cam sensor problem

[fushuman]

ok, so one day i say my mech. professor at school, and told him about the cam sensor. he said he could check out the voltage of the sensor to see if it's not reponding or if there's something wrong with the cam itself. But he cannot find the specs on the sensor. Does anybody have a clue on the voltage specs that a cam sensor works? used

[fushuman]

oh, by the way, it's a 97' 318i

[nycbmw325is]

Originally posted by fushuman@Sep 16 2004, 01:40 PM
ok, so one day i say my mech. professor at school, and told him about the cam sensor. he said he could check out the voltage of the sensor to see if it's not reponding or if there's something wrong with the cam itself. But he cannot find the specs on the sensor. Does anybody have a clue on the voltage specs that a cam sensor works? used

ok let me start by saying i am guessing based on years of non BMW specific knowledge. I beleive this is what is know as a Hall effect sensor. Also, there may very well be a number of poles on the cam depending on the accuracy of the position sensor. I am not sure there is a good way yo test thing with a multi tester.. you may need to read it output from a diagnostic unit intended for this purpose, one that reads what the cars computer.

Or I could be completly wrong (but that really doesn't happen too often when it comes to cars)

[SHAHAB323IS]

what is the problem exactly, the engine shouldn't even start if the camshaft position sensor is malfunctioning, do you even have a problem with it, if you already know the camshaft position sensor is the problem, this is what you can do, the sensor is located on the front housing of the cylinder head, i guess you already knew that but it might help others so i will explain , ok here it goes

1.turn the ignition switch to the off position
2.trace the sensor lead back to the connector and disconnect
3.using a digital ohmmeter, check the resistance between terminals 1 and 2. the resistance should be 1.15-1.41 kilo ohms


hope that helps

[fushuman]

that's exactly what my prof. told me, if the cam sensor is malfunctioning then i wouldn't be able to start the car!!!!
That was the diagnose on the OBDII tester: cam sensor is malfunctioning. But the car runs fine, even my gas milage is the same. He told me that it won't affect the performance on my car. It just measures the cam pulse.
Well anyway, i'm gonna try and check the resistance and see if the sensor's broken, thanks guys for the feedback.

[fushuman]

Oh, one more thing...
what would happen if i just ignore it????

[SHAHAB323IS]

well i don't know what would happen, if the car is running fine, than it should be ok, again i ask are you absolutely sure it's the camshaft position sensor, the diognostic trouble code should be between p0340 to p0344, if the camshaft position sensor is at fault

[fushuman]

Yeah the trouble code is p0340.

[SHAHAB323IS]

ok then, maybe the problem is the ecm, this is tough, because if the car was fine but was reading a trouble code i would say probably just a messed up sensor wire going to the ecm, but because it's the camshaft position sensor if the connection to the ecm is messed up the car shouldn't start, so the only thing i can think of is the ecm is messed up, i hope there's a bmw master technician on these forumns otherwise i would say either forget about it and hope for the best(not recommended) or take to the dealer or a local bmw tuner also the last two digits of the code 40 represent the spcific problem, the whole code means camshaft position sensor circuit malfunction

[fushuman]

well i guess i'll check the connection first and go from there, because like i said the car run fine.
Thanks a lot M3DUDE and the rest for your help, this is by far the best BEEMER FORUM yet!!!!!

[njtech]

call your local BMW dealer. if the cam circuit is at fault, the vehicle
should be under a campaign. 7yr/70K miles.

[amancuso]

My car had a bad cam sensor.... It started and ran OK. just wasnt as responsive as it should have been... From my understanding, if that does go bad, the computer tricks the car into running by relaying some extra work to the other sensors to make the car run.... weird, I know, but it's what I heard... mine was replaced under warranty..

-Al.

-97 328i

[fushuman]

well, i won't be able to replace it under warranty since it has 124000 miles and it's a 97'. But amancuso, my car doesn't act weird when the cam sensor starts acting out. It just reads the cam's pulsing without changing the car's performance