[JRTwrangler]

I just did the full set of valve cover gaskets on my N52, and changed the eccentric shaft sensor (ESS) at the same time.

With everything back together, I have two persistent codes relating to the ESS, namely:

2A31 ESS guide
2A47 ESS plausibility



Monitoring the live data using my Creator scanner, the eccentric shaft angle reported by the ESS is not varying at all with the engine running at varying revs:



I can unplug the sensor and the fixed value changes slightly, but remains static, and the engine runs exactly the same.

I think I've done the valvetronic relearn properly (both cycling the ignition and running the command in INPA), and the motor is definitely moving. It's also definitely engaged as, when I turn the motor manually, I can see the shaft moving through the oil filler cap. I can also hear it going click-clack when I turn the ignition on.

Very briefly while I was trying different things, I saw normal varying values on the live data where the specified and actual shaft angles almost agreed, but then they reverted to the fixed values above.

To me this all points to the ESS either not working (which would be very surprising – it's a brand new Siemens VDO) or it somehow failing to send its signal. The connector is clean and I've given it a good wiggle, but no change.

Any bright ideas? Anything else I can check or try with INPA? I'm at my wits' end with this.