. You could also look at the gearbox casing at various points.
Personally I agree with ozvtr that you may still have a duff solenoid or sensor!

[Sam-Kelly95]

One other cheap thing you could do, if only to satisfy your suspicions about the temperatures is get an infra red laser thermometer like this:
[https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/365817266788 ... R66Eof-oZg]

which I use to check temperatures in and out of the oil cooler and radiator etc [viewtopic.php?p=844761#p844761] to confirm that it is working. You could also look at the gearbox casing at various points.
Personally I agree with ozvtr that you may still have a duff solenoid or sensor!

Thanks Mickthemaverick,

What temperatures should I be expecting? I have read some forums which state around 90 Degrees is normal temp?

I am about to take the car for a drive in Manual mode to confirm whether the gearbox itself is actually changing nicely without the Valve Body/ Solenoids doing any of the work. If the gearbox is having temperature issues- then I should still see this in manual mode?

I will go for a spin and report back- I could just do with finding out the correct operating temperature of the AL4 ideally.

Thanks!

[mickthemaverick]

It looks like 80 +8/-4 is the expected temperature. There is also a matchingish number here: https://en.unansea.com/rules-of-operati ... ssion-al4/

[Sam-Kelly95]

Ok... so,

I have just returned from my test drive in "Manual Mode" (using the +/- selectors on the gearbox to change gears) and after around 3 minutes of driving the car made a "thud" whilst in gear 3 without any intervention from me...

Car was driving at 30mph in 3rd gear, with no warning or interaction with the gear stick, the car made a "thud" sound almost like it tried to change into 4th by itself followed by the limp mode and Gearbox Faulty warning message.

I was a little confused with this result as I thought that the "Manual Mode" would ignore the solenoids etc and allow me to change the gears via the manual linkage to the gearbox?- assuming from my results that this is incorrect?

My next thought now is to fully replace the Valve Body and Solenoids from a known working AL4 to try this and determine if the Valve Body could be contributing to the problems?

As for the temperatures, the gearbox was at 55 degrees temp a the end of a 15 minute drive so this seemed fine. Plus, the AL4 Fault appeared only 3 minutes into the journey so the gearbox would've been cold meaning that I can eliminate the temperature issue.

[mickthemaverick]

I do wonder if you may have a sticky clutch or issue with the dual mass flywheel assuming it has one?

[mickthemaverick]

You may find it helpful to understand what is going on if you read through this: http://c4owners.org/plugins/faq/faq.php?0.cat.10.139

[Sam-Kelly95]

You may find it helpful to understand what is going on if you read through this: http://c4owners.org/plugins/faq/faq.php?0.cat.10.139

Thanks again Mickthemaverick,

I have just had a read through this and I cant seem to make the correlation between the Gearbox Faulty Warning P1167 and the possibility of any clutch/ flywheel issues.

Surely if there is a flywheel issue then the gear changes would be clunky but without the P1167 fault?

Also, can anyone confirm that putting the Gearbox into Manual Mode eliminates the solenoids from the equation?

[Sam-Kelly95]

No I don't believe it does, the only difference in manual is that the gearchanging is made by the driver using the up or down lever/paddles rather than the auto reacting to the levels of engine torque, throttle setting and road load and changing appropriately. I believe manual operation simply means you operate the solenoids rather than the ecu. As I said that is how I perceive it to work but I may be up the wrong street altogether!!

I mentioned the flywheel merely as a possible cause of the thud!

I agree as that logic seems to make sense- and thank you for the info on the flywheel, it is always better to exhaust all avenues in these scenarios so I appreciate the guidance.

I will now look at getting a new VB with OEM solenoids and try this.

Thanks!