gcp

If I had possession of the factory procedure, and was a trained mechanic I wouldn't be asking questions on this forum but rather offer succinct, timely advice. But we are not here to argue, we are here to help one another so JFP, I thank you for your advice!

For you it maybe common knowledge but for me it was not so, all I'm saying is, mentioning such a critical detail would have served a valuable purpose and saved some heartache! Thank goodness I didn't tear into the engine yet for no real reason, another public thank you to Ahsai for stepping in!

As a point worth noting, you should never run cam deviation values on an engine that is not completely warmed up (driven for about 20 min. prior to testing). Cold engine tests can be very misleading. JFP, I wish you had mentioned this to me because my readings were on a cold engine, the car had not been driven in days! It's all beginning to make sense now.....probably had a stuck solenoid which I manually unstuck but my next step will be to change oil and check for yellow plastic pieces. If non are present I'll forget about the guides and concentrate on the solenoid for possible re-occurrence. I am proud of you for tackling the job Youri

"Keep in mind even if there are no error codes and you fixed the variocam activation issue, there's still too much cam deviation that needs to be addressed eventually." If we can trust the Durametric readings....I plan to take the car to the dealer so as he can use the scan tool and go from there. Again Ahsai, I thank you for stepping in to help with needed tests. Any words of advice on the DME question of which connector is the right one to continue with test 4 and beyond?

I executed tests 1,2,3 described by Ahsai with success. Both solenoids click and the resistance is at 13ohms on both, per the spec. I also disconnected the battery and removed the first gray connector of the DME but since I was unsure which connector to probe, I plugged it all back up, connected the battery and started the engine. No faults were indicated with the ethos scanner, and the check engine light didn't come on while idling. BTW, the car seems to idle a bit better than before when warm (wonder if I unstuck the solenoid when probing it with 12Volts) and at cold/higher RPMs the car still idles well. I only have about 2500 miles since the last oil change but it's been 2+ years since so could it be that the Mobil 1's possible reduced viscosity been causing the rougher idle? Or it could also be a possible vacuum leak? I was thinking of running sea foam through both the intake and the oil to clean the engine and immediately after replace the oil. Would you recommend this procedure on a Porsche?

Gentlemen, here are the facts: 1) The scanner sort of worked the first time I hooked it up to my car. It was the one time and "only" time I was able to activate functions and properly clear faults. 2) Upon communication & direction with this forum I attempted to reactivate functions beyond the clearing of faults and I could read RPMs, and other such functions but the scanner would become unresponsive and lock up when I tried to get into the activation of solenoids and such. 3) I tried the scanner on other laptops/windows flavors with the same results. 4) I got on the phone with Owen, he was quite unhelpful and to the degree of being arrogant, blaming everything under the sun rather than his scanner....the 12Vof the car because it was 11.96, my laptop, the connector of my car, my not executing the predefined hook-up procedure properly... 5) It took about 6 tries of us unhooking and rehooking the cable/scanner before he admitted that the cable may be at fault. He also wanted me to keep starting/running the car, at which point I refused and said "no, I will not run the risk of ruining my engine because of your flaky scanner". 6) At that point I had had enough and asked to speak to another tech. He said no one else was available. I asked to speak to the owner to voice my displeasure of their product and he said the owner will not speak to the customers. 7) He offered to test the cable if I sent it back but said the shipping was on me because it was a few days over the 30 day limit. I asked if I were to return the product who would pay for shipping and he said shipping was my responsibility no matter what. I didn't like it because I felt their product was indeed defective and they should be responsible, period, but I sucked it up and paid for shipping. 8) Close to 2 weeks later they sent me an email stating that they tested the cable and could find nothing wrong and that they were going to ship it back to me. I got on the phone and inquired how they tested the cable and whether or not they hooked it up to an actual car. They said no, they didn't have to and felt their test set was good enough. They offered to send me another cable but I refused and requested a refund. I did not receive all of my money back but it was close enough, I was glad to be done with the whole ordeal. Bottom line,I have a masters degree in electrical engineering and over 30 years of experience in proper troubleshooting methodologies, quality control, and effective interfacing with my customers, non-of which Owen and friends displayed. They came across as SW geeks who are interested in their 1s and 0s rather than developing a mature, user friendly product. How do I know this? I made a few recommendations to Owen, free of charge, on how they could better improve their product (code change to alleviate the need of having to re-input the SAME car data each and every time one logs in). He acted like I called his baby ugly and said "that's the way it is". And beyond all that I feel I still gave them a fair chance for resolution but when their product causes me to tear into the wrong side of my car, that's when enough is enough! This is not a rant, I view ours as a forum of assistance so I sincerely hope this post is utilized as another data point for my fellow forumites entertaining which scanner to purchase.

Ahsai, great info to digest, these are indeed succinct steps I can act upon!! I'll implement your recommendations before I go dropping the engine and tearing into it to get to the solenoids. I'm already at the farm for the weekend but I will tackle next week and report back with the findings. JFP, I am not a fan of Durametric, period. My experience, beyond the scanner's immaturity (with any flavor of windows....I tried 3 different laptops), has been negative all around, to include the way their tech support handles customers, so let's agree to disagree on this. Example, when I asked to speak to the owner to voice my displeasure on their return policy so they further test my cable, a few days past 30 day ownership mind you, I was told that he refuses to speak to his customers. That alone speaks volumes! So, immature product, coupled with immature service and unhelpful tech support irreversibly shaped my opinion of this company.

Ahsai, as I stated above I no longer own the Durametric because it was sent back 2 weeks ago for testing and ultimately a refund. I do have access to a friend's Ethos scanner but that's it. Bank 1 camshaft position sensor is all I've taken off thus far (and all peripheral parts to be able to get to it), I did not want to remove valve covers to get to the solenoid on either side without known for sure it would be needed. So, please feel free to suggest your recommendations and I'll execute. And since you mention possible wiring/connector issues, including the DME, a while back my rear floor flooded by a clogged vent so I had to vacuum the water out and let dry. Could it be the water that caused this fault? Again, cold it idles fine, does that tell us something?

Simple typos are no permitted because such typos cause me multiple hours of work and skinned forearms. One should be able to explicitly trust a tool he pays good money for! Is this thing even mature enough for the market and can it be trusted with any info it spits out? My Durametric cable went back because it would not operate reliably with any of my computers, and yet they've been unable to find a problem with it, after testing it. I asked if they hooked it up to an actual car and they said no, they don't have to. They were willing to send me another cable to try but my car is already torn apart for repair so what good will that be, even if the new cable can be trusted. Needless to say I've asked for a refund, in hope of finding something more reliable. I also purchased the Bentley book as a reference let's see how this helps. Quote: 1) Cam deviation out of spec (spec is 0 degree with +/-6 degree tolerance. You're way above that on both banks) in BOTH BANKS If the readings can be trusted and I am not sure that we can. Interesting thing about this is that the car idles fine when first started but then runs rough, not much mind you but still rough, when it warms up and the RPMs fall. Does that tell you something Ahsai? Quote: 2) You have a variocam activation problem in BANK 2 only. Note this problem can be a few things: transistor inside the DME/bad wiring/bad solenoid/bad actuator. You need some strategic troubleshooting to pinpoint the exact culprit. I suspected the solenoid all along but I am all for strategic troubleshooting! What would you do if you were in my shoes? I assume the first thing I'll have to do is put back together all bank 1 components or should I leave things as they are and remove side 2? And since the battery's disconnected another scanner I assume would be of no use?

It was on post #1 when I stated that the Ethos scanner reading was: faulty inlet bank 2 camshaft position sensor (code P1325), and it now appears that this was the correct fault after all. I agree, this thread did become rather confusing, and even though I may have played a role in this I must say, so much for the coveted Durametric scan tool I purchased specifically for this job, & depended upon to help me resolve my car’s issue. Not only has Durametric proven flakey to operate, now you tell me that it falsely reported a problem on bank 1. I’m aghast because of all the work/rework involved! I will tackle bank 2 as soon as I've calmed down.

Ahsai, my 996 is a 2K Cabrio and as listed above the scanner produced the following: P1325 Fault Code 178 – Camshaft adjustment bank 1 So, I still don't know if it's the sensor, the solenoid or the tensioner pads as JFP thinks it probably is because my Durametric proved problematic and was sent back for evaluation and essentially I am fault guessing at this stage. My question stands, what should this sensor's resistance measurements be?

We finally removed the bank 1 camshaft position sensor, quite the task from taking apart all things in the way, and I am unable to measure resistance between poles 1, 2, 3. It reads open, no matter which poles I read between so, what should the values be? There's a bit of a magnetic effect on this sensor, still.....picks up a bolt from 1/8". I'd appreciate your input before I order a sensor in the morning.

As an update, yesterday we tackled this task once more and my new Durometric scanner appears faulty because I am able to read values but not able to activate many of the functions. e.g. the cam solenoids because the tool becomes unresponsive and locks up (with Windows 10 laptop), so I'll have to get back on the phone with tech support today. But beyond this, is the Bank 1 cam position sensor/solenoid on the driver's side (easier to access) or on passenger's side? Also, under the car there was grease/oil crud onto the engine & solenoids/wires so after degreasing and washing it all off we removed/inspected the passenger's side plate o-ring and the solenoid bracket which appears to be aluminum with plastic inserts? All that will need to be replaced to resolve oil leaks but we are still trying to figure out how to go into the engine in order to get to the wear pads and solenoids/sensors.....I am afraid this task will be more than we can handle and we'll have to take car to the stealer.

I understand, thank you JFP.

Since I'll be removing valve covers and into Cams area for the solenoid swap and installation of new tensioners, can the IMS retrofit be done at home, without removing the engine? How much will the parts cost and can it be done in my garage? JFP, may I please request you cell number so we can discuss the details? Thank you for all your help thus far!!