Oil Pressure Control Solenoid

A conventional mechanical oil pump is connected to and driven by the crankshaft and produces oil pressure proportional to engine speed, The Variable Oil Pump (VOP) is capable of varying its output oil pressure as necessary. The Oil Pressure Control Solenoid, also known as Variable Oil Pump Control (VOPC), is a solenoid that controls the output of the Variable Oil Pump.

There are two VOP systems currently being used. They are (1) a two-stage pressure system and (2) continuous variable pressure system. The two-stage pressure system provides two pressure modes, low and high. The continuous variable pressure system directly controls output pressure based on commands from the Variable Oil Pump Control (VOPC) solenoid.

There are currently two different hardware configurations currently in use for these two systems. They are (1) Variable Displacement Oil Pump (VDOP) which controls the oil pump directly and (2) Active Oil Filter Adapter (AOFA) which controls the oil drain system.

The VDOP adjusts the pump's displacement using a moveable slide that controls the filling and draining of the oil in the reservoir via two ports in the pump. The oil pressure control solenoid controls the amount of oil filling by partially or completely opening and closing the passage. The AOFA consists of a conventional oil pump and a separate oil bypass line. The oil pressure control solenoid opens and closes a bypass line which allows oil to drain back to the sump. The VDOP can be configured to operate as both a two-stage pressure system as well as a continuous variable pressure system; however, the AOFA can only be used for a two-state pressure system. Regardless of pump and system types, the actual solenoid hardware is identical.

The Variable Oil Pump Control (VOPC) solenoid is continuously monitored for circuit faults by the smart output driver. If a fault is detected the appropriate DTC is set. In addition, a functional check is performed to determine whether the oil control solenoid is stuck.