[insite94]

Hi All -



I'm throwing an engine code 1-1-3-4 (hall sender). Can somebody post a picture of where I can find this on the car? I want to see if it's cracked up and needs replacement. If visually OK, how can it be electrically tested for proper function?



Thanks!



Buzz

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[Greimann]

I don't have a picture, but if you know where your heater control valve is, the hall sender connector is directly above it. You look for obvious problems with the wires and connectors, but the actual diagnostic of the sender itself is done with an oscilloscope.



The procedure is in this segment is in the manual. You have to page down a bit.

968_DME_Diagnosis_tables.pdf Size: 312.45 KB  Downloads: 38

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[BruceWard]

You can see the hall sender connector above the gold colored heater control valve in this picture.

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[insite94]

[quote name='BruceWard' date='Sep 12 2005, 07:59 PM']You can see the hall sender connector above the gold colored heater control valve in this picture.





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Cool! Thanks Dave and Bruce for the help. This looks like a DIY that doesn't require valve cover removal. Think a new one can be installed by someone with less than average mechanical aptitude? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> (me)



Buzz

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[Lemming]

What exactly does the Hall sender do for a living?

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[Greimann]

The Hall (effect) sensor is a device that reads the exact position of the camshaft gear to tell the computer when to fire the spark. If this sensor fails, there is a fail safe mode in which the other halll effect sensor at the flywheel can tell the computer where TDC of #1 cylinder is. This is not as accurate as the cam gear sensor, so the timing is dialed back by 6 degrees a precaution against pre-ignition.



There are other hall effect sensors at the wheels for the vehicle speed signal (speedometer, anti-lock). Hall effect sensors can read motion of gears by sensing the teeth as they come by, but without actually touching them.



But when you have a hall sensor error code, it is the one by the camshaft

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[Lemming]

Thanks.

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[Spieln968]

Buzz,



The hall sensor is easy to change. You do have to remove the cam cover to get to the bolts that fasten it to the back of the cam gear cover. I had the same fault. When I removed the sensor I found out that half of it was missing. Car runs much better after replacing it.

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[insite94]

Great! Thanks, Tim. I'll have it at my mechanic's tomorrow. Sounds like a good time to check the pads on the variocam too.

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[RS Barn]

I can show you a picture of a demolished one

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[BruceWard]

Tim, did your check engine light come on before you discovered the damaged hall sensor?



Insite please ask your mechanic to be careful with the bolts that hold the valve cover on. They need to woken http://clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/bolt-01.htm before removing and then a small accurate torque wrench needs to be used when reinstalling.

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[Spieln968]

[quote name='BruceWard' date='Sep 14 2005, 01:24 PM']

Tim, did your check engine light come on before you discovered the damaged hall sensor?



Bruce,



My check engine light did sometimes come on but I had two error codes. O2 sensor and Hall Sensor. Replaced the O2 sensor and that seemed to fix the check engine light so to answer your question I do not think I was getting the check engine light from the bad hall sensor. The wire plug on my hall sensor was bad so I played with that for a while before I actually removed the sensor and saw that half of it was gone. There was a noticeable performance boost once I changed the hall sensor.

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[insite94]

Thanks, Tim and Bruce...good information. My mechanic is the same one that changed out my cams and variocam chain/pads last year (missing 7 teeth then[cams, not my mechanic <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />] but fixed now - whole 'nuther story)



Anyway, I'll remind him to "wake up" the screws. He hasn't got there yet. Why?



During the test drive, that constant pull to the right that I thought was an alignment problem following new tire installation turns out to be ball joints - bad on the right, broken boot on the left so only a matter of time. I bought 2 new A-arm and ball joint assemblies yesterday from Sunset Porsche - $381 per side, better by $140 per side than anything I could get elsewhere.



Lest anyone think I'm nuts, I have over 180K miles on the car and drive about 25K miles per year - no interest in a rebuild kit or remanufactured due to inconsistent quality and I can't afford the downtime if something needs tweeking.



Back on topic, car shouold be ready tomorrow afternoon with (hopefully) problem solved with the Hall sender.



Best,



Buzz

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