bekks

I've done a fair bit of reading into the potential causes of this and it seems the first place to check is the wiring. My question is: is there any harm in driving with this code? I assume the sensor is checking that my camshaft is in the correct position relative to the crankshaft and other camshaft. If I assume my chain (5 chain) hasn't skipped any teeth, and I would know if it had, then it shouldn't matter if my sensor is working or not. I realize eventually the code might shut me down, but it isn't doing any damage right?
Without looking at it, I have a guess that since my AOS was full of oil, it perhaps has dripped onto the camshaft sensor's connector and facilitated a short. Any chance that could be the case?

bekks

Drove around a bit yesterday with the Durametric hooked up. The bank 1 camshaft position sensor is staying flat at zero. Does this sensor talk to the Vario Cam?
Has anyone got to those wires with the AOS in the car in order to test them for shorts? It was all I could do to stick a phone in there to take some pictures and figure out that the wires come off the sensor and then head towards the front of the car. Do the wires become accessible anywhere else?

venom51

https://www.carobdcodes.com/porsche-...n-sensor.shtml

It will cause extended crank times and poor fuel economy/performance but nothing mechanically detrimental according to that.

bekks

Thanks, that's an informative description of the code.

bekks

Looking for some more help. The code is actually P0343, but I don't think I can change the subject line.
I am getting 12 V on the signal wire (I guess this is B+?) with the ignition on, 5 V on the 5 V supply, and 0 V on the ground. Continuity is good from the DME connector to the sensor connector and there is no continuity between the three wires or ground (with the ignition off). The wiring at the sensor connector does make a hard bend, but I can see that nothing is shorting at the hard bend. The 12 V on the signal wire seems to indicate, from the error code description, that the wiring is bad. I think my next step will be to check the other camshaft sensor and see if I get the same voltages (I found another thread that this seemed to be the case, but the OP never posted the final conclusion). Another suggestion is that the DME is faulty, which seems strange and unlikely to me, but I dunno much about this electrical magic.
I saw another thread that Macster offered some good insight, but again, the conclusion wasn't posted.
Anyone have any thoughts? Can the DME fail like that?

Car is running good as far as I can tell, although there may have been a couple extended cranking periods.
2000 S 6 speed with 90k km

Macster

Don't know if you have this info. Posted by Loren on the renntech.org site.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P0343 Camshaft Position Sensor 1 – Above Limit

Potential causes:

– Short circuit to B+

Check the connector/wiring.

Check signal wire from DME control module, pin III/20, to CMP sensor for short circuit to B+.

1. Connect special tool 9637 to wiring harness ( DME control module connector).

2. Remove connector of CMP sensor.

3. Connect voltmeter to special tool 9637, pin III/20, and ground.

Switch on the ignition.

Display: 0 V

If battery voltage is displayed, check wiring harness for chafing and pinching damage.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bekks

Thanks for chiming in Macster. I regard you as Super Electrical Guru. I believe I have read the thread that Loren posted that in. I don't have the breakout box, but have followed those directions otherwise, and connected my voltmeter at the CMP sensor's connector. This is where I measure the battery voltage instead of 0 V. However, I don't really trust the diagnosis that the wire is shorted because... I have now tested the bank 2 CMP sensor connector as well and receive the same (battery) voltage as bank 1. I also checked resistance to ground, with the ignition on, and there is 0.5 Ohms for both banks, but I think that makes sense, correct me if it doesn't. As a reminder, I see no continuity to ground when the ignition is off.
One think that I have not tried is checking voltage at the DME pin 20 (with the connector III off). Is there any risk to having the connector off, turning the ignition on, and checking voltage between the ground and a particular pin? I assume it is fine, but would like some reassurance. I realise that I do not want to create a short between pins. I am willing to bet that I will see the battery voltage at the pin, which would mean there is not a problem in the wiring from the DME to the CMP sensor.

Macster

Well, I'm flattered but I have to deny the label. I'm not a super anything. I no longer have my Boxster OBD2 repair manuals and the factory manual and can't refer to those so I can't really offer any further guidance. Thus I can offer nothing beyond what I posted that Loren offered. (That looks like it came right out of the factory Boxster OBD2 repair manual.)

To state the obvious it is important you check the right pins and to do so in a manner that doesn't expose what the pins come out of to any static electrical discharge.

You might be able to buy the break out box from a Porsche dealer parts department. I was able to buy a test (bypass) relay but when it came in another customer -- someone who owned a shop -- was in need of it and the parts department asked me and I said sure. Rather than ordering a 2nd one and waiting for it, a tech loaned me his and I used it to confirm the fuel pump relay was not the reason my fuel pump was not working.

bekks

Your post count suggests you are Super Porsche Man. Looked online for the breakout box and the cheapest I found was about $2600, so I probably won't be buying that guy. I am going to try to make something that allows me to safely contact the desired pin without risk of shorting to another pin. I do have the service manuals and have looked at the wiring schematic and am confident that I'm looking at the right pin. I'll see what I come up with tonight, but I am leaning towards the DME being the problem now. I might opt to send it out to Specialized ECU Repairs.

Starter986

Just stumbled upon this thread. I'm completely ignorant of the electronics you describe... but recognize your concern (corect me if I''m wrong).

You want to test a specific pin, likely surrounded by other pins, and want to avoid touching the others when testing that pin.

Have you considered a plastic tube... similar tio a shrink wrap tube... maybe a narrow plastic straw... inserting your test wire into it..,. positioning the tube/straw around the desired pin... and then testing? Might need a pal to hold that tube, I don't know. That might mitigate the chance of touching another pin. The tube would keep the testing wire from touching other pins.

I could be completely off base. Best wishes.

bekks

You're right on the money. I was thinking of the same isolation solution too. I'm going to head to an electronics store today and pick up some heat shrink sleeves that should fit nicely over the pins.

If anyone has their front engine compartment open behind the seats and doesn't mind pulling the bank 2 camshaft position sensor and testing the voltage to ground from the middle of the three wires, with the ignition on, it would be greatly appreciated. Or if anyone has their AOS out and could pull the bank 1 camshaft position sensor and measure the voltage for the same middle wire that would be equally appreciated.

bekks

Success tonight. Measured voltage at the DME pins. As I suspected, I received battery voltage, so I do not think that the troubleshooting guide is correct. Maybe it is opposite and you should receive battery voltage; if you have zero volts it could be a broken wire (obviously), but not a short. I decided to swap sensors since I had them both relatively accessible, even though I doubted that to be the problem. Plugged everything back in, fired it up, plugged in the Durametric and my flatline signal has swapped over to bank 2. New camshaft position sensor is ordered. Thanks for the help.
I'm still curious to know if other people are getting battery voltage at their sensor.

Macster

Well, I have been fortunate and in some ways lucky and helped by the fact I had a Boxster (and a 996 Turbo) I put a lot of miles on and over the years had both cars in for a number of thing so I picked up some knowledge along with general engine knowledge I manage to accumulate over the years prior to my Porsche ownership when I worked on my other cars. This allowed me to offer some help/guidance over the years to a number of other owners. But I am not a trained auto tech and once I reach my limit of what I know and believe can be of help I have to stop.

For things like cam timing my only exposure to this was when what proved to be the VarioCam solenoid/actuator on IIRC the passenger side of my Boxster engine acted up. I read a pending code which pointed to these items but turned the job of making a diagnosis and repair over to a gold tech at the local Porsche dealer the tech I had come to know when I had the car in for other things.

Going at the wiring, probing the wiring is at some point called for in this case based on what I recall regarding what is in the Boxster OBD2 repair manual in order to diagnose the source of the problem. But I do not do that with my cars. While I do this at work all the time, it seems, and use besides a volt/ohm meter analog and digital trace scopes, I really am very reluctant to do this with any of my cars.

I do know having the right clips/connectors -- in some cases even special fly wires/test leads soldered to the circuit board or even the pins on the micro-controllers or other chips on board -- is paramount to ensuring one obtains what he wants from this effort without doing any harm or damage to the rest of the working board.

Hence my recommendation to get the test/break out box. But I had no idea it would cost $2600. That's crazy. And of course out of the question.

If you still believe you need to check the various wiring/circuits then you'll have to do that but without the break out box. At the office I have an assortment of test clips, wires with a small socket on one end to slide down on a pin in a male electrical connector and a bare solid wire on the other end to which I can clip a scope probe. These allow me to sample/monitor electrical signals from selected pins with very little risk of making undesirable contact with any other pins in the connector.

For these and other very useful items Digi-Key is the source. This page/link gives you some idea of what is available:

https://www.digikey.com/products/en/...ssortments/628

bekks

The last company I worked for did some instrumentation work (strain gauging) that I helped out with a bit and because of that I had access to some more dedicated electrical tools. But that is no longer the case, so I'm left with my lowly $20 multimeter and one-size-fits-all probes. It seemed to do the trick though after putting heat shrink over the pins that I did not want to touch.
I'll come back and confirm once I receive and install the new camshaft position sensor, but I am pretty confident that is the problem.

bekks

200 km on the new sensor and all is well