Thread: crank position sensor

I got a customer that is having some issues with her car shutting off while she is driving, and I told her I would ask you guys your opinion so we could get to the bottom of this. Basically here is what's happening. Her car runs great, but once in a blue moon it will shut off while she is driving and she will have to pull over come to a stop and she says it will start back up and drive fine. I'm thinking it is ignition related, like a bad ignition switch, or bad sesnor giving a rpm signal like cam or crank sensor. The problem is so intermittent that it is almost impossible to diagnose, since it's only happened 3 times in a month. She has however got a crank shaft position sensor code from time to time. I was just wondering if anyone has had similair complaints due to a bad crank sensor, cuz I'm assuming to change this it's a big job and I don't want to make her spend the money if it isn't going to fix the problem.

It's hardly a big job. Remove belts, crank bolt, and the balancer. Maybe an hours worth of work.

But it does sound like the crank sensor. Since the ignition system rarely goes bad.

I did have a case one time with a friend, where the connector that runs to the cam and crank sensor had a pin bent over. It was just enough that road or engine vibrations would cause it to throw a crank sensor code. We changed the sensor, and it still did it.....so you might go ahead and check the connector and harness just to rule that out.

what kind of car is it? is it a grand prix with the 3.8 or something else... while it does sound like it could indeed be related to the CPS, knowing what vehicle it is might help point to other items that might be more of a known problem with a specific vehicle.

I also had an issue with the harness that connects it to the module was shorted (touch the harness and the car ran different)

I didn't even realize I didn't say what engine this was and vehicle. It's a 97 grand prix supercharged 3.8L. The crank angle sensor came back again. I'll take a look at the connection when it comes in tommorow. I guess I'll just start there and hope that by fixing that the problem goes away. Thanks for the input guys.

I use a M6 X 65mm bolt to pull the balancer off.

I'm looking at it right here....M6 and 65mm long....approx 3 inches or so long.

A 1/4 will not thread into the balancer correctly and you run the risk of pulling the threads and crossthreading it.

It could just be my engine, so take that with a grain of salt. if the 1/4 threads in without binding up, go for it....otherwise it could be a different size.

Go with what works.

Thanks, that's pretty much what I meant. LOL

6m bolt, 65mm long, thread pitch...who knows, but it works for me!

/brainfart