With some no-start, intermittent no-start, and intermittent/engine dying while running situations, a bad crankshaft sensor can be at fault.
But can a deteriorating crankshaft sensor allow a car to always run/start, but cause input signal/driveability problems to the computer(s)?
or are they _always_ all or nothing (first para)?
Thank you, Lance
Sensor is a magnetic/shutter wheel aperture type on a 91 Saab 900S
I had a bad crank sensor on a GM 3.8 liter V6. the first symptom was a miss/stumble at highway speeds. Shortly after it just completely died and we coasted to a stop.
After a 10 minute wait (cool off?) the engine would restart and run fine for another 10-15 minutes then die again.
Long story short- codes set indicated the crank sensor, also a no-rpm error. I borrowed an oscilloscope and looked at the signal. I managed to observe the signal decreasing in amplitude and then ceasing entirely. I replaced the crank sensor and the engine ran great again.
So your answer is that it can be intermittent, but a complete failure will leave you stranded.
Rich
snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Lance Morgan) wrote:
The most common failure mode for CKP sensors is a no start or cutting out while driving.
The other failure modes are not atypical at all. A corrupted CKP signal can cause a whole host of problems. The RPM signal is required for the engine to run and a bad RPM signal will affect the engine in various ways depending on the type of failure.
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