My apology for not writing down the code but the description was a rather ambiguous Crank/Cam Sensor code and didn't designate one over the other.
Situation: I have driven my 1.6/Manual 2000 Protégé very infrequently since retiring and the pandemic, averaging 1k-2k miles per year. Most of those drives have been in the 5-10 mile range. I went to a car show in the cool (60degrees) morning some 40 miles away without issue. On the warmer (80-85 degrees) return trip there was a LOT of 'stop and go' traffic on the freeway. Abruptly the car lost a lot of the ability to accelerate and took significant throttle and as best I can describe 'bucked" often. The idle was erratic (but not all the time) and at least once the car stalled.
Attempts to fix: I got the car towed home and scanned the codes (again my apology for not writing it down) finding the undefined Crank/Cam sensor deemed faulty. Frustrating because which one Cam or Crank??? A number of hours later it started without issue and ran well. Regardless I check the cam sensor for anything obvious (loose in housing, oozing anything internal, clean connection at the wires etc.). I did likewise with the crank sensor. I clean a small amount of rust from the crank sensor tip and set it to the minimum clearance (I believe .010) with a brass feeler gage. Lastly because months before I had a 'cranked but no start' situation that resolved by jiggling the main ground cluster I thoroughly cleaned that whole grouping of grounds including the attachment plate to the inner fender. For nearly 6 months now I have driven the Protégé without incident..., but I have only driven it roughly 5 miles each time. If I have had need to drive further I just take the wife's car as a precaution.
Questions:
1. How prevalent is the Cam or Crank Sensor to go bad in these BJ /1.6 cars? Are grounds part of the way they generate a signal?
2. If there is a SIGNIFICANT history of failure with the sensors which one of the two is it normally?
I'm not adverse to replacing parts that will provide results but the "one time" occurrence of the problem leaves me to wonder if the problem was grounds (yes/no?). As it is I now drive about 500 miles a year and randomly replacing parts does not look like it will bring a good return on investment for a retired guy. So, I'm trying to gather more information rather than taking a shot gun approach and replacing parts $$$ randomly. I would appreciate any useful input.
Situation: I have driven my 1.6/Manual 2000 Protégé very infrequently since retiring and the pandemic, averaging 1k-2k miles per year. Most of those drives have been in the 5-10 mile range. I went to a car show in the cool (60degrees) morning some 40 miles away without issue. On the warmer (80-85 degrees) return trip there was a LOT of 'stop and go' traffic on the freeway. Abruptly the car lost a lot of the ability to accelerate and took significant throttle and as best I can describe 'bucked" often. The idle was erratic (but not all the time) and at least once the car stalled.
Attempts to fix: I got the car towed home and scanned the codes (again my apology for not writing it down) finding the undefined Crank/Cam sensor deemed faulty. Frustrating because which one Cam or Crank??? A number of hours later it started without issue and ran well. Regardless I check the cam sensor for anything obvious (loose in housing, oozing anything internal, clean connection at the wires etc.). I did likewise with the crank sensor. I clean a small amount of rust from the crank sensor tip and set it to the minimum clearance (I believe .010) with a brass feeler gage. Lastly because months before I had a 'cranked but no start' situation that resolved by jiggling the main ground cluster I thoroughly cleaned that whole grouping of grounds including the attachment plate to the inner fender. For nearly 6 months now I have driven the Protégé without incident..., but I have only driven it roughly 5 miles each time. If I have had need to drive further I just take the wife's car as a precaution.
Questions:
1. How prevalent is the Cam or Crank Sensor to go bad in these BJ /1.6 cars? Are grounds part of the way they generate a signal?
2. If there is a SIGNIFICANT history of failure with the sensors which one of the two is it normally?
I'm not adverse to replacing parts that will provide results but the "one time" occurrence of the problem leaves me to wonder if the problem was grounds (yes/no?). As it is I now drive about 500 miles a year and randomly replacing parts does not look like it will bring a good return on investment for a retired guy. So, I'm trying to gather more information rather than taking a shot gun approach and replacing parts $$$ randomly. I would appreciate any useful input.
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