Help Requested w/ Camshaft Fault Codes

I just bought this pristine early 99 996 with 46k on the clock. Have had the car a week and barely drove it due to weather, but had to take it 70 miles today to the nearest Porsche dealer for key programming. Well they did the key and also scanned the car and came back with these fault codes. Looks like three active codes. I test drove the car 10 miles prepurchase, also 40 miles the other day, and 70 miles to the dealership today. There was no check engine light at all. Dealership scans it, and guess what?Got a check engine light about 20 miles into trip back home. There do not appear to be any driveability issues and the car runs great, so hopefully just a sensor? Porsche dealer wanted $6k to verify timing and $11k if it needed retimed. Service history shows the previous owner 5 years ago but only 7k miles ago, had brought it to another dealer and they changed the timing chains and tensioner(s). Any idea what could be going on? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Loving this car so far! Just need to get it this MIL light resolved now.

It is very suspicious that the first code is a Toothed Belt, while there are no tooth-belt on bank 2 with a 996.

U need to get a decent scanner and read the cam deviations. What is the p-code for the check engine light that appeared? The should have supplied them along with the codes? This value should be the 1st thing u checked before buying this car. Did u not have a ppi or even ask for a dme report? U should be able to see the cam deviations which r a "smoothed" over time measurement and the actual cam angle which will change as the variocam opens and closes due to rpm. There r 100s of threads in cam deviation if u search. It does seem weird to have an issue if the variocam pads were already changed but it may need to be done again or the job wasnt done correctly. Or those r actually old codes and the check engine light is something different?

I like the Nova..

Yes cam deviations are next on the list. I already have a working PIWIS 3 on the laptop, just waiting on the OBD dongle to arrive to be able to connect and read the codes myself. I am learning about this car and everything that can happen, between bore scoring, AOS, IMS bearing, etc I know I should have had this done before purchase, but alas, I am an impulsive shopper and the Aero kit, super low mileage, service history, Southern car, cable throttle, etc. etc. etc sold me without doing a PPI. I am pretty good at spotting a good vehicle and the suspension felt tight, drove laser straight, no leaks, blah blah blah. It had all good signs, except the high price, lol. Sooooo, I received the endoscope today, and was able to scope number 6 and number 1 today. Absolutely ZERO scoring to be seen from the spark plug holes at BDC. You guys think I should go thru the sump also? So far, I feel lucky in that regard. Also fixed a broken mirror switch which made me feel good The picture with the codes is from the dealership's scanner. The hall effect sensor 2 (exceeds value) is where I think I should start, but will confirm the active codes when I get PIWIS connected. Can you guys point me in the right direction on where the camshaft sensors are exactly and what kind of job I'm looking at? The service tech thought it might be off a tooth on the timing chain. Is this possible and the car still run great? I wouldn't believe the Porsche Dealer that did the timing work in 2020 would mess it up that bad and it still run for 5 years after that. Then again, why did it need timing work to begin with, is another question... Thanks for any and all expertise with getting this car right! The VIN number ends in 620102 so I believe its like the 40th car to come to the US in 99, which is pretty cool. I am in the process of cleaning up all the underbody from the nasty cosmolene. Not a speck of rust or leakage so hopefully a good sign.

Oh, the other thing its doing is the oil pressure is like maxed all the time unless warmed up at idle it goes down a smidge to 4.75-5. Dealership I bought it from said they used Mobil Euro 5-40. I have ordered Liquid Moly 0-40 and a new oem filter to see if that could be it?

I wouldn�t bother scoping through the sump unless you are extremely curious. I would scope the remaining cylinders through the spark plug holes. But if you really want to, at least do it during your next oil change, so that you save on your engine oil. I would recommend that you save a sample of your current engine oil and send it in for used oil analysis, too. Your oil pressure issue sounds like an issue with the oil pressure sender or its wiring circuit.

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This is normal and it has nothing to do with your grade if oil. In this motor u want all the oil pressure u can get and i would not reccomend switching to a lower weight. There is a pressure release spring in the filer assembly to keep the system good. A lot of owners will go up to a 60w oil. i would suggest u slow down, ask more questions and stop reading reddit or ai panicy threads about these car. Hook up your piwis3 when the midual gets here and we can help evaluate the car.

The first time I changed an actuator on a 5-chain engine, I was off a tooth between the intake-exhaust cams and the car ran fine, then threw a code. So I had to do it again. It certainly would not last 5 years without a code. Cam position sensors are hard to get to on a 5-chain engine. Bank 1 is right under the connection for the AOS. Bank 2 is under that whole mess of AC/Power steering hoses and AOS line toward the back of the car.

Ya,,, while to much oil pressure doesn't ever seem to be an issue on the m96, it does seem like an oil pressure sender unit or sender wiring problem is at play here, just as '996love' suggested above... And by all means go with the newest recommendations from most all m96 experts for m96 oil viscosity. Use a */50 weight of your brand choice. An oil with high molly and zinc is best or add a 1/2 bottle of each to your oil change... On the track might be best to go with a 60 weight along with many other mods to help alleviate m96 oil pressure instability. jmho

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Except he says "when cold" so that is very common and it depends on how cold the op's ambient is. What does it read with the motor and coolant to temp? is the correct question.

The oil pressure is pegged above 5 at all times except when engine warm, and at idle it comes off the max very slightly. Still at about 5. I was told that if it was the sending unit, it usually never comes off the max? This one definitely does but very slightly. Ambient temps are 20-40 degrees

Ok so its basically pegged when engine is full up to temp...then yes i would suspect the sending unit.

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I will get one and see if it fixes the issue. So you guys using a heavier weight oil in this engine and the pressure gauge reads fine? I just ordered the Liqui Moly 0w-40, so if I get some 10W-60 and mix 50/50 I would end up with something like a 5W-50�

For normal.street driving the 0-40 is fine. I would suggest u see what pressure your motor is actually making with the new sensor. The heavier oil is good for cars that track and heat the oil up more so it doesnt loose viscosity.

Gotcha, this is a garage queen mostly�with some spirited street driving. Sensor ordered!

She�s pretty clean underneath� If I take out these bolts, can I verify timing on bank 1 from here?

No no no. Please do not fo expimenting. There is very specific was to diag this motor and randomly removing parts can cost u a $30k rebuild. Start reading posts for replacing the variocam pads in a 3.4 engjne. U can remove the rubber caps on the orher side and.by the position of thw slot u can tell if the cams r correct. The crank pully needs to locked/pinned and u need to make sure the motor is on the correct stroke.

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Don't worry man, I'm not going to do anything dumb, lol. I am open for any and all suggestions and tips. I have a shop and mechanical skills, just don't know Porsche's (yet). I have watched the video below and I feel comfortable at least removing some plugs to look at those camshaft slots. If I need to remove the motor, I am prepared to do that. So the rubber plugs on the end of the drivers side cam cover, the slots in the cams should be parallel to the cam cover once the crank pulley is lined up with the mark like he talks about in the video at 40:00? Not sure I can see those crank pulley marks with the engine in the car? If I take out the airbox, probably can, will need to look. You Tube

U can use a drill bit to pin the pulley if u dont have the tool kit. Sorry i dont know the diameter. The position of that drivers side cam will be different if on the wrong stroke. I was in the same boat as u 5ish years ago. Im a good wrench but was new to porsches. Follow the procedures and u r fine. There r no short cuts with these motors. Retiming the cams r not hard but the process can be confusing. I would still wait and get your piwis working to verify the info.

Yes definitely getting PIWIS first. However, I was able to use another scanner program with OBD link to get the codes just now. This is with Key On Engine Off Active codes P1531 Pending Codes P1324 P1397 The dealership cleared the codes before I left yesterday so this is what came back.. Drove home about 100 miles. 20 miles in, the check engine light came on for the first time. Car ran fine, wouldn't know anything was wrong....

Ok we get to take a step back. There r many parts to the variocam system. The actuator is the main body, the soleniod triggers the actuator and it pushes the pads into the chain which causes the timing between the intake and exhaust cams to change. The pads wear and increase the deviation and is generally all that is replaced when the values r exceeded. The code u r getting is for what the actuator does not the cam deviations. The soleniod (if working) triggers the actuator to move a piston to change the timing over a certain rpm (around 3k). U should be able to see the movement in real time wirh the scanner. My autel calls it "actual cam angle". 2 things could be wrong. The soleniod is bad or the o-rings on the actuator pistons r bad. There is a rebuild service for the actuator and u can test the soleniod but both require pulling the valve covers and removing the assembly. This can be done with the motor in but i would not recommernd it. If u do pull the motor there is a list of "while its out" parts that should be replaced. The fault can be intermintant at first and u might not feel it but eventually it will stick and cause a rough idle or effect power over 3000. Depends in which way it gets stuck. If u r good with tools its deff doable in your garage.

I went out and just visually checked over the wiring to the solenoids on the variocam. Both drivers and passenger sides appears to be plugged in and in good condition from a visual inspection. The drivers side however was covered in old oil which looks to be seepage coming from above the cam cover where the AOS is. I cleaned it all up. I have two spark plugs out right now and waiting on new spark plugs to arrive so I can scope the rest of the cylinders and change the plugs same time. Then can fire it back up and see what it looks like running and report the cam angle sensor values. Do you know which side the P1531 refers to? What do you think about the other two codes? Much thanks!

Just some quick googling shows the 1531 as a bank 1. The other 2 seem to be bank 2 issues but usually tripped for rhe same reason as the bank 1 code. Looks like bank 2 is lazy and bank one may have failed? U may want to pull the sump pan and see if u have a bunch of green bits bottom of the motor.

1531 = variocam actuator replacement. A deviation of >6 degrees will cause this code. Get the tool set, don't eff around with DIY stuff.

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Heard! Can you point me to a good set to buy or rent?

Oil filter looked clean. No foreign debris, or metal that I could find This is the oil from just the oil filter. Looks good to me� This is the oil that was in the bottom of the sump Found some brown bits and also aluminum pieces Also found this large piece!! Is this D-chunk? Help!!!

Looking up at the pickup screen

Bits from pickup tube

The brown bits r normal and r pad material that has shed. That 2nd from last pic is the circle "foil" like? Looks like the foil from under the cap of an oil container that may have fell in. Sorry i cant help with the last pic.

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No, it's not foil man, this is a chunk of aluminum casting and there are some aluminum metal shavings mixed with the brown pad material . I just scoped all the cylinders from the bottom and I do not see any signs of bore scoring. They all look good top and bottom. The metal chunk has me concerned though, but maybe from a previous repair? The oil looked very clean. I mean the dealership just changed it 150-200 miles ago so I don't think an oil analysis would be beneficial to check for metals or would it?

Seems like lots of material from pads that just got changed/replaced..? Just a guess... The metal piece might be from one of the scavenge pump snouts where the cam connects on to the pumps. Those snouts have been known to break off when pump binds up from devouring debris/or pieces of chain roller that have also shed off the timing chains. This leaves the pump inoperable giving even more oil instability than normal for a m96...

I would be afraid of the big piece until you figure out where it came from.

I have to say I was worried, but it could have been there for 20 years and not causing a problem. The oil looks great and I spent a couple hours looking inside the motor with camera everywhere I could and could not find anything out of the ordinary. Also connected a 9v battery to the variocam solenoids. They both clicked... I did read a couple of threads where guys just disconnected the battery and did a "hard reset" and it fixed the code. I will try this once I get the spark plugs and everything back together early next week. Probably not going to work, but I want to rule out any glitches before opening up the cam cover.

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I am not sure exactly what timing chain or tensioner was replaced back in 2020 by previous owner. I called that dealer and they are supposed to be sending me the service information. Do you think they cleaned out the sump at that time? Might be bits from the original pads before replacement?

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Could be left over from back then, but most times the whole reason the pads are changed is because of stuff found in sump along with a deviation problem. The excess cam deviation is normally from worn pads. If the advance sticks or doesn't advance smoothly/consistently the actuators might need to be rebuilt/replaced. Usually green bits of old disintegrated actuator o-rings are found in the sump when actuators go bad. Suppose those old green bits could have also been cleaned out when they did the pads back in 2020..? IMHO, on our 25 year old m96 with ancient actuator known to fail green o-rings, if one is going to the lengths of removing actuators & changing out pads, might as well do the actuator rebuild also, or be ready to tear it down again pretty soon down the road...

dup

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Well it's throwing p1531 for the actuator, but I'm not finding any green bits in the sump at all, only brown and black soft squishy bits. I will find out what the dealership did back then and report back. Since it's got codes for both banks, (but not P1530 which is Bank 2 actuator) but the solenoids clicked, and two actuators failing same time is not common, I may take a look at the DME and see if it has a burned transistor.

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The dealership did tell me the car came in for low oil pressure but not much detail. I will need to investigate this further, but oil pressure is at 5 or above at all times. New sending unit should be here soon.

Porsche Engine Timing Tool Set - CTA Manufacturing 5018 | FCP Euro CAMSHAFT ALIGNMENT Engine Timing Tool Kit For Porsche 911/Boxster 996/997/987 | eBay Is the $700 toolkit the right one to get or the eBay one good enough? They look identical but you know how that is...

I used a $60 ebay kit. It was good enough.

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Same what I used. Works fine.

See attached files for the service records related to timing and water pump replacement 5 years ago. Looks like bank 2 was done, but not bank 1�

So all they did was replace the pads when they did the variocam work to get the cam deviations within spec. They did not replace the soleniod or actuator. U need to get it up and running so we can see the cam deviation #s and hopefully see the variocams moving though the piwis or other scanner

They only replaced the chain guides, not the actuator. Interesting they changed all M6 screws for almost $10 each. Dealers !

Scanner will be here today but spark plugs not getting here till Wednesday, and wife is delivering our baby girl on Friday, so hopefully I have a chance to button her up before. Theres a ripped spark plug boot that wont arrive for another week. What are all those orings and seals they used? Do you think the oil pan came off at this time?

Got PIWIS connected. Language is set to English, however all the descriptions and such seem to be in German. How do I find the cam deviation values? I am in the diagnostics portion of the software and am able to navigate to the DME and open it up. Then theres a list of sensors�I will post a pic later

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Try going into 'Diagnostics 38.250'

Make sure its not in engineering mode. I made this mistake once but dont remember what i did to get out if it.

Diagnostics 38.250 has everything in the correct language and there are a lot of values, but nothing related to camshaft angle. Here are some screenshots I select the DME Go to measurements Lots of values displayed Scrolled down list of values

[Image-only post; no author-written text. Original image references:] https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/1920x1232/cam1dev_9ff769d5d64951ed87ee4c11e9dbd3cd3b45ed56.jpg

Thanks for posting that! I went into simulation mode and that "camshaft position 1 deviation" value is indeed there, however when I connect to the car, it is NOT in the list. Does the car need to be running? This is all key on engine off...

Also not seeing Camshaft Deviation Position 2? I will have to start the vehicle and see if these values magically appear in the list. Trying to find some info before I buy a Durametric.

The DMEs in the MY99s do not have a data entry for Cam Devs on Bank 2.

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Thanks for that info! Is this a limitation of the DME or PIWIS ? Can Durametric read both sides? Also looking for actual cam angle which I haven�t found in the PIWIS data list either�.

Yeah, it�s a DME limitation. The E-gas cars have a different, newer DME which can read both sides. And I never used PIWIS on a 99, so I don�t know what to look for, regarding actual cam angles.

Gotcha, so is only able to be read bank 1? How did the dealer determine a problem with camshaft deviation on bank 2 back in 2020 when they did the chain pads? Just based on the check engine fault code? How to troubleshoot the variocams if you cant see them operate on the scanner? I did see another test for camshaft adjustment 1 & 2 under �drive links� or �maintenance� section, will have to look. I assume this will activate the variocam. Seems oil needs to be up to temp to run this test.

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Oops, I misremembered it. Apparently, it�s the 99s with the RoW flash in the DME that only report cam deviations for bank 1. See here: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...l#post18042978 So, I would guess that your DME currently has the RoW flash uploaded to it, but was carrying the USA flash back when it was being diagnosed. I think you can use PIWIS to swap between RoW and USA tunes, but it seems you�ll need the IPAS codes. This link is from a 986 Boxster site, but the DMEs are the same. http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-g...ecu-flash.html I don�t have any experience flashing 996 DMEs, so it�s an at-your-own-risk type of deal. I can recommend, however, to hook up a battery tender to maintain 13.0+ V so that you don�t brick your DME from low voltage.

Simulation mode shows me these options for the map selection. Is OBDII the US map? I was able to get all the programming codes for the car from my dealer. I won't be able to work on the car for a few days so will report back when I can connect back up to it and see what map it says is in it.

Got the codes cleared, car filled with oil, and started it back up. This is the picture from post 1. ONLY the top two codes have come back and they come back immediately. I warmed up to temp and then revved the engine up past 5k a few times and no check engine light. I ran the "Camshaft Position Adjustment Bank 1" and "Camshaft Position Adjustment Bank 2" in the "Active Drive Links" tab. Bank 2 made the car stumble and it stalled (this is what is supposed to happen). Bank 1 made the car stumble, but it recovered and began idling normally. This tells me the solenoids are working, bank 2 actuator is working. Bank 1 actuator is working but may be lazy? I believe this proves out any wiring or DME issues. I am not sure how the codes in PIWIS compare to normal P-codes from OBDII scanners? I will scan it with the other scanner program and see what P-codes show up there. Based on the codes, I think I have a bad camshaft position sensor bank 2. However, information on the web indicates this car doesn't even look at the bank 2 sensor because it's a 99 and those came with ROW tune in the US? I still cannot see "Camshaft Deviation Position 1" in the active values list once connected to the car (engine running or not). Thinking about flashing the OBDII tune if I can get some information from others that have run into this. How is anyone checking camshaft deviation on an early 996.1?

P1324 P1397 Are the P-codes that come back. P1531 has not come back so I am hoping it was an intermittent bad wiring connection at the pigtail. Will see if it comes back once I get a chance to drive the car. It is snowing, and 15 deg right now (yesterday 65 deg, lol.) so not ideal.

I would say your next step is inspect the wiring to the bank 2 sensor. If u search the code u will find what shoud be on the wires. I think u can get to the plug, u can order back pinning spoons from amazon. This allows u to keep it plugged in and test. If the wiring checks out then it may be a bad sensor. Im going to guess its a bad sensor because its a permanant code but i have seen rodent damage and bad pins at the dme also cause weird issues. I like doing the diag work before buying parts.

Thanks! I will be looking into this next and post back

I unplugged the bank 2 camshaft sensor, started the car. Absolutely no change to running quality, and no new codes. I think I have found the potential problem. I figured out how to scan all the available modules for faults at the same time. That is where the airbag code is coming from. Not sure what that is about...airbag light is not on, on the instrument cluster. Now to figure out how to get this Bank 2 Cam sensor out with such a tight space. I was able to get my fingers on the connector to pinch it and pull it off, but getting it out is going to be fun. I could barely find one picture of the sensor location on the internet, let alone specific instructions. What's the best way? I see a large coolant hose that would be nice to get out of the way. I would rather not have to drain all the coolant, but if that's the best practice? I also need to replace the starter. Would removing the intake and such for the starter aid in the camshaft sensor access? Trying to determine if doing both at the same time made sense... Also found this procedure for testing the wiring. Let me know if this is legit. Basically test for 5V across pins 1 and 3 at the plug. If good, replace the sensor. https://charm.li/Porsche/1999/911%20...20Implausible/

Your air bag fault is not an issue with the system, its the cluster light. U can command the air bag light to come on with the piwis to confirm if it works. Not sure how to fix the cluster but others can chime in. Be aware that the casings on the plugs on the back of the cluster sometimes fall apart but can be replaced with the vw equivalant. The part #s r flooting around. For the starter there r many write ups but pulling the throttle body and 1st plenum x-over pipe get u access.

This site seems to have all the codes explained. P1324 code https://charm.li/Porsche/1999/911%20Carrera%20Coupe%20%28996%29%20F6-3.4L/Repair%20and%20Diagnosis/A%20L%20L%20%20Diagnostic%20Trouble%20Codes%20%28%20DTC%20%29/Testing%20and%20Inspection/P%20Code%20Charts/P1324/DME%205.2/ P1397 http://charm.li/Porsche/1999/911%20C...Above%20Limit/

Camshaft sensor came in today. I bought the Bosch 0232103022 from FCP Euro. Porsche wanted like $600 for the same sensor. See This Thread for a pic of the area in question Procedure for Bank 2 Camshaft Sensor Replacement Remove airbox (one 10mm screw, unplug MAF sensor, and two clips, loosen clamp on throttle body) Drain coolant via drain plug on bottom of motor Remove large coolant hose going to thermostat housing. Put some rags in the holes so nothing falls in. Remove one screw holding variocam connection bracket and small ground wire together using a 10mm wrench Pinch and remove connector on camshaft sensor Test for 5V across the two outside pins on the connector. I got voltage with key on engine off. Proceed with replacement. Remove screw holding camshaft sensor using 5mm allen wrench, rotate and pull to remove Grease new o-ring with some engine oil Push in new sensor gently until o ring seats Reinstall everything and top off coolant (open air bleeder on top of reservoir). Start engine and top off as needed. Result.....1324 & 1397 codes are cleared as you can see by the DTC status on the DME line in the pic above. Still have the airbag light issue, but not going to care about that. Now fingers crossed P1531 doesnt come back...lol. Local Porsche dealer is a bunch of crooks (or just plain incompetent) trying to charge me almost $7k without even looking at the problem. It took an hour to fix. What a joke...They did get $1220 for ordering and programming one key Thanks for everyone's help and advice! If someone has an idea on how to read camshaft deviation with PIWIS on a 99, I would be interested. I don't think it has a ROW tune because I have to use the clutch to start the car.

Ecudoctors will do keys for half that but u have to send them the dme, immo and a key. The cam deviation for the one bank may come up after u put some miles on it. Its not an instant measurement.

Drove the car about 40 miles today after changing the starter and ignition switch this morning. Was having a weird whining/grinding noise on startup half the time like the starter was being held too long. There was some play in the ignition key like it wasn't springing back to On after you hold Start. Much better now. Normally wouldnt, but I used the Duralast version from Autozone as it was the quickest to arrive. From the looks of it, seems like an equivalent quality to the OEM which is a cheap plastic anyway. They also had a reman Bosch starter and I can just bring my core into the local store. Fires up instantly. Absolute beast of a ride. Engine runs super smooth, & no codes have come back so far. Now to get the Fister mod on these stock mufflers! I wish I could weld�