New owner. Code P0390. Please help!

[06 X5]

Good evening everyone! I am a new owner of an 06 X5 4.4i Sport and I am having some issues.

I have wanted an X5 for quite some time now and I finally found a good deal on one that was in my price range, so I picked it up.

It has 120k miles on it and from my research before buying, I knew it was going to need some maintenance issues addressed.

I have replaced the upper timing covers and the valve cover gaskets because the car had a hell of a leak and I was tired of smelling oil. I also addressed many things with the coolant system, i.e. new hoses, thermostat, water pump, upper and lower radiator hoses, and some others things: new belts, power steering hoses, spark plugs, fresh coolant, and oil.

I finished buttoning everything up and went to fire it up for the first time since doing all these repairs. When I started it for the first time, I could immediately tell something wasn't right. Then I got a flashing service engine light. I shut the car off and got a scanner to read the codes.

I got multiple misfire codes and P0392, Camshaft Position Sensor B Bank 2 Low code. At this point, I quadrouple checked all my connections and that all the connectors were seated and making good contact (cleaned them all and added dielectric grease).

I cleared the codes and started the car again. Same result... Very rough idle and sounding like its backfiring followed by the flashing SES. So I shut the car off and checked the codes, multiple misfires again and P0392. Cleared the codes.

I was extremely careful removing the sensor, so I highly doubt that it actually went bad and I know the camshaft position sensor B Bank 2 (drivers side exhaust CPS) is making good electrical contact and is seated down fully on the valve cover. So, I decided to swap the camshaft position sensor A from Bank 1 (passenger side intake sensor). They have the same part number on them so I figured, If the sensor truly is bad, then I will get the code for the Camshaft Position Sensor A Bank 1...

Fired it up again... Not the case, I am now detecting multiple misfires and I am getting code P0390 (Camshaft Position Sensor B Bank 2).

I did notice that the Previous Owner must have attempted to replace the valve covers once before and failed, but while doing so, somehow broke the top of the Eccentric Shaft Sensor on the drivers side. Just the connector part is cracked. I found it like this during disassembly, so I know it was like that before and it ran good... Not great, but I am attributing that to the crappy condition of the plugs that I pulled out. They looked original!

So, any suggestions on what I should do? I really need to get back behind the wheel of my baby!

Thanks in advance for everything,
T.J.

[tmv]

I would have to bit the bullet and replace it.

[06 X5]

Thanks for the response, and I might just do that.... BUT... I was hoping that before I do spend the $300+ dollars on a new one, that someone could verify that the eccentric shaft being bad could even possibly throw this codes. If someone comes back with a yes, then that will be my next course of action.

I don't mind "Biting the Bullet" per-say, however I don't want to spend $300 and wind up in the exact same situation that I am in now!

Any help and advice is appreciated!

Thanks again,
T.J.

[06 X5]

On all the other cars I have worked on, you could just find a electrical wiring diagram and trace the component wires through the car to see what other systems it interacts with, or at the very least, test the wires from the sensor, back to the ECU, so you can see if you have a bad wire or a short somewhere along the way.

I cannot seem to find one of these yet. Thats why I consulted this wonderful forum. I was hoping that someone could either confirm that the eccentric shaft sensor could be related to this code, had experience or suggestions on other things I should be looking at, or could provide me with a link to a wiring diagram for the engine.

[crystalworks]

I thought there was some sort of special "initialization" for the actuators or something that required a certain procedure or something after removing the vvt components? I thought I remembered reading something about it while doing my research on doing the valve covers and valve stem seals. Without doing it certain codes and running issues would come up...

Maybe someone can chime in on my lack of memory?

[06 X5]

I know its alot of work and requries me taking both the valve covers back off, but are the eccentric shaft sensors interchangeable? Should I swap them and see what happens to verify that it is the culprit?

[06 X5]

I did note the orientation of the actuators, but I didn't initialize them. Is there some threads you could possibly link to, or do you know how they can be reinitialized at this point so I can rule that out?

Good idea though. I hadn't thought of that...

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by tmv

I would have to bit the bullet and replace it.

If you really want to know what's wrong with the X get BMW specific scanning software, skip the OBD II scanners from Autozone, Harbor Freight, etc.

[06 X5]

So, would something like this BMW scanner work?
http://www.amazon.com/iSaddle-Scanne...ds=BMW+scanner

If not, could someone post a link of where I could get one. Unless anyone in the OKC area would like to stop by for a beer or two on me of course....

[06 X5]

So I just went out and unplugged the drivers side eccentric shaft connector (the one with the busted plastic clip at the top) and there was no change in the engines performance or the codes produced.

For shits and giggles, I unplugged the passenger side eccentric shaft connector also. The car seemed to idle a little better, although very rough, but I was hoping to see a fault code for Camshaft Position Sensor B on Bank 1 also, however, that was not the case.

Would swapping the sensors out move the code to the passenger side, thus confirming the Eccentric Shaft Sensor? I guess my main concern is I don't want to spend $350 on a new sensor and the time to put it in only to discover that my issue is electrical or of some other nature.

Thanks again for any suggestions!