Nissan Pathfinder P0021

Hello, i have a Nissan pathfinder 2006 4.0 with P0021 code : INT/V TIM CONT B2,
Symptoms on the car is idle is a little bit rough some times more when engine is hot.

History about the car : stalling in light throtle or when engine is hot or stalling while normal driving on the road woth camshaft code on the same bank bank 2 .

I checked the sensor senaor power and ground and the signal all turn out good no open and shorts between PCM and the sensor . Sensor was faulty and cut signal to the pcm when engine gets hot so i replaced with a oem sensor.

Now stalling is gone and camshaft code never came back this was around 2 months ago . But now i have this code , power to the valve control solenoid valve is good its a ground side switched , i have 4 data PIDs for int v cont b1 and b2 , int v cont sol b1 and b2 .

Int v tim cont b1 and int v tim sol 1 showing 0 value while idle

But int v tim cont b2 shows 20 value
Int v tim sol b2 shows 0 value . This 20 is jumps to around 68 at the start up ! And when idle going down to 20 and fix at 20 some time i see 21 but no more or less than that .

I removed the solenoid and saw debris and it was dirty i cleaned it and i applied power and ground it was clicking and functioning . But when i installled it again now i get same values for bank 2 fixed at 20 . And now i dont know its from the camshaft sensor which its new and making this problem or its a new problem ? Recenltly i changed oil and filter as always before . Do i need to check cam and crank relation ? Do i have a timming issue ? Or phaser jammed or always oil flow making this 20 value ? What other checks should i do to correctly and properly diag this issue ? Thanks

Halwest wrote:

And now i dont know its from the camshaft sensor which its new and making this problem or its a new problem ?

Hey Halwest! This is an important question. But really, I think the question is, is there a mechanical timing problem or not?

There are a couple ways you could go about this. One would be a relative compression test with a scope. If bank two is truly advanced by 20 degrees as the scan data suggests, then there should be a noticeable difference between bank one and bank two.

As an alternative, you could take a static compression reading (with a gauge) in one cylinder on bank one, and another on bank two. Keep your methods the same between measurements. If there's a significant difference between banks, that'd suggest that the mechanical timing actually is out.

The other option is to do a cam/crank correlation waveform as you mentioned. This involves more work to make the necessary connections, but might answer more questions. It also relies on having access to a known good waveform.

Either way will give you good diagnostic direction. If compression is significantly off bank-to-bank, then I'd treat it like a genuine mechanical problem. If compression is even bank-to-bank, I'd go more towards an electronic problem. The scope takes more time and equipment, but can answer any questions you might have about the replacement bank two sensor.

Hey Tyler, today i check the data with solenoid valve unplugged and plugged in it was the same value never changed fixed at 20. So i did a cam/ crank correlation and i see a little bit difference in my waveform and the factory known good , what do you think ? Do you see the same difference ? Or its good ? I think its off abit, but now do i have to remove the cover to check the chain for stretch or phaser problem ? Or what else i can do before remove the timing cover ? Thanks

Halwest, would you be able to email me the Pico capture? wrenchturnsyou@gmail.com Were you looking at bank two only?

The immediately problem I see is that the CMP signal is inverted. :blink: The actual voltage transitions seem to be in the right place, but the high/low relationship is reversed. The CMP signal should spend most of its time near 0V, but yours spends most of its time near 12V.

Comparing to bank one might be interesting? Just to compare it's behavior. But at this point I'd be changing the bank two sensor again. If you didn't put a Nissan sensor in it before, put a Nissan sensor in it this time around.

[quote="Tyler post=57303 userid=417"

The immediately problem I see is that the CMP signal is inverted. :blink: The actual voltage transitions seem to be in the right place, but the high/low relationship is reversed. The CMP signal should spend most of its time near 0V, but yours spends most of its time near 12V.

[/quote]

In my experience this often times is not a problem. I`ve seem the signal even changing/inverting on a running engine without any issue. Ther might also cam slap been taking place. The controller seems to focus on the transitions themselves and how they timewise correlate. Just saying, it`s a Nissan in the end... :woohoo: :whistle:

It was a nissan sensor , but the code on the sensor was different i ront know why ! For connection i back probed sensor signal wire at the CMP sensor and used battery ground . Tell me if i did it wrong?

Its a pull down design , so the 12v is going to the sensor and the sensor pull that voltage to ground , but i really dont understand also on the factory waveform its 0 to 12v on mine its 12v to 0v pull down i dont know do i need to invert the signal and re check again or i connected wrong ? I backprobed the pin 2 on the sensor which is the yellow wire and its the signal going to the ECM .

juergen.scholl wrote:

In my experience this often times is not a problem. I`ve seem the signal even changing/inverting on a running engine without any issue. Ther might also cam slap been taking place. The controller seems to focus on the transitions themselves and how they timewise correlate. Just saying, it`s a Nissan in the end... :woohoo: :whistle:

Normally I would agree? But it appears to me that the transitions are in the correct(ish) locations. I snipped this from Halwest's Pico capture:



And this is another shot of the known good from Nissan:



If anything, the (supposed to be) falling edges of the CMP pulses are a little bit behind the crank sync pulse. So, while the scan data is saying 20 degrees advanced, it's actually looks to be a few degrees retarded. :blink:

Halwest, thanks for the email! Your connections were absolutely correct. Do you happen to recall the part number of the sensor you took out, and the one you put in?

This was the old one, which was on the car even before i buy the car almost 3 years ago and the ECM was happy with it until it started stalling problem , with this new CMP sensor no stalling issue and signal like that , btw the signal on the old one was the same ( inverted ) . But i am sure the new CMP sensor codes and numbers are not like the old one. This new one was in a nissan nylon package with nissan oem sticker on it and it was a 40$ sensor .

hey halwest did you ever figure this out? running into same issue P0021 , live data showing int V timing at around 47 degrees advanced on bank 2. no driveability issues. Already did full timing chain kit, tensioners, sprockets everything, same code popping up

Hello
Interesting topic
So a good engine at idle IVT should be at what degree at IDLE and in CRUISING?