First off, let me apologize. I know this is a truck group. I just can't figure out where else to post this.
My daughter (her first car) has a '97 Cavalier with a 2.2L and a manual trans. It has been running fine until today.
She was driving and then all of a sudden it cut off and would not restart. She said she heard a light "POP" and it cut off. (I was thinking the timing chain) My wife was with her when it happened and she heard nothing. I had the car towed to my home.
I check for spark and that's good. I hear the fuel pump run when I turn the key to the on position. I removed the air intake, opened the throttle plates and sprayed a bit of starting fluid and tried starting. Still nothing. (I don't think it's a fuel or spaark problem)
Next, I rode over to my local Murrays Auto and rented one of their OBD II Code Scanners. I plug the unit into the Cavaliers DLC and got the following info...
Camshaft Position Sensor A- Bank 1 Circuit Low.
I check a Haynes manual and it stated that...
"... If cam signal is lost while the engine is running, the fuel injection system will shift to a calculated fuel injection mode based on the last fuel injection pulse, and the engine will continue to run."
So, I am at a loss.
Can someone help? Will a bad Camshaft Position Sensor cause the engine to "NOT" start? I check around and the sensor cost about $65.00. I'd hate to spend that and later find that that's not the problem.
HELP!!!