So the time has finally come that I need the help of this board and it's knowledgeable members.

2000 Maxima SE 5 speed
I had the car down for replacement of the power steering pump and high pressure line. I also put in an aftermarket cat-less y-pipe.

After assembling everything I cranked the car over and it wouldn't start. I scanned for codes and it came back P0335 (crank shaft position sensor).

Not being an electrical whiz I did a little research and found a youtube video showing how to test the sensor and the wiring harness. When I tested the harness it appeared that there was a short because the test light would light up brightly on the wire being tested and it's corresponding terminal at the sensor but would also light up dimly when checking the terminal that does not correspond to the wire being tested.

Did I interpret this correctly?

I then proceeded to build a separate harness for the sensor that would bypass the sub-harness from the connector off of the main harness. This didn't work because the sub-harness was fine. I did all of my testing with the sub-harness still plugged in to the main harness. When it was unplugged I didn't have the same results as before so the new harness was a waste of time (I tried it anyway with no luck).

I am now thinking that the problem is somewhere between the sub-harness and the ecu. I'm a little out of my depth. I found the wiring diagram (I think) but can't interpret it for the life of me. Which wire do I test at the ECU?

I am really frustrated and would love any help you generous orgers can offer.

-Jereme

 

2 minutes after posting this I read a little further in the manual and saw that there is a second sensor that I had missed. I checked it out and the connector was loose. Pushed it back on there and it fired up.

I wish that was the end of the story. It was running okay but had an obvious exhaust leak (nothing too bad). I pulled it out of the garage and turned it around and realized that I had forgotten to plug in the front sensor again. I turned the car off and plugged it in. I then started it and it ran terribly for a few seconds and died. It continued to run like this and would sputter and die after a few seconds of running.

The confusing thing is that it no longer has any codes. I got tired and put it to bed for the night. I'll check it out in a couple days when I have time.

 

will it idle at all? Maybe have to do the relearn after replacing the sensors.

 

It does idle and drive but it is very rough. I was just introduced to the concept of re-learning. I've never owned a vehicle that needed to be "taught" .

I'll look that up and see if it helps

As of right now it is still throwing the p1335 code for cpk ref. I don't think it is an issue with the sensor or sub-harness. I need to find a wiring diagram that shows where to test at the ecu connector. I already know which pin on the harness to test.

I'm afraid I somehow damaged the ecu by doing all of the original work without unhooking the battery. I was disconnecting and connecting a few sensors while installing the power steering pump and y-pipe.

Any help with the ecu connector would be great!

 

Okay I think I found what I need. On EC 598 it shows Pin2 @ sensor - - - -Pin 3 at harness - - - - Pins 65 and 75 @ ecu connector F48.

 

Okay so now the car is fixed. Most of the problem was actually caused by me so it was very educational in a very unenjoyable way

The first code that came up was P335 which corresponds to the sensor on the side of the motor that senses the flywheel.

I assumed there was only one sensor and then went about "diagnosing" the ref sensor. I misdiagnosed it as a short to ground in the sub-harness and then proceeded to make a new one.

The problem wasn't fixed and I was frustrated. I then realize that the code I got was for the other sensor and promptly found a loose connector. To this point the car wouldn't start. After pushing it on the car hard started and ran terribly.

I then had a code for the cpk ref which is the one on the front of the engine. I then went about "diagnosing" it and decided to put the harness back to original and get rid of the replacement I had made.

I still had a code after this and thought it might be a short to ground in the main harness. I then find the wiring diagram and learn how to read it. I check the main harness and find it is fine.

Now I'm thinking ECU

I decide to plug everything back in except the sensor and check from the ECU to the sensor. For some reason the ref wire is leading to the ground terminal on the sensor!!! I then check where I had originally hacked into the harness and find that when I repaired it I had switched the wires. I then fix that and plug the sensor back in and the car starts and runs great.

Oh well, it's been a long time since I screwed up this bad on a car. Electrical diagnosis has always been my weak spot with cars so this was very educational for me.

This all transpired over the course of a week working on the car in my spare time in the Florida heat.