intake camshaft sensor problems

cjmahone66 · 08-17-2020, 02:04 PM

2003 BMW Z4 2.5. about 58k miles.

wife's Z4 had CEL come on. my generic code reader gave me P0340 and i also have a "Creator C310+" that gave me DME fault code 3C1E. that seems to indicate the camshaft position sensor was faulty, so i ordered a new one from Pelican. got the MEYLE brand https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...=0&SVSVSI=0910

install is pretty straight forward, i removed the oil filter canister and the Vanos solenoid, replaced the sensor and put everything back as normal. i did notice that the original sensor has a sensing node that was smaller diameter than the MEYLE. i cleared the codes, start up the engine and let it run a few minutes, no CEL. i assume all is well and it late at night so i went to bed. the next morning, my wife tells me the CEL is back on.

now, the original codes are gone, but i have new codes. generic OBDII reader is giving me P0011, and the C310+ is giving me 28B6 and 2766. Car is idling a little rough, hasn't stalled yet, but its hunting for idle. seems ok in upper RPM.

im thinking that hopefully my vanos solinoid is just gunked up, so im going to pull that tonight and give it a good cleaning. but also wondering if this MEYLE intake camshaft sensor might just be not working properly? it is shaped differently than the original, but i dont know enough about it to know if that would make a difference.

any other ideas?

cjmahone66 · 08-17-2020, 02:54 PM

been driving it around town a little today and now a new code pops up, P1315.

cjmahone66 · 08-28-2020, 12:47 PM

even though Pelican Parts website and packaging says that electronic sensors are not returnable, i reached out to them anyway and explained the problem i was having and why i thought the sensor was not compatible as advertised. thankfully, they did give me credit and i sent the $60 MEYLE part back and ordered the $120 OEM sensor.
Once i got that and installed it, the car seems fine again. been driving it around 2 days and it runs right and no CEL.
So, maybe the MEYLE sensor i received was just a bad one and another one would have worked fine, but the OEM one worked no problem. so in this instance, I'm guessing its important to use the OEM one.

wdb · 08-29-2020, 07:18 AM

It's a shame that they sell you a part that doesn't work! Glad you got it sorted.

08-17-2020, 02:04 PM	#1
cjmahone66 New Member 5 Rep 12 Posts Drives: 2003 BMW Z4 2.5i STauto Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: North Texas iTrader: (0)	intake camshaft sensor problems 2003 BMW Z4 2.5. about 58k miles. wife's Z4 had CEL come on. my generic code reader gave me P0340 and i also have a "Creator C310+" that gave me DME fault code 3C1E. that seems to indicate the camshaft position sensor was faulty, so i ordered a new one from Pelican. got the MEYLE brand https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...=0&SVSVSI=0910 install is pretty straight forward, i removed the oil filter canister and the Vanos solenoid, replaced the sensor and put everything back as normal. i did notice that the original sensor has a sensing node that was smaller diameter than the MEYLE. i cleared the codes, start up the engine and let it run a few minutes, no CEL. i assume all is well and it late at night so i went to bed. the next morning, my wife tells me the CEL is back on. now, the original codes are gone, but i have new codes. generic OBDII reader is giving me P0011, and the C310+ is giving me 28B6 and 2766. Car is idling a little rough, hasn't stalled yet, but its hunting for idle. seems ok in upper RPM. im thinking that hopefully my vanos solinoid is just gunked up, so im going to pull that tonight and give it a good cleaning. but also wondering if this MEYLE intake camshaft sensor might just be not working properly? it is shaped differently than the original, but i dont know enough about it to know if that would make a difference. any other ideas?
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08-17-2020, 02:54 PM	#2
cjmahone66 New Member 5 Rep 12 Posts Drives: 2003 BMW Z4 2.5i STauto Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: North Texas iTrader: (0)	been driving it around town a little today and now a new code pops up, P1315.
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08-28-2020, 12:47 PM	#3
cjmahone66 New Member 5 Rep 12 Posts Drives: 2003 BMW Z4 2.5i STauto Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: North Texas iTrader: (0)	even though Pelican Parts website and packaging says that electronic sensors are not returnable, i reached out to them anyway and explained the problem i was having and why i thought the sensor was not compatible as advertised. thankfully, they did give me credit and i sent the $60 MEYLE part back and ordered the $120 OEM sensor. Once i got that and installed it, the car seems fine again. been driving it around 2 days and it runs right and no CEL. So, maybe the MEYLE sensor i received was just a bad one and another one would have worked fine, but the OEM one worked no problem. so in this instance, I'm guessing its important to use the OEM one.
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08-29-2020, 07:18 AM	#4
wdb dances with roads 4718 Rep 4,094 Posts Drives: '07 E86, '02 996, '95 Seven Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: the perimeter iTrader: (4)	It's a shame that they sell you a part that doesn't work! Glad you got it sorted.
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