camshaft sensor: plugged or unplugged.. no difference???

[ReSuL]

hi everybody.. I have an american 4 door m42.. ı have had the car about ten months and have been struggling since the day I bought it.. the car doesnt pull as it should be.. I have checked each and every part.. the last thing I found was the temperature sensor.. I changed it the car pulls better now. hovewer it should pull (accelerate) better. I know this from my previous 2 door m42..

the question is that there is no difference in running, accelerating when I unplug the camshaft position sensor (dont mix it with the crank sensor under the car.. it is in front of the car)..

And I am asking the question that if there is no difference when it is plugged or unplugged, why bmw put the sensor there?? I have read that the terminal 1 and 2 should give about 1150-1450 ohm so I tried it and but couldnt read any thing.. I also tried another used sensor but it is same.. and we unplugged the sensor on another m42 and it is the same but it doesnt pull good enough too.. can u help me find out the problem... please...

here is the part number: B.M.W. 12141721861
according to my research from the dealers, this sensor has never been brought to Turkey.. how can I be sure that this sensor works or doesnt work?? Isnt it wierd that is doesnt matter whether plugged or unplugged??

[bmwman91]

The ECU only uses the cam sensor to run banked injection and coil-per-cylinder ignition. Without it, the ECU fires all 4 injectors at once and two ignition coils at a time, rather than 2 injectors at once and one coil at a time. Really, it shouldn't make any difference in how the car runs, so that isn't the issue.

[ReSuL]

thank you for your reply... so, what are the disadvantages of having a not-working camsahft position sensor than?? is it possible to unplug it and go on without it?? Also, does is affect my torgue?? this is what I suspect about my lost torgue..

Edit:
I reread your post and think about it again.. what I understood is that there will be no problem with how it pulls but there will be low gas millage... Is this what you mean??

[Geoff]

it is not a good idea to unplug it and just run the car, it will run but not right. I think what he was saying is that is not your main problem,  Plug it in and find the problem, and your car will run good again.
                                                                            Geoff

[ReSuL]

Actually this is what I am doing.. I mean it is plugged.. I just wanted to be sure that it is working and when I unplugged it I see no difference..

now I am after the question that if there is no difference when plugged or unplugged, what is the point in putting that sensor there?? or if there should be difference, I cant see any difference and does it mean it doesnt working??

another issue is that If the case is just like bmwman91 says (as far as I understand) the injection sends fuel to four cylindir at the same time when the sensor is not working, doesnt it mean that the car will run rich and may be this the cause of my power loss??? I need you experienced people's ideas...

[bmwman91]

No, it will run with a proper mixture. It either fires all four injectors on a (for example) 100ms interval, or two injectors every 50ms. They designed it to use two injectors to even-out pressure drops in the fuel rail which would give smoother running at full throttle and high RPM. Overall though, I don't think that it makes all that much of a difference.

[ReSuL]

so, I tried to check pin 1 and 2 and had no readings.. I unplugged did this measurement when the car is not running..   shoul I still change the sensor or go with it??

Actually I have checked almost everything.. AFM, ignition, fuel pressure, another ECU, new O2 sensor etc.. and my engine compression are 150 psi... Lastly I found out that the temperature sensor is not working and changed it immediately.. now it pulls not bad but I still dont feel the torque on my back when I put my leg on the acceleration.. I dont know what I should do next...

[ReSuL]

thank you for your reply... so, what are the disadvantages of having a not-working camsahft position sensor than?? is it possible to unplug it and go on without it?? Also, does is affect my torgue?? this is what I suspect about my lost torgue..

Edit:
I reread your post and think about it again.. what I understood is that there will be no problem with how it pulls but there will be low gas millage... Is this what you mean??

By the way, Am I correct if I make this inference from what you said bmwman??

[bmwman91]

No, your gas mileage will be fine. Maybe power would suffer a little, but I sort of doubt that it would be really noticeable.

If you are not reading anything between pins 1 & 2 on the sensor plug, then it sounds like it is broken.

[ReSuL]

No, your gas mileage will be fine. Maybe power would suffer a little, but I sort of doubt that it would be really noticeable.

If you are not reading anything between pins 1 & 2 on the sensor plug, then it sounds like it is broken.

I am not sure if I followed the correct route while reading it but I had no number when I unplugged it and read from pin 1 ad 2..

about 5 or 6 years ago I had another m42 and it was pulling really fantastic I mean I was feeling every torgue.. and we install a LPG system on it and the first time we run it with LPG the cur didnt run smooth and it run well untill 2000 rpm and really slowed down until 3000 rpm (almost no acceleration) then was very good after 3000 rpm.. at that time I had so little knowledge about m42 and later we resetted ecu almost 15-20 times until it runs normal.. but rememnber it was normal not perfect (just like my car now) then I had a stomp test and saw the camshaft position sensor code on ecu on my previous car... we deleted the code and got no more code again.. but that car never pulled the way it did before LPG and that camsahft position sensor code.. then I reinstalled the LPG and went on with normal oil/petrol.. but it was never like before..

Now, I checked everything about car but this is the last thing I am suspicious about.. I am suspicious because of my previous experience..

Now I need your comments


this is quoted from: http://www.autozone.com

1.The static hall sensors are used on this sensor so that the camshaft positions are recognized once ignition is on and even before the engine is started.
 2.There are four functions of the intake camshaft position sensor:


Cylinder bank detection for preliminary injection
 Synchronization
 Engine speed sensor (if crankshaft speed sensor fails)
 Position control of the intake cam (VANOS)
 

 3.The exhaust camshaft sensor is used for position control of the exhaust camshaft as part of the VANOS (variable camshaft control) system.
 4.If these sensors fail, there will be no substitute values and the system will operate in the failsafe mode with no VANOS adjustment. The engine will still operate, but a significant reduction torque reduction will be quite noticeable.

[DesktopDave]

Definitely test that sensor again.  Be sure you're on resistance (ohms), and you're testing pins 1 & 2 on the sensor pigtail.  You should see about 1200 ohms, (spec is between 1050 and 1350 IIRC).  Pins 2 & 3 and 1 & 3 should have very high resistance, <10K ohms.

[ReSuL]

Definitely test that sensor again.  Be sure you're on resistance (ohms), and you're testing pins 1 & 2 on the sensor pigtail.  You should see about 1200 ohms, (spec is between 1050 and 1350 IIRC).  Pins 2 & 3 and 1 & 3 should have very high resistance, <10K ohms.

I tested it again and I got 1460 ohm.. more than what you said.. does it mean it is broken??