P0340 - Camshaft position sensor

[bazar01]

I just replaced this sensor 40k miles ago. How long do they normally last, geez?

I still have the old one and I will bench test the sensor before I buy a new one. It looks like it has 3 pins on the connector. From my understanding, the first pin is for the 5 volts excitation, the second pin is for the ground and the third pin is the signal output. I have a adjustable DC power supply station and a digital meter that I can use for the test. Probably a 9-volt battery will do if I don't have the power supply station.
Can somebody identify which pins are these on the plug? I can probably look this up on the electrical diagrams but if anybody know, let me know please.
Thanks.

[b0m]

My last one lasted 143k miles.

[bazar01]

That's great.
I think the original engine that overheated lasted 174k miles on the factory CPS,
The CPS on the used engine I installed lasted about 90k miles.

[bazar01]

Ok. I dissected the cable. It has three (3) wires.
Pin 1 - Red - 12V
Pin 2 - Green
Pin 3 - Black - ground

The red is the 5-12V excitation, Green is the signal and Black as the ground wire.
I cut the cable, plugged into the engine harness, turn ignition switch ON and checked wires with digital meter.
I will bench test the new sensor and post results.
I hate replacing parts for no reason.

[bazar01]

I bought a new sensor and installed it yesterday. CEL has not come back the whole day.

I will bench test the old one when I find the time. Old one still works because the car was still running great but it throws the P0340 code immediately after a reset.

[bazar01]

It's been 2 years since a new camshaft sensor.
Now, I am getting P0340 again. CEL comes and goes.
Within a day, CEL will turn on twice and go off the rest of the day.
I have about 80k miles on the Beck Arnley.
I think I will get a genuine BMW sensor this time.

Anybody has the same issue with the Beck Arnley camshaft sensor?

[bazar01]

Went ahead and got a BMW camshaft sensor. Quite expensive.
I have been driving the car for the past two days without the P0340.

[paul somlo]

Something not quite right there, Bazar. The sensor is Hall effect, and you're on your 4th one in 265k miles. That's a failure rate far higher than any mechanical or electromechanical part on the vehicle. I would take a look at the sensor's connector on the vehicle side, maybe a loose wire. Or look elsewhere for something that mimics the P0340. You don't have anything aftermarket (that's ferrous) mounted close to the sensor, do you?

Paul
'96ti 232,000mi.

[bazar01]

Yes I know what you mean. Actually this is just my second new sensor.
The first one I bought was the Beck. It lasted about 80k miles.
Hopefully this BMW one will last longer than that.

I did continuity test on the harness from the DME to the connection point under the intake with my Fluke meter. I get 12V at pin 1 coming from the engine control module relay.
I have continuity from pin 21 on the DME connector to the connection point under the intake. The third pin has good ground connection.
So it has to be a flaky sensor.

[bazar01]

It has been 7 days now since I put the BMW sensor.
So far CEL is off.
The Beck A sensor don't last as long as the OEM.
The Beck gave me P0340 code 3 times a day.
We'll see how long the BMW sensor lasts.