Help trouble-shooting codes on recently purchased E46.

[cornerbalanced]

I recently purchased an E46 M3. The day after purchasing it, I turned the car on after grabbing some dinner to find an SES light.

I find a code reader and the following codes appear:
P0012 - "A" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Retarded
P0014 - "B" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Advanced

This issue only really occurs at idle after first being started. If I clear the codes and drive around, the SES light won't come on, no real driveability issues. However, as soon as I shut the car off and turn it on again, I get an SES light that will remain on until cleared, and a slight fluctuation in idle between maybe 850-990. Sometimes only the P0014 comes back after clearing the codes. Sometimes both.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. VANOS solenoid perhaps?

[eacmen]

Welcome to the club. If you plan on keeping the car a while would recommend you get a bmw scan tool. INPA cable with laptop is popular. There is also a BMW Foxwell tool that is nice to carry around.

You will get more descriptive codes with a BMW specific tool.

The codes that you’re getting are likely VANOS related. Could be as easy as solenoid pack.

History of the car? VANOS ever overhauled?


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[cornerbalanced]

Welcome to the club. If you plan on keeping the car a while would recommend you get a bmw scan tool. INPA cable with laptop is popular. There is also a BMW Foxwell tool that is nice to carry around.

You will get more descriptive codes with a BMW specific tool.

The codes that you’re getting are likely VANOS related. Could be as easy as solenoid pack.

History of the car? VANOS ever overhauled?


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Need to grab one from a buddy--just got back from driving the car home.

VANOS overhauled in 2017.

[Shonky]

Cam timing off after VANOS job? Solenoid can't really cause timing to go too far in either direction. It just uses the cam sensors to detect how advanced/retarded they are as it activates the solenoids.

[TropicalM3]

I'd get a timing tool and check the timing, sounds timing related.

[eacmen]

I agree those generic OBD codes do point to timing but if you google around on the E46 they generally indicate some form VANOS fault. Since VANOS was done in 2017 I bet timing wasnt touched since then.


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[cornerbalanced]

Thanks all, going to a friend's house today to grab the BMW-specific codes.

[dukeofchen]

Sketchy that the codes popped up the day after you bought it – sounds like the owner cleared them and didn't mention it to you?

[cornerbalanced]

Sketchy that the codes popped up the day after you bought it – sounds like the owner cleared them and didn't mention it to you?

Unlikely, but plausible. The codes appeared ~200miles into my ownership, and they are not easily cleared. While you can clear them, they will come back as soon as the car is turned off and turned back on again.

Top of market car, not your average E46 with relatively unknown past. Hoping the seller will at least split repair costs with me however.

[Tones]

If it's solenoid pack it's easy and cheap. And it's totally a code that can be erased and driven for a while till they stick again. Eventually they just get stuck.

I had those codes plus misfires on all my cylinders. It was the solenoid pack. But if they rebuilt the vanos than you would think they would of didn't the 140 to change the pack also.

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[eacmen]

If it's solenoid pack it's easy and cheap. And it's totally a code that can be erased and driven for a while till they stick again. Eventually they just get stuck.

I had those codes plus misfires on all my cylinders. It was the solenoid pack. But if they rebuilt the vanos than you would think they would of didn't the 140 to change the pack also.

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Even if the refurbished solenoid packs have a shelf life. If it was done in 2017 might be time for a new solenoid pack.


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[cornerbalanced]

UPDATE

Scanned the car with an actual BMW scanner and got the following codes —

[sapote]

P0012 - "A" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Retarded
P0014 - "B" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Advanced

The good news is that your car will run better. You can check the vanos timing fairly easy by following post #50 in this thread:

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/special-interests/coding-tuning/34304-need-help-doing-vanos-test-with-inpa/page4

I don't have the bridge tool but I used the carpenter square and a drill bit in the cam hole to check the timing. The drill bit should be very close to be square with the head top surface. I measured the gap between the drill bit and the carpenter square edge using caliper, and I have the data somewhere if you need them.

[cornerbalanced]

UPDATE

Just had to replace the battery. After putting the new battery in (resetting codes etc) the car had an extremely rough start and stalled. After starting it again I got another rough start but was able to keep the car running by keeping the revs up, as soon as I let off the throttle it would die. However, after driving around the parking lot and pulling back into my space it idled perfectly fine. Maybe with a very slight variation.

Still at a loss for the issue. Solenoid? Cam Position Sensors? A tech friend of mine said the pin that holds the timing chain guide could have snapped, so the timing chain guide is just hanging on inside the engine and my timing is completely out of wack. Don’t want to spend endless money chasing the issue by throwing parts at it.

Car has a CSL airbox, don’t know if that would affect how it starts after being completely reset.

[Slideways]

I believe I saw the ad for this car when it was being listed. IIRC, it had over 100k miles and a CSL airbox conversion.

Are there any records of the VANOS being serviced from the PO? Usually, you can tell if you open the valve cover and have a look. It is unlikely the upper timing chain guide bolt snapped. If nothing obvious shows up, a replacement solenoid is the easiest thing to try first. There can also be an issue with the tune as weird VANOS codes can pop up from that. Did the PO give any info on who tuned it? Alpha-N or CSL MAP?