Hello all, it's been a while.

I have a 2004 V6 with 162k miles on it and about week and half ago CEL and VSC lights came on. I noticed a slight rough idle. Plug in my OBD II scanner and it was reading P0016 Camshaft Position A - Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 1). Based on some reading on here I was thinking it was a stretched timing chain so I didn't drive it until I could get it into the shop.

Just had in the shop (local independent shop I trust) and they did a diagnostic and said the following "Check Engine, found P0016 - Crank/Cam Position Correlation B1 S "A". Check circuit, bank 1 VVT solenoid will not command from PCM, VVT solenoid checks good, not getting signal from PCM".

I talked to mechanic and he thinks its something electrical related and recommended have dealership take a look at it .

Since Thursday, I cleared the code. Friday CEL and VSC lights came back on. Ran the scanner and got P0010, P0012, P0074 (no more P0016).

P0010: “A” Camshaft Position Actuator Circuit Bank 1
P0012 - Camshaft Position 'A' Timing Over-Retarded Bank 1
P0174 - Fuel Trim System Lean → Bank 2

I cleared all these codes. And today P0012 came back but no other codes. Cleared codes again and CEL/WSC came back on again and read P0012. Truck seems to running fine otherwise.

I’ve read a lot of the other post on here regarding P0012 and the other codes. I plan to get the oil changed this week however I have been getting regular oil changes every 5k. I know some people say to change out the OCV. I may try that as well if oil change doesn't fix it.

I also took off the cover on the front of the engine to take a look at the time chain tensioner. I am unsure of what to make of the picture as I do not know what it is supposed to look like.

Any advise on how to troubleshoot or different things to try? I can take it to the dealership but I know how that goes and would prefer to figure it out on my own if possible.

Thanks in advance,

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had a similar issue with my 2005, initially the solenoid checked good for me as well but when left with mechanic to check the timing chain found that was fine with alignment. so he cleaned the ocv filter and then went back to the solenoid took him a few tries but found it would fail occasionally. change the solenoid and all was well.

If swapping out the oil doesn't fix the problem that will be my next step. Glad to hear you had similar issue and it was a relatively simple fix.

Your timing chain tensioner looks good to me. The piston shaft shows almost no extension at all, so thats good (unless it's stuck, then that's bad).
Just a word of caution regarding reading codes everyday. Most fault codes will only show after certain driving conditions, called trips or cycles, have been met. It's very possible that you haven't done enough driving for some of the codes to be triggered yet. The FSM will tell you what the driving conditions need to be for each code.

Had the same code, same issue. Pulled the solenoid and checked it with 12V, no movement. Replaced and while I have only driven 1 cycle, the CEL is out and the car has a lot more low-end torque from a dead stop.

If the timing belt slipped a tooth, wouldn't you experience Both a 0016 AND 0018 including a constant rough idle? My idle is intermittently rough. Thanks!!