2016 countryman N18 all4. Evidently it's an f60, not r60, but posting for hope.

I really thought that I finally had this licked today and was excited for the wife to come home from watching the eclipse to a fully functional countryman.

I bought an Innova 5610 scanner as it seemed to cover the things i wanted with the mini and ford. I had a limp mode with p0368 code come up. Cleared codes to see what would pop back up and it ran fine for months. Then one day limp mode again. Multiple codes were present, (P0368-stored, pending, permanent-( camshaft position sensor B, high input) P1338 (CPS faulty phase position) P10E2(VVL sensor supply voltage circuit electrical) P0238( turbo boost sensor A circuit high), P0193 (fuel rail sensor high input) P007B(charge air cooler temp sensor circuit range/performance bank 1,P007D( Charge air cooler temp sensor circuit high bank 1). Checked battery voltage: 11.7V get it recharged, doesn't move the needle. Warranty out battery, voltage is good engine on and engine off. P0368 persists. Get fresh oil change, P0368. Replace both VANOS solenoids (50k miles seems to be the maintenance point) and both cam sensors. P0368. Find something about needing to reset adaptation on the DME. 5610 no do this. Buy (reactively) Foxwell NT710. reset adaptations, clear codes. Boom! Success. Drive it around, full of pep, MIL off. Tell the wife her car is fixed.

First start. MIL and limp mode. 300E (which seems to be P0368?) And 2c58( which seems to be a byproduct of some other fault). 300E shows as 'not present ', 2c58 present. Remove all 3 ECM connectors and check ecm. All looks good. Back of all 3 connectors covered in grime. Clean all 3, apply dielectric grease to everything. CLear all codes (two), reset adaptations Boom! Checks clean. Drives perfectly. Took for a 10 min spin. Pulled in the driveway. Restarted, all good. Went back out hours later all is good. Next morning, MIL and limp mode.

Ordered a new connector and terminals for exhaust cam sensor. Made a new harness soldered it it to bypass the old one with the short to B+. Cleared codes, reset adaptations. Car started and crapped out. Low idle. Wondered if it just needed to relearn things. Started again, fired right up. Boom! Success. No codes, full of pep. Drove for 15 min. Turned off, turned on, NT710 shows no fault codes. Let it sit for an hour. Started up, drove around, all good. No codes, situation normal. Parked, started again, no codes.

Several hours later I went to move the car so my wife could pull mine in and I'd take hers to work 'just in case'. MF MIL, 300E and 2C58. Cam position sensor B bank 1 short to B+.

Help me, please. What am i missing?
is it the ECM?
Is it the damn timing chain issue? Why would it always be P0368, not 367?

thats all of the info i have. Im an ME, not an EE, so im not super versed in the nuances. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Wow what a mess. 2c58 is turbo boost related, almost certainly a byproduct of 300E.

Could something be holding the signal on the cam position sensor logic-high, making it think it is a short circuit?

 

Did you replace the exhaust cam sensor, or just the connector? I would replace the cam sensor as a next step.

This site is a helpful resource to help with a service plan based on codes:
https://bmwfault.codes/

 

Also did you register the new battery? Should be able to with the foxwell scanner. I don't know for sure, but I've read from others how sensitive these cars are to voltage changes and how important registering a new battery is. Something to do with variable/regulated voltage from the alternator to the battery. Not sure this makes sense with the fact that it swaps between runs great and limp mode. But, can't hurt.

What brand VANOS and cam sensors did you go with? Again anecdotal, I've read here some aftermarket VANOS are garbage. But, if Vanos was problem, seems like they'd be different codes.

 

First, thanks for the response.

Yeah, the scanner even states 'switched off as consequence' for the 2c58. The odd thing was that the foxwell showed both as 'not present' and the Innova would still show the p0368 as both pending and permanent. Cleared codes with both scanners.

I was at the point where i was gonna look at buying an oscilloscope (good grief $$$$). Figured id check them both on both harnesses. Everything measured correctly with the exhaust sensor on both harnesses and intake sensor on both harnesses. Put everything back together, cleared the codes and ive driven it for a dozen plus starts on several days and light has stayed off. The first start was rough and idle dropped and stalled out. Started again and it was fine. Full power, no light. I don't get it. Crossing fingers that it stays off. The bummer is that the new harness is waaaay too long, so I should de-solder it, trim it back, put on shrink tube, solder it, seal it, route it in split corrugated tube and zip tie it, but I'm worried that I'll do it and the light comes back on.

The only symptom now is a rough first start after sitting. And the engine is louder for the first 45 seconds or so, then settles in. It's not 'the bmw noise' either.

Nothing matched what I had going on that I could search google for, so hopefully someone else finds my fix of unplug, test, switch, switch back, and start car as the genius solution that it is.

 

Is that the site with the .pdf that translated the BMW code into OBD2 P-codes and has fix suggestions? I downloaded that one. I'm sure itll come in handy.

But yes. Replaced both and both VANOS solenoids.

Issue appears to be fixed. I swapped sensors and made sure the voltage pulled down when the hall sensor was activated, switched back to how I started and all is good aside from a rough first start.

 

Dont recall on the brand. Got them from the local euro import store and they've never lead me astray yet.

I did register the battery twice. One after the recharge and one after the new battery. I was fairly confident it wasn't a battery/alternator/charging issue because it was ony this one code. There were a ton the first time I ran the foxwell, likely related to the battery dying. From what I understand of the smart battery/smart alternator charging that necessitates the registration is that as the battery ages, it needs a more "aggressive" charge from the alternator and if you don't let it know, it'll continue to charge like it was old. That increased charging will reduce battery life.

But honestly WTF BMW? I can reset my oil indicator with a menu/pedal presses. Why do I need a special tool to do it for the battery.

Lol, I'm old enough to remember when there were actual keys (different for doors/ trunk/ignotion) and you could blink out the codes with the check engine light.