P0013–P0023 B Camshaft Position Actuator A Control Circuit/Open Bank 1

Which code is which

Same fault, different cylinder or bank — diagnosed the same way. Several set together usually means one shared cause.

The definition

P0013: B Camshaft Position Actuator A Control Circuit/Open Bank 1.

P0013 is a powertrain code (the engine or gearbox), defined by the SAE standard - it means the same thing on any make of car, and any generic OBD-II reader will decode it.

What to check first

Cheapest and fastest checks first:

1. Check the connector is fully seated and the locking tab is engaged. A half-seated plug is the single most common cause of an open circuit.
2. Back-probe the pins and check continuity from the part back to the module connector.
3. Inspect for a pushed-back or corroded terminal - the wire looks fine but the pin has backed out of the housing.

What actually causes this on a VAG

"B camshaft" means the exhaust camshaft, and this code is about the small electrical solenoid valve that lets the ECU rotate that camshaft slightly for better torque, economy and emissions - on many VAG engines it shows in diagnostics as the exhaust camshaft timing adjustment valve, N318. "Circuit/Open" is purely electrical: the ECU has sent a command and cannot detect the solenoid on the end of the wire. Symptoms are often mild - slightly lumpy idle, a small loss of pull, worse economy - because the cam simply parks in its default position.

Most likely causes, in order

1. Connector or wiring at the solenoid. These valves sit on top of or in the front of the cylinder head where it is hot and oily, and the plugs go brittle. Look for a plug that has been knocked off during other work, a broken retaining clip, spread or corroded pins, or a loom rubbed through against a bracket or pipe. This is free to check and is the most common answer.
2. Engine oil wicking into the plug and the loom. Oil creeps up inside the wire from a soaked connector and separates the contacts, sometimes travelling a long way back through the harness. If the plug is full of oil, cleaning it is only half the job - the source, usually a leaking cam cover or a perished sensor seal, needs sorting or it comes straight back.
3. The adjuster solenoid itself has failed open. The winding inside can go open circuit. On many of these engines the intake and exhaust adjuster valves are the same part: if yours are, swap them over, clear the code and drive it. If the fault jumps to the intake camshaft code, you have found your faulty valve for nothing.
4. Harness damage back to the ECU, or rarely the ECU driver. A broken wire somewhere between the head and the ECU, or a failed output stage inside the ECU. This is genuinely uncommon and should only be considered once the valve has been proved good by swapping and the visible loom has been inspected.

Worth knowing: This is an electrical fault code about a solenoid, not a timing fault. It does not mean the timing chain has stretched or the camshaft is out of position - that would report as a camshaft/crankshaft correlation code instead. If someone quotes you for a chain or tensioner job on the strength of P0013 alone, get a second opinion first.

Common questions

What does P0013 mean?

P0013 means B Camshaft Position Actuator A Control Circuit/Open Bank 1. The circuit is broken somewhere - a cut wire, a corroded pin or an unplugged connector means the signal never arrives.

Can I drive with P0013?

The engine light will stay on and the car may run in a reduced-power mode. Read the freeze-frame data to see the conditions the fault was logged under.

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