Problem with code P1397 & Camshaft angle / position

[cheetah]

Hello everyone,

Yesterday, driving down the highway, my 2002 Boxster S suddenly shut-off. Put it into neutral, started it, and it started again, only to die a minute later. I roll off the highway into a safe area (luckily). The car wouldn't start again (just cranked), so it was towed home.

This morning, I plug in my Durametric and see that I have a code P1397 (Camshaft sensor bank 2). I looked at the "Actual Values" tab on the software, without starting it again and it showed that following:

So now I am worried! Did one bank skip a tooth (or broken chain)? I did the IMS upgrade a few months ago, so I don't think that is the problem.

Any tips or ideas?

Thanks as always,

[pk2]

No expert , but those are so far off i can't see how it could even intermittently run. I'd be suspicious of a sensor throwing out the wrong numbers. Maye a broken tensioner could make it skip like that, but what would make jump back and run?. I don't think a tooth would do it.

I'd look for something dumb first like a bad sensor connector than look at the actual cam ends to see where there really at.

This is complete train of logic. The next post we;ll speel out yor exact poblem.

Regards, PK

[Jake Raby]

My guess is you broke the vario cam tensioner pad.. That can change the allocation of the intake cam to the exhaust cam as it may allow the intake cam to retard by one tooth..

Pull the cam cover...

[pk2]

See?

pk

[cheetah]

I have that bank open. I have the cams out, and the intake cam was off (looking at timing indent on each cam and comparing it to the different colored links). It was off by approx the degrees off that the Durametric was stating. The pads on the actuator are very worn with grooves in them. The main tensioner arms look good though.

So my next question is this: How do I test the solenoid assembly? I have it disconnected from the cams, and tested it putting 12v on it while on a bench. It clicks but no noticeable movement. I get 13 ohms with a meter across the leads. Does this sound like it is bad?

Thanks