P1324 & p1539
 

Story time.

Did a 3.4L swap on my 99 with 996 DME. Got everything worked out except for a P1539 (Camshaft Adjustment, Bank 2 Actuator triggered, no active position). Opened my DME and found a burnt transistor as described here: Help with 986 ECU Repair - Rennlist Discussion Forums

I replaced the transistor and P1539 went away however I immediately got a Cam shaft deviation too great bank 2 code (can't remember which code that is). And the engine is idle searching. So after seeing some chain guide material in the oil filter we take both cam covers off and replace the chain guides.

After reassembling the engine and timing everything we still get idle searching and now a P1324 (Timing Chain out of Position, Bank 2) and the P1539 comes back. Remove 4-6 cam cover again and double check the cam chain timing. Everything looks good. I also put in a spare variocam unit to make sure the P1539 isn't caused by a bad one.

With everything back together again now. We still get rough/searching idle. And p1539 and P1324. This is with everything literally triple checked. My next step is to visit my indy with a PST-2 and see if he can gain any clues from it. Could also be a damaged DME given the burnt transistor.

Any advice from you guys on what to troubleshoot next? Any help is much appreciated. We are running out of ideas.

disconnect your maf - does it go away?

I have tried that. Doesn't seem to have an effect on the way it runs.

Also it runs better while the secondary air system is running. Then after it warms up a little and that shuts off. The rough idle gets worse.

What do your RKATs look like? Could it be an air leak?

Not sure what RKATs refers to. An air leak has crossed my mind but after an amateur smoke test and triple checking the intact and vacuum hoses nothing seems to indicate an issue.

It's running rich when it's cold and the air injection system is running. When that shuts off so does the extra fuel and then clearly it becomes lean and idles poorly. That's a symptom of a vacuum leak ... and anything else that can create a lean condition.

I think you're right. The error codes make no sense though. Has to be something else also going on.

Anyone know the specific logic used to determine if intake to exhaust camshaft timing is off? How could a vacuum leak alone trip that code?

A Porsche specific scan tool (PST II, PIWIS, Durametric) can all read cam deviation values directly.