This is driving me nuts

The car is a LSx swap into a BMW. The basics for the motor are: 402 LS2 block with LS1 electronics and 2001 PCM, mildly built with ported LS6 heads and a 228.228/114 cam. Jesse Bubb Tune. I have HP Tuners so I can make changes and look at things.are as follows. The swap has a couple of hundred miles on it and I have been going through the process of fixing all of the little problems and I am down to just this one and it is making me crazy.

From the first time I fired the motor it threw P0343. I checked the wire extension and ran the wires all the way back to the PCM. I then pulled the sensor and realized that at some point it was making contact with the cam gear, which I verified is the LS2 2x style. I also realized that the sensor had been tightened way too tight into the cover so I put it back in less deep and from that point on I only got code P0342 (I am guessing that the sensor was originally too far into the motor but I really don't know).

The car would start half of the time just fine and the other half it would not until the PCM realized the cam sensor problem and switched over. If I cleared it the code would not come back until the next time I started the car. Occasionally the code would stay away for a while (10-20 minutes, but it would always come back. I can see the cam sensor events on HP tuners so some of the time it is working. The only code I get is P0342. If I switch the outboard wires I get P0343 and the car does not start nearly as well, so I am confident that the extension harness is correct.

The sensor is part number 12591720 (AC Delco 213-3826) which is what came with the front cover that I got with the short block from Texas-Speed. That Part # is the GM 07 cam sensor and I just installed a new one. It seems to start much more often on the first try but P0342 comes back almost every time.

Any ideas? I am wondering of the low reference signal is not right - it shows 4 ohms with the motor off but the ignition on. I'd appreciate any and all ideas or if anyone else has had this problem.

Once the car starts it runs great but this problem is making me crazy

Thanks.


Here is some pics of the car and pics of the engine bay for anyone who is interested.

 

I was not aware,GM or anyone else made a 2x reluctor cam gear for the LS2.To work with your 01 LS1 computer it needs a 1x reluctor,also must NOT contact sensor,period.I would be pulling the timing cover to verify what cam gear you have,I bet its the 4x later gear,hence your problems.Also make sure gear and thrust plate are properly torqued. PM me for details,I fought this for 2 months with my ls2 swap,exact same problem.

 

I think that I used the wrong term.

My cam gear does NOT look like this:
4x

It looks like this:

mine

I will send you a PM for more info.

Attached is a picture of the old cam sensor - I am not sure if it actually contacted the timing gear.

 

You DO have the correct gear,double check ALL wiring,verify no bent/pulled out pins,any other codes ? MAP maybe,saw one with MAP/cam pigtails up by back of intake swapped,that was odd.

 

I have double checked everything that I could think of. No codes other than p0342.

 

I just went out and the car started fine 7 or 8 times in a row; then started throwing P0343; then started fine with no codes It can't be the cam gear because then it would NEVER work right. In the past it has typically worked right at the first startup in the morning, but I have no idea why.

 

Gotta have a bad connection/pin pulled out.Recheck .

 

I have checked every part the whole thing

 

Thats strange,only thing else I can suggest is monitor the hi/low switching counts EVERY startup and see what it does.Obviously there is a problem,if it was OK before the swap,I still suspect wiring.

 

Look at the FEMALE pins of the ORIGINAL connector, not the jumper harness. Look REAL CLOSE.you'll probably see one of them that looks like its spread open a little more than the other 2. Or, all of them may be spread. Get a bent dental pick and get behind the "tang" and close them up. GM connectors are famous for this.

 

Great idea; it started 5 times without a check engine light and then back to it's old tricks

 

Any new info? Struggling with similar issue on my TSP 402.

 

did you guys every solve your problem? i have a tsp 402 with same problem except my sensor is rubbing the chain for sure. i took it out and it has a groove wore in it and the plastic looks shredded. i put a new sensor in and it rubbed it to. there telling me that they never heard of anyone having this problem but maybe you guys have. i bought the long block so i wouldnt have to do any internal work, well looks like i will be spending xmas vaction tearing it down. its a vette to so the steering rack has to be removed. cant wait!

 

Tearing the front cover off next week. My installer insists TSP supplied the wrong cam gear, hence my LS1 pcm is confused. I went with the N-Motion double roller fwiw.
I sent an email to TSP, but never a shout back. BZ phone all the time. I guess I am buying another cam gear or set....

 

this isn't the scenario where the wires are switched around in the jumper harness, is it??? (A-B-C are B-A-C on the other end)???

 

I had the same issue with my LS2 motor. Please see my resolve post before you tear into the front of the motor ! My car would make odd farting/growning sounds throught the intake apon start and would also take forever to turnover sometimes as the sensor was tryingto align everthing.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ighlight=p0343

 

This is definitely an unusual problem. The cam sensor should never come in contact with the chain gear. Can you post a pic of the cam sensor with the groove and the chain gear (side facing outward)?

 

Look at the pics of the chain gear posted by the original poster. Either one of those should work.

* Pic 1 (titled 4X) is the LS7 gear that was also used on the later LS2's.
* Pic 2 (titled mine) is the original LS2 specific gear used when the LS2's first came out.

The aftermarket gear should be LS2-specific (with the humps) otherwise it's a standard LS1 gear that will not work with the LS2 cam sensor.

GM also used two different cam sensors as well. However, I don't see the part # 12591720 listed for the LS2. According SDPC's website it's the cam sensor for the L92:

* This is a camshaft position sensor for the new 2007 L92
engine.

The original LS2 cam sensor (color back) was part # 12568983. That number has been replaced by part # 12585545 (color tan)

 

UPDATE: I got mine fixed. Checked the pulse count using HPtuner, no sensor pulses. Verified the wiring on tc cover harness.
We had an LS2 GTO handy with its blower off next door, so we swapped the cam sensor (sorry Andrew, you weren't gonna need it for a bit) and peeked through the window to verify the cam gear was, in fact, correct. TSP provided the right one to begin with.
We had tried the abc to bac or whatever swap way back on initial fireup and had that right, but with the cam sensor from the car next to it, it fired right up with a vengence, and is now always starting in 2 seconds max every time.
For want of a cam sensor...
Ahh, feels good to be fixed.
Thanks for the advice folks.
Bill

 

So if I understand correctly, you kept your non-4X cam sprocket in place, and just switched to a new cam sensor off another car. Is this new sensor that works for you tan (new style) or black (old style)?