So, a mechanic came by and checked a couple of things. He had a heavy accent so it was hard to understand exactly what he was saying. He said he was getting power but wasn't getting a ground. Where? I'm not sure. Ultimately, he referred me to someone else because he think my ECU may need to be reset -or- my ECU has gone bad.

 

Very doubtful that you have a bad ECU after only doing what you have done. Reseting the ECU is as easy as unplugging the bat cables and zip tieing them together for 30 mins or so. Then reattach. No, it WILL NOT hurt your car in any way to do this, I have done it many many times before to many cars.

You can do all of this yourself if you know what you should be looking for. That is what the .Org is for ...

Have you got a multi meter - or volt / ohm meter? Do you know how to use one? It's easyyyyyy as pie and you can get them cheap at Radio Shack or maybe even Wally Martz. Do you have a copy of the FSM? On mine (98' FSM) page 243 right at the top talks about TDC P 0335. IIRC from reading the 1st page, you replaced the wrong sensor. The POS sensor is on the oil pan.

 

Nah, on the oil pan is the REF. He replaced the right one. He needs to take off the starter and clean the connections and re-install it, and make sure it is grounded properly. All surfaces where the wires attach must be wire brushed and white corrosion removed, and the mating surface of the starter must be cleaned too. It's just two screws. There is a video how to do it too.


If the ECU is pulling a code, then it's unlikely its broken. It's broken when it does not give you a code, yeah? This is not a hard code to fix, but he has to pull the starter off; get the battery tested.

 

You need to check the FSM friend. You are incorrect. Why would the FSM state that the CKPS POS is located on the oil pan? I know there is a REF as well, but the FSM mentions the POS being on the oil pan. However, in defense - the pictures show the REF being located there. Maybe it's both that need to be checked.

edit: EC - p 243 (98') FSM ...

"The crankshaft position sensor (POS) is located on the oil pan facing the gear teath (cogs) of the signal plate (flywheel). It detects the crankshaft position signal (1º signal). The sensor consists of a permanent maganet, core, and coil. ...."

Also, cleaning the sensor will do just what exactly? You mentioned (quoting my post) that cleaning it would some how help, I'm wondering how eaxactly it would help when it's a magnet, core, and coil?

OP ::::: Did you check the sensor or just replace it? You should always check a part before replacing it if possible.

 

They are both REF and POS, on the upper oil pan.

 

Nice. Why the hate? He replaced the sensor, with an autozone sensor, after having cleaned it and the code did not go away.

 

Regarding the cleaning, I've read a bunch of posts on this from org members who have some serious know how. Here is one, but there are more:


I know very little about cars, but I read the threads. I am not trying to be smartass here.

 

I'm not trying to pick any fights, sorry about the rudeness of the above. I edited that as I was going along and after re-reading it, I thought twice, so I do applogize. When Paul (Pmohr) posted that, it was in referance to a 5spd with a worn IPS bearing. Please correct me if I am wrong, I will not take offense. In regard to that, yes it can affect the reading, but very unlikely that is the cause of the no start. Upon removing the sensor too, it will be covered with tiny metal shavings. This can be somewhat normal to a degree but it would take a lot of shavings to affect the sensor's output to the ECU. On top of all that, he did replace the sensor (so no shavings on this one ) and it didn't fix the issue at hand. So, back to square one on that .... perhaps it's a borken wire and testing it with a meter will tell for sure. Just gotta get the OP to let us know if he has / can use / a meter.

 

I replaced the REF sensor this morning and noticed the car cranking a little different. The crank had a little less power. I checked the codes and now I'm getting an 0101, which according to http://www.wikiautorepair.org/wiki/N...ding_ECU_Codes is a Camshaft position sensor. I'm getting tired of these damn sensors!!! I suppose when I replace that, I will get a different code to replace something else!

 

It sounds like you have a bad ground. Make sure the two grounds on the manifold are clean. That means unscrew them, and clean them to shiny metal and screw them back on. There should also be a ground next to the POS sensor, clean that connection too. There are some diagrams in the 1998 FSM on page EC-248.

There are a bunch of posts on grounding the starter. Use search.

 

I just replaced the camshaft sensor and the car started right up!!!! FINALLY!!! Now, a little issue here. I drove around the neighborhood and it was riding fine. Then the RPM's shot up to about 3k as if I were holding the pedal down (yet I wasn't) and it was accelerating. I pressed the brake and put it in neutral. As soon as I did this, it shot up to like 6k!! I was scared to put it back in drive because I thought the wheels were going to burn out. Anyway, I went ahead and put it in drive and it jerked a bit but then went back to normal. I noticed a little smoke coming from behind the rear middle spark plug and a little white smoke from the exhaust. Not too much though. Any ideas? Is my car not safe to drive yet?

 

That's odd .... I would think that if it were something like a bad TPS, that could cause this issue, but would not necisarilly explain the smoke. The white smoke could have been trans fluid if you had slipping clutches. If it were a bad TPS, it should thorw a CEL too. I understand your frusturation. Maybe the smoke was from some oil or residue when you changed the plugs and got some sort of gunk onto the exahust (the Y pipe runs right below the right side of the engine (closest to the firewall). I'm not even sure how to tell you to check or really even what to check. It really doesn't sound like a bad trans ... since you popped it into N and the revs kept climbing. Does the gas pedal feel 'normal' otherwise?

 

Well, its now a couple of hours later and I took the Max for a spin. It actually ran really smooth. No issues whatsoever. No smoke. Nothing. I guess I'll just wait and see if I see any other signs. Thanks to everybody for your input and knowledge. Without the ORG. I would have never gotten my hands dirty!!!!!

 

Maybe you just flooded the hell out of it trying to start it without success for such a long time, all that extra gasoline had to burn itself out, hence the smoke.

It is bizzare that it was a sensor for which you had no code until like yesterday, that seems to have solved your problems. You didn't do anything else to the car, other than the three sensor replacement?

I still think you should clean your grounds. Especially the one by the pos sensor and on the manifold. It is 30 minutes well spent. If the bracket is rusted for the POS ground, you need to attach the ground to a better place, like where the bracket itself is attached to the block. Just my 2 cents.

Anyway, good to hear you got her running.