Problems after camshaft sensor replacement

[dwdickson]

I've been searching the forum for a clue as to what I've done wrong but couldn't find anything so I thought I'd just post and see if anyone has any ideas. Today I replaced bank 2 camshaft position sensor to clear code p0345. This cleared the code but now the car is idling rough. It starts and runs fine. It's just the idle. I did remove the throttle body to get to the sensor but I read that I should remove the battery negative cable and leave the throttle body harness alone and this is what I did. I've tried various reset/relearn procedures hoping this would help including:

Accelerator Pedal Reset
Accelerator Pedal Release Position Learning
Throttle Valve Closed Position Learning
Idle Air Volume Relearning

I don't really know which if any of these procedures might help this situation but I've tried them all and nothing helps.

Thanks!

[Ilya]

I think the last two should help, but since they didn't that's odd. One of our more knowledgeable users will chime in, I'm sure.

[Double E]

My Y34 did this after I dumped a bottle of seafoam into the brake booster line. Got the codes, bad idle, replaced the sensors, no joy. The cats had burned up from the seafoam dump. I added it too fast I guess. It got expensive after that.

[Ilya]

My Y34 did this after I dumped a bottle of seafoam into the brake booster line. Got the codes, bad idle, replaced the sensors, no joy. The cats had burned up from the seafoam dump. I added it too fast I guess. It got expensive after that.

I'm surprised. I've been using Seafoam for about 250kmi on 3 different cars. Haven't even had an O2 sensor go bad.

OP, was it just the sensor you replaced or did you run something like Seafoam before too? I'm curious.

[Costee]

I replaced bank 2 camshaft position sensor to clear code p0345. This cleared the code but now the car is idling rough. It starts and runs fine. It's just the idle. I did remove the throttle body to get to the sensor but I read that I should remove the battery negative cable and leave the throttle body harness alone and this is what I did.

Is the SES light still on? If so what codes(s)?

[Double E]

My Y34 did this after I dumped a bottle of seafoam into the brake booster line. Got the codes, bad idle, replaced the sensors, no joy. The cats had burned up from the seafoam dump. I added it too fast I guess. It got expensive after that.

I'm surprised. I've been using Seafoam for about 250kmi on 3 different cars. Haven't even had an O2 sensor go bad.

OP, was it just the sensor you replaced or did you run something like Seafoam before too? I'm curious.

I've used it on other cars successfully as well. In this case, the sequence was first adding it, then the sensor failed (threw a code), then the cats were found to be bad and I had a no-start situation. Replacing the sensors solved the no-start issue but there were some awfully bad knocking noises coming from the engine making me think the block was about to ventilate itself. It was just the remnants of the cat internals rolling around.

It is possible that the Seafoam addition was a coincidence ...and the failed sensor caused unburned fuel to dump into the cats but if that were the case...with as many of those sensors that go bad around here, I'd have seen the burned up cats issue happen more often.

[dwdickson]

I only replaced the sensor. I don't know what Seafoam is and did not attempt to clean or move the valve in the throttle body. The SES light cleared after replacing the sensor and has not returned. I'm going to take things apart again to make sure I didn't accidentally dislodge a vacuum line or something.

I did not replace the gasket on the throttle body. It seemed to be in good shape so I re-used it. Is this an issue?

The idle is high when cold like you might expect but once the car warms and I'm sitting at a stop light it will become erratic and sometimes drop as low as 500rpm. It never dies but seems to come close.

[TOMatBMR]

Have you hooked it up to a scanner to see whats happening? Are the drive cycles complete with no new MIL present? Maybe the sensor is bad, is it OEM, or what brand?

[dwdickson]

I don't have a scanner. I rely on Autozone/O'Rielly for SES codes. If analysis of drive cycles is the next step then maybe I just need to seek professional help. It's just that I dread going to stealerships.

The replacement sensor came from Autozone. It's their Duralast brand but I don't know who makes it. They claim to meet/exceed OE specs. It looked exactly like the Infiniti part I removed in everyway so I wouldn't be surprised if whoever makes these for Infiniti makes then for the after market as well but I really have no idea.

[dwdickson]

I take it back. AutoZone's website says:

"Duralast products are engineered and manufactured by Wells Vehicle Electronics, a leading global supplier of advanced vehicle electronics solutions for original equipment and replacement applications. Every component either matches or improves on the OE design to ensure fast, easy installation, superior performance and reliability."

[Costee]

I don't have a scanner... I dread going to stealerships.

Just how expensive is the common code reader?

[TOMatBMR]

Code readers are cheap but the more you spend the more features you get. I don't typically like Autozone parts and never had great luck using them in a shop setting. I preferred OEM, or something from Oreillys or Napa, as long as it wasn't made by Dorman.