Finally got everything back together and the nerve to start the mini today. No leaks and sounds good, but I haven't road tested it yet. Just let it run for 20 min to cycle the new coolant through. It is pulling two codes. Can anyone help with how I should approach this? I've replaced the timing chain, had turbo rebuilt with new diverter valve, new oil, therm housing, oil pressure switch, new coolant hoses, drive belt, and spark plugs. Also walnut blasted the intake and exhaust valves and replaced valve stem seals. Do these codes mean the timing slipped?

 

Sounds like the first code for the turbo is because of the 2nd code. Did you replace any of the VANOS?

 

Yes, that's what I think too. That the first code is from the second. I did not replace the Vanos, just the Vanos seals. They are the newer style solenoids with the screens all around so I figured they were good to continue using. I also did not have those codes before the work I did. I just pulled the valve cover and checked the timing with the special tools and they are all still lined up.

 

 

 

 

So I had these 2 codes on my R60. Initially I swapped both the VANOS solenoids and the Camshaft Sensors but it kept coming back. Finally did the timing chain replacement and it was indeed the cam was pretty far out due to the chain being shot. However if you just did the chain and the cam locking tools are sliding right in, and your solenoid is good, seems like the last place to look would be the cam sensors? Did you swap those intake to exhaust and see if anything changes? When I swapped them initially I tried aftermarket but some of the forums suggested that OE is the way to go. I guess I can't comment on the legitimacy of that in particular.

 

Almost sounds like maybe there is an electrical connector/contact issue. Says there is 0 voltage pretest. Swap VANOS front/rear location and see if the condition follows.

 

I'm glad to hear someone else has had the same two codes. I can't find anyone who has mentioned the 2DA1 code before. I did swap the two sensors to see if the code would switch to the intake side instead of the exhaust but even with switching them, code stayed on exhaust side. I bought a new OEM Bosh cam sensor that I'm going to put in and try again, and if I still get the code I'll then go ahead and swap the Vanos solenoids to see if the code runs the same. I had no Vanos codes before all of the work done but I did the work because of codes 2c57, 2c90,2c91,and 3429. I have a 2014 Countryman and I did replace the Vanos o-rings and cleaned them off while doing all the work. I also noticed the Vanos solenoids were the newer style. If I switch them and get the same code for the same exhaust side, I'm not sure what to do at that point. Maybe it would be electrical but I'm not sure how to test the prongs on the connector side of the cam sensors with a volt meter. Not sure what wires are ground and live or what the voltage should read. And yes the timing seems to be correct. If everything slides in and lines up it wouldn't be the timing off right?

 

Replacing that sensor sounds like a good thing to do. Got a pic of the location? Sounds like computer is looking for voltage (5V?) and then goes down from there based on a position and it is seeing 0V (like its not even there). Hence the sensor, connector, wiring.

 

Your right, it does seem like it's not even recognizing that the camshaft is there. I did run a new scan when I got home from work today with the brand new cam sensor and same code came up. I need to find out how to test the male connector to make sure the electrical is ok with the plug. I still also need to try switching the Vanos solenoids.

 

I don't think that it could be the solenoids. I believe that the VANOS cam sprockets only allow a range of motion so it shouldn't be possible to get a 0V on the sensor. It should always be in a low to high range. I was getting the same codes as you when the cam sensor started getting out of range due to the timing being actually off. First looking at the connector for the Cam Sensor, is there any corrosion at all on the pins? You will probably have to start tracing the cam sensor wire back and look for any damage on the wires etc.... I would think there should be a way to read the sensor live outside the valve cover where you can touch it to something metal and see the signal or something like that.

 

Swapping sensors and a new sensor with the same 0V result (open circuit) seems like there is an issue with the connector pins or further back in the harness. Looks like they have 3 wires. Perhaps you can verify with the Intake side there is a voltage (5V) on one of the wires and compare to the Exhaust side which has 0V evidently. 3 different sensors are not bad and blocking voltage to the CPU reading it.

Seems that it may be easy to have something messed up in a harness or connector when moving all this stuff around.

 

I didn't see any corrosion around the wires connecting to the cam sensor harness. I also didn't see any corrosion on the harness following from the cam sensor to the ECU. I had all that apart when I was replacing the therm housing and didn't notice anything. I am going to try finding power with a volt meter on the 3 wires for the cam sensor. Im just trying to figure out what is ground, live, and signal. I have one black wire and two yellow, which is interesting to me that there is two yellow. From what I've researched, the ground should show 12v when connected with the battery and the signal should show 5v. I will have to look up some more videos to see where exactly I need to put the volt meter pins in junction with the where the cam sensor prongs would plug in on the harness.

 

 

Sounds like you have it correct. I would expect to see 12V from the black ground wire when connected to the battery +12V. I would expect to see 5V on one of the yellow wires (in to the sensor connected to ground) and 0V on the other (out from the sensor). The sensor would modify the 5V input in a given range with output to the ECM so it can know the position. If there is nothing coming in then nothing going out...

If you had that all apart there could be a connection issue or break in the wire somewhere, not just corrosion. Could go all the way back to the ECM connector.

 

Here is the wiring diagram for the intake and exhaust cam sensors. You can also see the terminal numbers at the DMU.

I would expect that the black wire is power, one of the yellow wires looks to be reference, and the other yellow to be signal.

 

Thank you for the diagram!!! I was just about to pull it up and start testing the connectors, but I realized I didn't try to switch the Vanos solenoids to see if the fault would switch from exhaust to inlet side. I went ahead and switched them, cleared the previous codes and ran diagnostic on the Foxwell. To my surprise, no codes showed up at all. I was in disbelief so I took it for the first road test since I started all this work. Drove it about 4 miles and still no codes. I am completely shocked that switching the Vanos would clear the code. I'm still a little weary about something coming up, so it's just going to be local non essential trips for a while until I'm more confident to start using it as a commuter car again. This project took me 3 months of being meticulous about everything. Because the battery was not hooked up for 3 months, it went down to 1.3 volts. Napa tested it and it said replace battery. I'm going to replace that next and hopefully it won't disrupt the ECU or footwell module. I will keep this thread updated with any progress or problems that may come up. Thank you to everyone for all the help and input. I didn't even know what a camshaft did before I started all this. Maybe I can pay it forward to someone else who needs help.

 

Excellent, that's a weird solution but if it works it works. Also for the battery, I believe that when the battery gets replaced it has to be registered to reset its BMS life with the car for alternator output. I am not sure which tools can do it but it may require a trip to the dealer if your scan tool can not. I think Carly can and Bimmerlink and a few others also.

 

If swapping the solenoids fixed the code, then I would get two new solenoids installed. Glad you found the issue, if that's what it was!

 

I was thinking that also. I just have to wait a while so I can afford the OEM ones. I would just get the pierburg, but many people have said that those may not be as compatible and may throw codes.

 

I installed two of these into my car in March 2019:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...t=12910&jsn=17

I've had zero issues with those solenoids over the past 85,000 miles.

 

Those are reasonably priced, maybe I'll get a couple just as a standby precaution. Thanks for the link!

 

For the battery registration, when I bought my Foxwell I made sure that that option was on their just in case I ever had to replace it so hopefully there won't be an issue with the registration.

 

Perhaps just disconnecting and reconnecting things made the difference... These mini's can have weird electrical and connection issues. I struggled big time with a problem that ended up being a main relay issue in the engine fuse box that was intermittent. Either worked fine and get a crank and no start with tons of codes. Wasn't sure if it was a connection in the fuse box or the relay. Thinking it was the fuse box I get a junkyard replacement just in case it was a connection. However, swapping relays (there are 3 of the same in there) made the issue go away. Replaced that relay with one from the junkyard box, and been fine since.