420A Car dying randomly, advice appreciated.

[midniteblack]

So here's the deal. When I bought my car about 3 years ago I had a problem with my car dying on me a few times while driving. I would still have power to all of my accessories and the car would eventually start back up and be fine. At the time I had an Intermittent loss of Camshaft Position Sensor or Crankshaft Position Sensor code.

I haven't had this problem at all with my car again till about a few weeks ago after I changed my head gasket(new plugs and wires were installed) and timing belt on my car. After I did my HG I have been having this problem with my car dying on me about every day. I checked my codes again and this time it was giving me a po340 (camshaft position sensor a- bank 1 circuit malfunction). I checked the harness with an ohm meter and it checked out ok but that obviously doesn't really mean it is. I changed the cam sensor and checked the codes again and now i'm back at the p1391(manufacturer control ignition system or misfire) code.

My guess is that somewhere in the harness there is a weak wire that I agitated by moving it around when I did my HG. I was just wondering if there is anything else I should look for or if you guys think it's probably just a wire in the harness? Thanks in advance guys!

 

[gofer]

Sometimes the connector itself can be cracked causing a intermittent connection between the CAS/CPS and the ECU. You should also test that the volt is available at the harness side of things and not just replacing the sensor. After coming up the results with the below checks post up what you find so we can fix your problem.

CAS Testing:

1. Disconnect the sensor and measure on the engine harness side with the key in the "ON" position.
   • BLK (Pin 1) - Ground (0 ohms to ground)
   • BLU/RED (Pin 2) - 4.8v to 5.2v
   • RED (Pin 3) - 12v
2. If everything checks good with a multimeter plug the CAS connector back in and check voltages with the engine cranking by stabbing through the wire insulation.
   • BLU/RED (Pin 2) - 0.4v to 3.0v (If your reading 0v while cranking then the CAS is dead)

CPS Testing:

1. Disconnect the sensor and measure on the engine harness side with the key in the "ON" position.
   • BLK (Pin 1) - Ground (0 ohms to ground)
   • BLU/WHT (Pin 2) - 4.8v to 5.2v
   • RED (Pin 3) - 12v
2. If everything checks good with a multimeter plug the CAS connector back in and check voltages with the engine cranking by stabbing through the wire insulation.
   • BLU/WHT (Pin 2) - 0.4v to 4.0v (If your reading 0v while cranking then the CPS is dead)

 

[midniteblack]

I did check the voltage on the harness for the cam sensor and the numbers were where they should be. I'll check the crank sensor and see what I come up with. Having the ECU give me the cam sensor circuit failure code leads me to believe it has to be the cam sensor harness somewhere. Is there still a possibility it's the crank sensor or harness though even with it giving me that code?

 

[Silvertune]

Have you tried a new CAS? If the wheel itself is dirty or bent or even just a little bit loose (and subject to vibration) you may still get good readings when you test it but upon real use it'll malfunction.

 

[midniteblack]

Have you tried a new CAS? If the wheel itself is dirty or bent or even just a little bit loose (and subject to vibration) you may still get good readings when you test it but upon real use it'll malfunction.

I did install a used CAS a couple years ago and although the CEL never went away the dying problem never really occurred again until after I did my head gasket.

I have been noticing a trend with my car dying though. It will die on me most of the time when I go to drive my car in the beginning of the day and typically within the first 10-15 minutes of running the car. Then after a while of driving my car I can feel pretty confident it won't die on me. Any ideas of why this may be? Maybe something to do with the resistance in the wires changing with the heat of the egr tube? I'm kinda stumped.