K1600 camshaft sensor on maintenance disc

Rick 1600

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Could someone with a maintenance disc please tell me where the camshaft sensor replacement info is please, I can’t find it.
I know it’s on the top of the cylinder head so I think I’ll have to remove the radiator.
Thanks for looking.
 
Sorry, can't help with BMW chapter & verse, which tends to be OTT on many procedures as you probably know. The CPS sits on top of the valve cover, secured by a single fixing, between the coil sticks of cylinders 4&5. You need the sensor & a new o-ring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwC_yeNtZ3s

I'm not sure whether the rad needs to be removed, maybe just loosened to create a little extra space.

However, dependant on the mileage of your bike, many say it's best practice to remove the rad anyway & give it a good clean, while you are in there. All the K16s are marginal on cooling & the rads tend to get blocked with road dirt around the lower 1/3rd, which is all but impossible to clean out without removal due to the tight engine packaging.
 
Ah, thank you for looking.
Yes I see it now. I have a f couple of fault codes on my GS911 come up.

0x21FD30 camshaft sensor input signal, no signal edge detected, input level high ( not sure what all that actually means)

Also

0x21F542 oxygen sensor 1 heating circuit, open circuit ( no idea either).

I do know that quite often when I press the starter she doesn’t always fire straight away. Sometimes she spins over ok but doesn’t quite catch then she does and runs no problems at all.
 
CPS - I'm thinking this could be something as simple as metallic contamination on the CPS tip ...... if you are feeling lucky. A bit like a contaminated ABS sensor if you like, it looks at a reluctor on the camshaft.

OS1 - this is the lambda sensor 1 failing to heat up, as either it isn't receiving any current due to a dodgy connection, or the heater element in the sensor itself has failed. Simple enough to check/test the wiring & connections with a meter.

It seems strange that the bike still runs OK, apart from the first start attempt - I would have expected a CEL - but this may be good news.
 
Squib, I’m going to test it again tomorrow and see what results I get. I’ll get back with them…..
I have to strip it down anyway as new plugs due. Sensor is about £45 so may as well fit a new one. ( The bikes done about 25000 miles).
 
Thanks for that info. I’ve had a look at it and will check it out.

I had a coil go off 12000 miles ago, outside left , about £100 but I stripped it down and fitted a new one. It was a bit daunting. I know what I’m doing in there now though!
 
I’ve done a retest…. 2 faults present.

Oxygen sensor 1 heating circuit open. I’m presuming they are numbered 1&2, 2 being ok but I don’t know which is which.
I’ll try and figure that out and test it/ both.

Camshaft sensor input signal , no edge detected, input level high.

I’ll start by testing the oxygen sensors first, then the can sensor. Oxygen sensors don’t look cheap.

It was a struggle to start tonight. 4 or 5 times before she caught. Ticked over ok. Blipping the throttle, apart from annoying the locals, was a fraction slow. Just a split second slower than I’d call normal.

I’ll give a progress report but it could be awhile before I start.
 
Would a bad oxygen sensor make it hard to start? Or just run erratically?

The latter - IIRC, the ECU applies a base line figure it expects to see from the lambdas on cold engine start up, so an open loop if you like. They are then brought up to heat, the loop closed & O2 controlled thereafter, if that makes sense.

My suspicion is that your hard start most likely relates to the CPS, where I suspect the ECU isn't quite sure which stroke the pistons are on initially. That's not to say the O2 sensor won't need checking/rectification if it is still showing an open circuit, but the Hella link above gives you a test procedure.

Personally I wouldn't be attempting to remove the lambda sensor, which may be well corroded, until the CPS has been changed, the lambda wiring checked over & the bike given a decent run after clearing all codes with your GS911, in case you are chasing ghosts. You decision obvs.
 
I took the bike for a short run this morning before putting her in the garage for a strip down.
She did the usual and didn’t quite catch. I noticed if I opened the throttle a touch she fired up though this could have been coincidence.
She ran well, no missing and pulled hard.

Could this be a plug? She’s due new ones.
I had to replace a coil 12000 miles ago, could it be another one? It runs and idles no bother though….
Cam sensor maybe not quite right.
I’m not convinced there’s anything wrong with the oxygen sensors.

Stripping down to the plugs anyway.
 
This still sounds like the CPS, where the ECU can't discern quite where it is on the first prod of the starter.

If the plug change is due, you can check out the coil condition & resistance values, but I guess you will know from past experience that they are notoriously difficult to spot when in the early stages of failure, yet way too expensive to swap out at random.

To my mind, the open circuit on OS1 suggests that it's heater isn't firing up - once the engine/cat are up to heat it won't matter, it's just there to accelerate heating the lambda probe, which enables it to be placed further downstream from the headers & so control the fuelling more accurately.

Keep us posted.
 
When you say that the motor spins but doesn’t start (engage), is it possible that the sprag clutch is on its way out?

That was the problem with my 17 registration 1600, on an intermittent basis. It was mended, along with several other bikes with the same problem, under warranty. I can’t remember if it was a recall or if we all went individually to our dealerships.
 
When you say that the motor spins but doesn’t start (engage), is it possible that the sprag clutch is on its way out?

That was the problem with my 17 registration 1600, on an intermittent basis. It was mended, along with several other bikes with the same problem, under warranty. I can’t remember if it was a recall or if we all went individually to our dealerships.

Thats what happened to my 2018 GLE... as you mention, intermittent issue but little annoying on tour. No issues with dealer....Replaced under warranty.

Lots of discussion wrt this issue here....
https://www.k1600forum.com/threads/starter-motor-sprag-clutch-pics.158074/#post-2023826

Good insight here.... (goto 8 minutes in... Note that in this video this is a rare siezed starter clutch and not the intermittent sprag clutch not engaging)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ajp4-igdh4

Starter sounds like this....
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QP-KJdqnfCc

Some say (debate on the K1600 forums) changing engine oil spec resolves the issue.... not convinced myself.
 
I’ll look into the spray clutch issue, thanks.

Radiator out and cam sensor out. Coils look ok, when I had one playing up it was rusty. Plugs look ok but will change them.
 
I’ll look into the spray clutch issue, thanks.

Radiator out and cam sensor out. Coils look ok, when I had one playing up it was rusty. Plugs look ok but will change them.

When the starter sprag won't engage, the starter motor just spins up, but fails to turn the engine over. BTW, the oil thing developed into something of an urban myth for a while.

My understanding was that your engine fires up on first press of the button, but fails to reach a stable tickover & simply dies.
 


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