s-500 crank postion sensor
 

Any info on changing the crank position sensor (L 5) on 1995 S-500 coupe. I know its located over the bellhouse but never changed one. Car threw up check engine light and scanned as sensor. Car is running fine but dont want to chance break down. Thanks for any help. Voz1

sorry... I just realized I gave you the information for a camshaft position sensor..not crank position sensor.

I'll leave the camshaft info incase anyone else need it...


..Adjusting


1 Position crankshaft to 25°CKA before ignition TDC of cylinder 1.

Measuring


2 Use a depth slide gauge to measure size "A" from the plane face of the camshaft position sensor (L5/1) at the cylinder head to the segment (arrow) on the camshaft sprocket

Crankshaft position sensor

I would use . .
 

. . an ohmmeter before I'd replace it.

Disconnect the connector marked as "2" on the DI Module (see the picture in MENU#5 on my page; click link below). The "2" connector is the output end of the CKP sensor; other end goes to the tranny. The DI Module is located in the drivers side fender wall (under the cover).

With the end disconnected, you should read 860 ohms +/- 150 ohms. Then try to 'wiggle' the cable leading down to the tranny to see if the reading is steady. If is open or low resistance, then change it.

If it reads okl, it's not the CKP sensor. This failure is supposed to light the CE lamp in the IC. Did it?

jim, Good to hear from you. The check engine lite is on. Pulled coded and got one for crank sensor (L-5) Car is running different, better, more power, smother idle. I thought is was from bank firing the injectors because fuel mileage seems to have taken a hit. The car is a 95 with 83,000 sensor can be had for around 50 Bucks so I feel not a bad investment. I was just wondering how tough it is to get at. I know it's at the rear of the engine but I havent had the time to really scope out its location. BTW your fan relay sure is working great here in this New jersey heat wave. Thanks Ed

The sketches that . .
 

. . Russell (nice name; my middle name) provided show where it connects. But before you replace it, please check it with an ohmmeter to see what the resistance is.

Here's the story: A year or so after I bought my S500 cpe, the exact same thing happened to my car. At that time, I knew very little about the car and after t/s the problem, it was NOT the CKP sensor but, the DI Module itself. The resistance was 840 ohms and it was solid.

It was a strange failure; it could not be reset. Have you tried to reset it?? So the CE would re-light immediately, even though the car ran fine. "Active" faults can NOT be reset since they are occuring now.

Bottom line: I replaced the DI Module with one that I found out of NYC junk yard (PartTrackers network in the LINKS section of my page) and that's about 6 years ago.

The problem was this: the DI Module has a major function keeping the car running, etc. but it also has FAULT memory that is there to store DTCs. In this DI Module the fault memory portion that stores the CKP fault went 'bad' indicating a bad CKP sensor. The module itself was fine but had a bad memory bit that controlled the CKP sensor. Since it's a 'running' fault, the CE is programmed to come on immediately.

So it was a memory fault not the operaing portion of the DI Module that went bad. But it had to be replaced just to get the CE to go off.

If you measure an acceptable resistance, then I wouldn't replace it w/o first 'swapping' the DI module. The CKP sensor isn't that expensive ($150) but you will be dissapointed when it doesn't go out!


PS: almost forgot . . . if the CKP is REALLY bad, the car won't run!!

Jim, Looks like you are right on the money. Tested out @ 966 ohm steady. I really was hoping to get away with sensor but dont think so

Looks like from that measurement that the CKP is ok. And if it's really bad, the car won't run!

Now see if you can swap the DI Module w/ a known good one. That will tell the tale. If it comes to the "worst", bite the bullet and see if you can find a used one. Remember to try the "PartTrackers" network to see if you can find one for a reasonable price; I paid $225 for mine.

Jim, One last question. I followed your link to search for a new module. I cant seem to find anyone other than the dealer for this part. Cost 1,825. by the way. My question is do you feel that a total module failure is emminent or will the car remain reliable until a replacement can be found again the car is running very well but gas mileage is off. Thanks for all your help. Ed

Did you check . . .
 

. . the "used", "rebuilt", etc boxes??? Try again with that in mind and see what turns up.

If it is like mine, it ran fine since it took about a month before I found a replacement and run that 'forever' in that mode . Remember that there's nothing really wrong with the functional portion but just the memory 'bit' is bad.