whtricsc40

so i recently changed the timing belt and water pump and now the check engine light is on so i got the code read and was told that the cam position sensor is bad. So my question is if i just change the sensor will it be fixed of do i have to set the timing in a certain place for the sensor to read it correctly. I just dont want to have to rip it all apart again for a 3rd time.

805Aristo

Check the wiring & Timing first if it looks dead on then reset the ecu and if it's still throwing the CEL then replace the sensor.

ais300c

Reset the cel like 805 said if it comes back on prob a bad sensor

flavs23

since it happend after you did a timing belt id start there. do you know what code was set or were you just told cam sensor? was it maybe a corralation code? the crank, cam gear, and vvt-i sprocket have 2 timing marks. one is TDC and the other is like 30deg advanced (or whatever vvt-i is). i have seen people miss match their marks and bend some valves, so id probably look into it before really driving the car.

whtricsc40

thanks to everyone who have responded and to give a little more insight i changed the timing belt and water pump probably 3 months ago but the check engine light trac off and vsc lights were already on before this and i had the code read and was told it was a small emissions leak , so i figured while the car already had 130,00 miles on it might as well replace those while trying to find the leak. Got it all done the car ran and drove great though the check engine vsc and trac off lights were all still on. So we drove the car with the lights on till about a month ago i took the car to a mechanic to figure out why the lights were on cause my wife hated the lights on, and they said the o2 sensor was bad and they replaced that and the check engine light went away but the vsc and trac off lights would come on as soon as the car would move more than a foot. though the car still ran fine until 2 days later the check engine light came back on and the engine now would hesitate when you give it gas and doesnt run as good as it used to now.

DrftnIS300

Sounds like the computer is putting the engine into safe mode and only letting it run at half power. Mine did that when I accidentally broke the wire to the knock sensor while putting my tranny back in. I would agree with flavs23 and re check everything before really driving it.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Unless you somehow got the timing wrong when you did the belt, the cam sensor is not affected by doing a timing belt - it is easy to replace and there is nothing needed to calibrate the new one or anything - simply unplug the old one, unbolt the two 10mm bolts, put the new one in place and plug it back in...

What code is it? Lots of people guess at problems - whoever told you the cam sensor was bad could have been one of those... With the actual code, I can go a little more in depth as to the actual problem hopefully...

whtricsc40

ok i finally bought one of the scan tools my self and the code is P0016. So could i have the timing wrong or is the sensor or sensors bad ??

plus1choi

iTrader: (1)

bad cam sensor in bank 1

http://engine-codes.com/p0016_lexus.html

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Cam sensor is a possibility, but I wouldn't say it was likely in this scenario...

P0016 is generally set because the timing belt was installed incorrectly or a fault in the VVT system... Generally because the intake cam was not lined up properly... It could also be due to a problem with the VVT actuator itself... I would ensure it is plugged in properly.. Was it removed for any reason when the timing belt was changed?

whtricsc40

i did not unplug anything that was not necessary to remove the timing belt and waterpump. And when i first finished the install of them the car ran great the check engine light, vsc, and trac off lights were on but there were on before i did the timing belt and water pump. Till about a month later when i took the car to the mechanic to fix all those lights did the car start hesitating and running ruff like it does now, still drivable but not like it should. Were would the plugs be for the cam and vvti sensors be, could the mechanic of unpluged those by accident easily, without having to remove all the covers or harmonic balancer like you would for the crank sensor.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Cam sensor is between cylinder #5 and #6 on the intake side, along the side of the head - should be visible when you take the engine cover off, behind the intake runners...

VVTI connector is on top of the intake cam at the front edge of the motor, just behind the cam gear - it is easily seen without removing the engine cover...

It would be nice to know if the lights were on for the same reasons prior - they should have been repaired prior to any major services...

Any of these could easily be unplugged, including the crank sensor... You can even change any of the sensors pretty darned easily - crank sensor is one bolt, cam sensor is two...

whtricsc40

thank you so much mitsuguy i will check these tomorrow and report back. So the crank sensor i can change with out having to remove everything again like im changing the timing belt again, cause thats what the mechanic said would have to be done.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Correct, Crank sensor is one bolt... the wheel it reads however, would require all the rest of that stuff to come off the car, but, those hardly ever have problems...

whtricsc40

sorry it took so long to get back, just finally got time to check it, and the timing is dead on with the 3 markings so i guess it has to be the cam or crank sensor, my code reader tool says P0016 crank to cam sensor correlation bank 1 sensor a, so do you think it is the cam sensor or could it still be the vvti sensor.