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Help -- Multiple codes after gasket changes

2K views 24 replies 3 participants last post by  HerbP 
#1 ·
I managed to get both valve covers and passenger upper timing cover gasket changed. I also swapped new plugs and coils. I now get error codes after putting it back together.

p0014 B camshaft position - Timing Over Advanced or System Performance Bank 1
p0012 A camshaft position - Timing Over Retarded Bank 1
p0300 Random/Mult misfire detected.
p0301 Cylinder 1Misfire detected
p0304 cylinder 4 misfire detected
p0303 Cylinder 3 misfire detected
p0302 cylinder 2 misfire detected

Passenger side airbag malfunction warning also (did not have before).

Did I break something or not put something back together right? I wasn't the one who took most of it apart so I could have left a wire unconnected or put something back wrong. Any ideas regarding what I can check?

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
I managed to get both valve covers and passenger upper timing cover gasket changed. I also swapped new plugs and coils. I now get error codes after putting it back together.

p0014 B camshaft position - Timing Over Advanced or System Performance Bank 1
p0012 A camshaft position - Timing Over Retarded Bank 1
p0300 Random/Mult misfire detected.
p0301 Cylinder 1Misfire detected
p0304 cylinder 4 misfire detected
p0303 Cylinder 3 misfire detected
p0302 cylinder 2 misfire detected

Passenger side airbag malfunction warning also (did not have before).

Did I break something or not put something back together right? I wasn't the one who took most of it apart so I could have left a wire unconnected or put something back wrong. Any ideas regarding what I can check?

Thanks.
It sounds like the camshaft sensor wires on the rear sensors might be crossed, or either the Vanos solenoids are plugged in backwards. You will have all of the misfires on start up with air in the fuel rail, & injectors. This is very common.

Passenger side airbag malfunction warning light is due to a very weak or bad battery. If you can not clear the code after a 12 charge, your battery has a bad cell. It will check good, but I have been down that road. If you have to install a new battery, charge it for 12 hours also. After this register the battery, & clear all of your codes.

Give us a update after the codes are cleared.
 
#3 ·
Ugh.. now it won't start. It turns over and sounds like it wants to crank but won't. I had that fuel line disconnected when the car was apart and it didn't want to start when I initially put everything back. It spontaneously cranked and then several times after but now won't. Any ideas to try for that??

The Vanos solenoids -- are those the tubes from the passenger timing cover I had out? Can you explain what you mean 'backwards'? Does that mean to swap the plugs from one to the other?

Can also explain what camshaft wires I should look at? I think all the plugs are in and they are different I believe.

Sorry for all the dumb questions -- all this is overwhelming. Thanks again.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Ugh.. now it won't start. It turns over and sounds like it wants to crank but won't. I had that fuel line disconnected when the car was apart and it didn't want to start when I initially put everything back. It spontaneously cranked and then several times after but now won't. Any ideas to try for that??

The Vanos solenoids -- are those the tubes from the passenger timing cover I had out? Can you explain what you mean 'backwards'? Does that mean to swap the plugs from one to the other?

Can also explain what camshaft wires I should look at? I think all the plugs are in and they are different I believe.

Sorry for all the dumb questions -- all this is overwhelming. Thanks again.
1st thing is put a battery charger on the jump terminal under the hood. It sounds like the battery voltage is below the required voltage to crank. After charging, the engine should crank. Before cranking the engine, the Eccentric Shaft sensors need to be sync. Turn the key to position 2, & listen for a clicking type sound. After 30 seconds, the motors should be synced.

It is possible to connect the 2 rear camshaft senors up backwards. Check the drivers side wiring to the camshaft sensors, & verify if one could be backwards on the passenger side. This should help answer your question. They are different sensors. I am not sure that the can be changed at the plug side, or if you will have to pull the sensor & swap the position? The part numbers are below.

Camshaft sensor

Intake-side Camshaft sensor

12 14 7 539 172

Exhaust-side Camshaft sensor

12 14 7 518 628
 
#5 ·
Ok, I have the battery charger on. I looked and I have the intake cam sensor in the hole right below the eccentric shaft sensor. It comes with a wire attached and is connected to that wiring harness bracket above. The exhaust side sensor is in the bottom hole of the valve cover.

I do remember the solenoid connectors being the same and I wasn't sure which went where. In the morning, I can try switching those. I was also concerned if they were seated enough. Those metal brackets are tight but I wondered if they pushed down far enough. I 'think' they're in fully but I'm not 110%.

I really appreciate your help.
 
#11 ·
I got those solenoid connectors switched and got the car started. It runs better thankfully. My airbag warning is still on. Does that indicate an issue still with the battery or does that light need resetting. I think I still have Ipna on an old laptop if that would help.
 
#12 ·
You can try & clear the codes with a quick test ( DIS ), & if it comes back, go get a battery.
The code that I received was on the passenger seat restraint I think. A new battery that had to be charged, to clear the code. Didn't make since, but that's what worked. At least you are back with everything running good. Don't forget to register the battery.

Nothing like German engineering! :mad::mad:
 
#15 · (Edited)
HerbP??

HerbP -- need more help...

Car cut off immediately after starting and moving a few feet, then cranked back up and ran fine. Next start, same thing. Later that day, only clicking heard when trying to start. I took battery to placed purchased (only 5 months old) and they told me it's fine. I have tried to charge battery and tried 200 amp start and tried jumping. With the jump and 200 amp it will turn over but not start. I have transmission fault, cruise control fault, drive control faults.
Could I have damaged the battery cables when car was apart? I did lose that metal piece that goes to the under hood positive terminals so have those 2 red cables bolted together. They are supposed to be connected, correct? What could be wrong??

P.S. Could a wire or relay be messed up, not plugged in good, etc in the ECU box? Some of those had been taken out during valve cover removal...
P.S.#2 ... i tried running DIS quick test. Never have used DIS so not sure if I did it right. See below about what I pulled up:


 
#16 ·
If you have a VOM, check the voltage when the engine is cold, & without charging. If the voltage level is below the 11.8 volt threshold, the engine will not start. Check your Valvetronic plugs at the motors, to make sure they are attached properly. Turn the key to the 2 position, & listen to see if your hear the Valvetronic motors syncing. If they are not clicking, something is unplugged. I still suspect a bad battery. I did not see the warning for the airbag, did that clear?

We you start up DIS, do the quick test, & clear all of the codes. The hard codes will remain on the 2nd page, but the soft codes should clear. If you see a X at the side of the module, there is a problem in that module. You can test a module at that level, or start a test plan for the module. DIS is not very user friendly, so you have to do a lot of playing around. Once you realize what it is telling you, you will see how powerful it is. The burlar alarm siren is no big deal, the internal batteries are bad. The code will remain, until you replace the 2 batteries. Where did you get the battery from?
 
#17 · (Edited)
I just got home from eating and had the 2amp trickle charger going the last couple of hours so these numbers may not mean anything but at the rear I got 12.48v and 12.41 under the hood. It's back to just clicking now when key turned. I turned to position 2 a few times. I believe I hear 1 audible click within a sec or two of me hitting that 2nd position. Should I hear 2 distinct clicks? I may have to get wife to help me it happens so fast. I wasn't getting any engine codes earlier this week except secondary air pump but that's been messed up for some time. The engine cover is on but I guess I can pull back off tomorrow and check those plugs. I'm fairly sure they are both in.
The battery is Autocraft 49h8 bought in Oct from Advance. They told me today it had 12v and 1000CCA on their machine . I did the battery and replaced voltage regulator all around Oct/Nov. If the battery is bad is there a reason I can't jump it or get it started with the 200 amp charger? Jumping it did get it to turn over so must have done some good.
The car had been running fine last few days once I got it started on Monday. A tire place here in town reset the airbag light on Monday so that's why that is gone. I see you gave me your #. I can call tomorrow sometime if you're around or I'll definitely keep checking back here. Thanks again.
 
#19 ·
I have been reading the WDS drawings, & I am starting to suspect to possible problems. The 1st is where you bolted the 2 cables together. It could be not applying the proper voltage due to a bad splice. You could clean the cable ends, to make sure they are getting good continuity.

The next item could be the IVM going bad. It sees both legs of the staring circuit, then sends the signal to the DME, to crank. You stated you removed some relays during the valve cover work, but I am not sure why you did that. You could recheck those relays to make sure they are seated properly. The IVM is located there.

Let me know what you find on these 2 items.
 
#20 · (Edited)
The red battery cables are clean and bolted tight. I'll have to check the ECU plugs tomorrow. I don't think any relays were removed but I know some of the cables were unplugged and plugged back. Someone else started all of pulling of my car apart and I wasn't watching. They didn't show back up to finish so I had to finish the valve covers and reassemble myself. I know he had most or all of the wiring harness disconnected at one point. I just don't understand why it's been working and won't now.
On the DIS test, isn't there a "Valvetronic" and a "Valvetronic 2" that it tests? I thought I saw 2 entries on the test screen -- maybe not. In any case, what would make it report "Valvetronic - No communication possible" ?

One other thing -- there was a large black cable coming out of ECU area -- looked like a grounding cable so I had put that under the strut bar. Was that correct to do?
 
#21 ·
Can you remove the engine cover, & take some pics of both valve covers. If the Valvetronic system is not working, it will default to a manual position. If your wiring harness was completely removed, it could have been damaged. The become brittle, & have some history in failing. The pics will help me to see if everything is in the proper position. I can't remember were you are located, in Ga. I can probably talk you thru the DIS test over the phone. If you run the quick test, go to the 2nd page to see the faults. Go to the bottom of the screen to service functions. At that point I think you either go to engine control, or the DME tab. Drill down into the module, & run the valvetronic test. We need to see what the module is reporting. If the rear of the valve covers were forced in any way, it is possible that the Eccentric shaft sensors, might have been damaged. This should report a code of some type. Run the test & lets see what happens.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I had an update but didn't get around to posting yesterday. My car started fine yesterday morning. The only thing I had done was run the 2amp charger through the night. When I turned the key I noticed the transmission error was gone and definitely heard that clicking noise about 5 secs into it. I wasn't getting that particular click previously. I used the car several times yesterday and it ran good.
This was after cranking it but I also moved that large grounding cable back onto the threaded post behind the ECU box. The nut was missing and there was a smaller cable on the post also. Not sure if that matters but it couldn't have been making good contact.
I'm just scared it will act up again and leave me stranded . Should I try to run the tests now or will everything show up good since it's working now? Thanks.
 
#24 ·
I had battery issues on my E53. The battery was a 1 year old Bosch S5 and all the auto electrical tech places said it measured fine (i.e. Had good voltage and cca). But after leaving the car for a couple of days, it was flat and just clicked the starter and threw codes. No measurable drain found so I bit the bullet and replaced the battery. Problem solved and I could leave it for weeks in the coldest weather knowing that it would start perfectly. I can only conclude that the equipment used to test a battery just doesn't deal with every situation.
 
#25 ·
A loose ground wire can cause all kinds of problems. Sounds like it fixed most of your problems The differential sensor is located on the back of the intake, it is probably not connected?

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E63/USA/645Ci-N62/may2005/browse/engine/intake_manifold_system/

Your other 2 codes are most likely not connected either. Here is the part type sensor you are looking for, & most likely on the same wiring harness. You will probably need to pull the engine cover off again! :mad::mad:

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E...wse/heater_and_air_conditioning/sensor_f_auc/

After this you should hopefully be done!
 
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