[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by BMWPE7

Hello, I’m encountering a very similar issue to what’s described here. OP was this ever resolved?

I recently replaced my valve cover (and gasket) as well as my eccentric shaft sensor. I did this partially because I was experiencing a bit of a rough idle and I suspected I may be buying oil because of a failed PCV valve.

After this job I ran into this 2A43 code when cold starting my engine and I occasionally get a misfire on cylinder 4. I’ve ruled out the ignition coil and I have no reason to believe that the coil connector is the issue. My next thought it to try another valvtrinic motor I have available but if this fails maybe I’ll give spark plugs a go.

I should also note that I did reset the motor limits using a fix well code reader.

I’d appreciate any input I can get. Thanks!

Yes, I fixed it by replacing the eccentric shaft sensor. Initially I didn't get any ESS related faults, just that 2A43 Valvetronic Thermal Overload Warning Threshold fault code. After numerous attempts at starting and driving I eventually got some ESS codes; though I don't remember which ones, it's been four years since then.

You indicated that you recently replaced your ESS, so you might have a different issue. Can you confirm that your eccentric shaft moves freely when it's supposed to? There's a menu in INPA where you can request it to move and get the position. If your ESS is good and reporting the correct values and you're getting that fault, you might have a faulty valvetronic motor or maybe even a binding eccentric shaft.

[BMWPE7]

So I’ve been using a FOXWELL code reader to monitor the expected vs actual eccentric shaft position. You can plot both of those parameters and then watch how they compare to one another. When I rev the engine I can see the “actual” shaft position change according to the expected position. I actually swapped the valvetronic motor as well (got one second hand) this made no difference.

Side note:
I had some serious misfiring occur the other day and I traced it back to the cylinder 2 coil pack. I replaced all 6 coils with new Delphis from FCP and Havnt gotten any codes since. I have a gut feeling that the problem isn’t solved and that this was just a separate issue triggered by me screwing around with the old coils so much but we will see if the issue continues.

My idle feels pretty good now but I do notice that on cold start, the rpms are a little bouncy until the engine heats up and equalizes. I’m not sure if this is expected from these cars. I’ve become hyper sensitive to any subtle rpm fluctuations so it’s possible this was present before I even started this job but o can’t help but feel like there is still something slightly out of wack.

Thanks.