I applaud your videos because this is what the customer of the viewer is going through they're in the street somewhere stranded not in a repair shop where they have all tools and batteries to change immediately this is the people who watch all channels about electronics
Well, this is my third comment on this video. I just watched it again this morning. Once again I say, these old SD videos r gold. Why? We have a lot of old cars out here in California that people still want fixed. This vid demonstrates the value of having a Vantage. That info on the old cars is very valuable. The use of a test light to verify if u have spark is a super cool way to do it so u can avoid a shock. Also, a bad sensor waking up intermittently is a lesson we can all benefit from. Looking at the wave form on the Vantage, adjusting the time base, what amplitude is all things that help us in our work. And great filming btw.
DEAR SIR: YOU ARE BORN TO BE THE TOP OF THE LINE INTO DIAGNOSTISTICS, YOU ARE REALLY BLESSED BY YOUR GOD. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY YOU MAKE LOGIC AGAIN AND AGAIN WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS OUR IDEAL. THANKS A MILLION I AM 75 YEARS OLD AND RETIRED. I DID WORK FOR FANCY DEALERS IN BEVERLY HILLS ALONG WITH A LOT OF MOVIE STARS WHO WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
To my faithful viewers. It is possible that there was a wiring or connection problem. But given my circumstances, I could not do further testing nor did I think it was necessary. I touched no other part of that circuit. Wires do not fix themselves, so I am not worried about an open or short. (not to mention a short would have lit my test light during the bypass test) I do know that wiring problems can do similar types of things but the key is current flow, current flow once it starts is what keeps it together. Stop the current flow and the circuit is dead again (open circuit type issue). We did not see that. Could it have been a loose PCM pin? I suppose but that can be easily fixed after a new crank sensor is installed if there is still an issue. I realize this is not ideal thinking but it is reality sometimes on these intermittent issues. How much more time do we spend doing testing? Is it always worth it? Here is another key component. How many loose PCM pins have your seen on Fords? Is the crank sensor wiring in a bad location and is known for issues? Experience will dictate your next move in these situations. In this case, I'm changing the crank sensor before going crazy on this circuit. Don't forget, I was in a gravel parking lot and COULD NOT get to the crank sensor. You guys are AWESOME in your responses to me. All of you that mentioned wiring and PCM pin problems have been watching to many of my videos! You are so right in asking me that! Thank you all so much
I have a 1997 Continental which once or twice a year has a no start problem. It has had two crank sensor harnesses and seven new sensors, by Lincoln mechanics and others. Best fix for 75 starts had been RTV of the connector and sensor. The problem seems to be the harness cable is supported too far away from the sensor, such that the harness is displaced when responding to road input shocks and vibrations. Love the car otherwise. I plan to better support the harness closer to the cable. This is verified by my pulling on a wire hook fashioned to fit under harness. A slight pull on harness restores the start OK. Hope this helps. I like your video; very informative.
I was told to check a floating ground system such as this with the A/C setting on my multi meter. I don't have a scope and not sure I can justify purchasing one, but there are other ways to test than using a scope. It does help to have a Mitchell diagram though, these are the best wiring diagrams I have ever seen !
Dear Mr. Danner, Thank you indeed for your lovely videos. One note over the crank sensor is that maybe sometime a dirt stuck on the sensor or the plate that runs through it that might cause an unjustifiable no start, so an air pressure around the crank sensor might dissolve the dirt , just FYI, I love your videos.
Paul your videos are the best on TH-cam. I use your techniques all the time at my garage. I really wish you could do some videos on European common rail diesels
Hi from Lithuania, love wach all the videos ,very good step by step explaining showing all the measurements been taken so it makes really easier to understand all the process,good teaching skills!!!
I recently started watching and i love your training. You are easy for me to understand. I just ordered your book and i am gonna use it a lot i am sure. Thanks and keep up the great work.
@@ScannerDanneryou have a book😮? I'm really happy I found your channel! Not surprising the soldering iron can make it work, though that's kinda risky, that soldering iron puts a practically little to not voltage, but could sink a lot of current kinda like an AC stick welder, I'm pretty sure it's the gun type iron love my vintage 100watt iron. So as for as for a signal generator, I could probably craft something up that's current limited in the micro amp range which is still probably more current than the VR senor is producing, but should still be enough. One problem I see is the output impedance of the "signal generator tester" and the muiltple difference's of input impedance of the circuit inside the ecu that process the output of the VR, and the frequency out put as it will very slightly between different manufacturers. That soldering iron puts out a frequency of 60hz which if I'm not mistaken is 1800rpm that can very alot though,depending on the diameter of the rotating assembly the VR is picking up on id say on a gas IC car engine 60hz could actually be in the higher 3000rpm range but there's a lot of variables, ah wait I could make it variable too.
Grounding one of the inputs to provide a reference might've let you trigger the sensor input with your test light. Since it's differential input, if you let one side float, it will just float along with the other input and differential input is zero. Ground on one side prevents it from floating and +12V shows up in the differential input.
It is annoying when the crank sensor starts working again. I've had an old -91 Euro Escort in three times for the same no start problem. I checked spark. No spark. And injection pulse, no injection pulse. And then when taking out the scope and connecting it and cranking, don't you think the car starts. Of course it does. However, the last time it actually acted up when connected and I could call a crank sensor. Good work as usual Paul.
outstanding video and very informative. Don't worry about the ,people complaining about the length of your videos; they can watch the lucky part changers -
Good demonstration of the floating ground concept Paul. Thanks also for the info on the service engine soon light being used for a diagnostic for the crank signal. I will have to try that when my truck dies again, lol. Been having a intermittent no start condition after a hot soak and I have been unlucky to pinpoint it. I'm ready for next time though, I have a spark tester and my fuel pressure gauge in the back, lol. As usual, always good stuff Paul.
Wonder if you can use a soldering gun and place it near the crank sensor to induct a 60 htz signal into the harness. That may produce a spark. Works on HEI modules.
Paul at 23:56 you had your leads connected to Ch1 and Ch3, you were missing the com connection, that is why you could not see the signal on the screen, I cant think in a quick and dirty way to check this vrs sensor with just our normal 12vdc stuff... but I guess If you Connect a wire between the two lead wires and make a coil and pass side by side a magneto maybe, you could simulate the signal... I don't work on cars every day, If you could try it one day maybe will work!
haha, nice catch! I need to go back and watch that part. That was very dumb on my part :) This VRS bypass test works with the test light on all other designs but this floating ground type. I have some other videos where I show it. One in particular that comes to mind is on a Saturn no start that I brought my son Beau with me in the field to troubleshoot.
Great vids .While searching for High/Low can scope samples on the net i found your great work.Spent a couple of hours now watching.I have also not given up on using a test light as well as using the other very low current testing devices.It appears that when you reconnected up the vantage after trying to induce switching in the crank sensor wires with your test light that your test leads ended up in Ch 1 and 3/4 instead of Common and Ch1.Would explain the no pattern on the Vantage .And you were able to load the crank sensor circuit up so the leads must have had good contact up to that point. Thanks for sharing
+ScannerDanner Thanks for the reply, It could also just have been the camera angle that made the leads look too far to the right .I was still watching your vids at midnight last night, great to see and a good stimulator for the Grey matter .With being so busy daily in the w/shop getting the backlog of work out the doors I tend to diagnosing the quickest way I can plus using past experience but i need to make the time to follow up with the scope tests. Do your cars live near the coast seeing the corrosion under the hood. It is great to see you spending the time showing the electrical testing of what you probably already know was faulty before you got the test gear out.
Nice vid Danner i liked very much the whole begining to end format and thought progress explanation, for dialog purposes i noticed you were checking for voltage at the inj and coil pack in my diag process i wouldve bypassed those steps knowing that i have no rpm showing up on my rpm one thing i would like to add to the rpm pid when using it for ckp check is to allow more than 5 secounds and give the scanner time to display rpm been bit by that once or twice
Couldn't it have been a bad wire or connection and somehow you disturbed the wiring harness enough to 'fix' it? Would a wiggle test on the wiring harness have helped to see if the crank sensor dropped out or not while it was running? Also, would tapping on the sensor while it was running to see if it dropped out at all have been a good test to help conclude that the sensor was bad as a posed to a bad wire or connection somewhere? Just spitballing some ideas... Thanks for another great video.
After back probing that pcm connector and now seeing it starting and running , besides the crank sensor, I would be inclined to remove that 104 pin connector and see if moisture got in and oxidation is starting. Maybe some electrical contact cleaner , and re-seating the pcm connector a few times ?(Even though after losing keep alive memory might need to clean a dirty throttle body or it might not want to idle)
Using differential signaling is quite common for small signals - when you are dealing with signals on the millivolt scale, you do not want all the noise from body or common ground in your measurements. What does Ford say about the expected magnitude on that signal? As for why bypass may have caused the sensor to come back to life and why the signal is weak, I have at least three theories: 1- wiggled a bad connection back into workable state as many have already said... could have been a short but it could have been an open too - you get no signal out of a floating sensor if either lead is not connected since there is no path for current flow 2- there was short (or open) in the computer or the wiring and bypass tests blew enough of it out for the crank signal to come through 3- the magnet in the crank sensor lost its magnetization (overheated engine?) and the probing sent enough current through the pick-up coil to magnetize metal around it - in this case, I would expect the sensor to die again next time it warms up enough to lose that weak magnetization or possibly from just fading over time
Watching some of these old vids. Love the Vantage. It’s small and light and starts right up. And u can record on it too. I guess u would say it has a buffer.
With Ford computer, I see a lot of computer pin moisture and not good contact, might be engine running after Scanner Danner removed cover and wiggle wiring harness. Good clip for idea where to start with, thanks Scanner Danner.
thanks for sharing Paul, if you would see a weak signal on the scope of sign wave, how many voltage minimum are you inspecting to see on this type of crank sensor, do you measure average or peak to peak. thank you very much I always waiting for your next video.
And this is why we teach what we teach on our channels scanner we have no lift to lift the car so we are limited to what we have and what the customer who is stranded
would you also want to not reverse polarity on a scope since some dont protected ground, a signal generator off some scopes could possibly be used for a trigger test
Instead of a test light with always moves I never use it only a fluke meter because that ground leads stays put and I only move the positive it avoids wires coming off ground
Would a signal generator have been useful in helping with this kind of diagnostics.? If you were to introduce a sinewave into the computer would the car have started? Would it damage the pcm?
If the CEL stays ON, when cranking then no signal from the CKP (crank). Good test at 5:20, and 32:20. BTW, I own a Ford (Contour). Moisture on the connector can short out or weaken the CKP signal. WD40 to the rescue! The CKP signal *needs* to be strong (high amplitude sine wave) or else the ECM does diddly.
Paul , not sure if this has bee asked or answered yet but couldn't you have bridged your shielded Vantage /Verus Snap-on wires (Black and Yellow ) with the wires already back probing the ECU pins and then tapped your test light set on positive onto the other spare black connector ( the one you'd normally fit into the scopes) ? This way both wires would get the pulse and the ECU would then register them as an Accurate (in terms of Equal) so plausible signal ? Or with doing this would that still not work on these floating grounds ? Tim :)
I think to be able to inject pulse on one of the terminal on floating ground crank sensor was to place a 47 microfarad capacitor on one of the wire pin. Then probing your tester that was connected to +bat terminal. The capacitor will act as secondary path of ground crank sensor wire. Probably reseating first the ecu connector might solve the problem earlier.
Regarding the floating ground probing and advice a series condenser to ground... I forgot to mention that a resistor probably 10k ohms must be connected in parallel to the condenser as discharge path. For faster repetition of probing the other wire crank sensor..... I'm an electronic enthusiast and try learning troubleshooting EFI engine.. The above advice was only an idea and I hope will work for you. And your right . I watched some of your awesome videos and mixed up with my analysis and mentioned reseating the ecu connector. LOL.
Does the Pico automotive scope have an arbitrary waveform generator output? My non automotive pico does it can easily generate a sine wave. I'm sure it would have no problem fooling the computer. Never thought of it till now next time I have a floating ground VRS i'll try it out.
ScannerDanner Wow even Picos entry level 2000 series scopes have one kind of silly they removed it on the automotive line. It's a really cool function never looked at it before. You can capture a known good crank waveform import it into the AWG and play it back to the PCM sync notch and all. You can also draw it manually or specify a generic wave sine at x hertz, square at x hertz, etc. Guess that's one of the reasons the Pico auto has its own software to remove the AWG function.
Every video about diagnosing sensors makes me miss my 1980 Ford Fairmont with it's carbureted I-6 engine, I could fix anything on that thing without much more than common hand-tools.
Hi great video you could try an ohm meter across the pins,using the same technique. As the ohm meter does have a small amount of voltage , might be enough to fool the ecm , this is a test we use , to test electronic circuits,
The ohm meter produces a steady DC signal, not an sign wave like the crank sensor would. The voltage of the ohm meter would also be very very low (like a few mV depending on your meter), not the 5V the ECM was looking for. So I don't think an ohm meter would help here.
Pet Rock's Garage actually the ECM only typically needs to "see" around 500mv to trigger the AD converter. (to convert to AC sign wave to a digital square wave) This was not a 5v type of sensor.
forget the helper, why don't you have a bumper switch with all the hi tech gadgets you got?..i love the videos.very in depth and to the point. thanks for the help. you got me out of a bind with my Pontiac.i'm now hoping you could help me with my old ford as well..i'll soon see here..
Is there a reason why you are not using a power probe. you can power any circuit from the test light. and if u use the power probe (the hook) you can read resistance and amp on the display.
Outstanding video, we appreciate the editing you do, though I imagine it's pretty time consuming! Do you find that VRS sensors fail by giving a weaker and weaker signal or just stop working completely? Thanks.
It certainly is. I've had to drop my 20 different garages I work for down to 2 or 3. I just need enough case studies now to keep this going. It takes so much time to do this. Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily say I see a pattern here. I have seen them weak, I have seen them just simply fail.
ScannerDanner I agree,thanks for the time you take in presenting your videos,I also appreciate it,I am also a premium subscriber and those videos are excellent and very informative I can most certainly recommend your channel
why didnt you worry at all about excessive resistance in those 2 wires? because if you got a signal at the pcm it could have been weak down at the sensor connector causing the no spark but im just guessing so i dont know
Do you think the reason you didn't get a signal by putting 12V to the floating ground signal wire was because you didn't complete the circuit by connecting battery negative to the other wire? If the ground is truly floating, there was no way for power to make its way through the test light back to the battery.... Were you concerned about applying 12V to both sides of the circuit? Last week in the garage I took a broken headlamp that used three 1.4V batteries in series, and soldered an inline fuse and a 5000 ohm resistor in series to one of the two wires that comes from the salvaged battery case. It gave me a simple, extremely limited current 4.2V signal generator that should work well for a case like this with a floating ground. I would briefly touch the two leads to the two signal wires leading back to the PCM. If I complete the circuit I get a 4.2V square wave signal, and the extra resistance of the line should protect anything downstream. As you know those signal wires lead to a second big resistor inside the PCM, but I'm not too concerned if there is a voltage drop between the two resistors since I'm really just looking for scan tool evidence the signal is being received. You and many others say that 12V through a test light is safe, but with limited practical experience I was looking for something generally useful but a little lower in voltage.
I've tried all different way to trigger these floating ground VR sensors with no luck. I like the way you are thinking though. Somethings to try the next time. Thanks brother
Hey Paul, do nowadays car still use the vrs ? the difference between the vrs and hall effect sensor are one have two wires and the other have three wires? right
Go here scannerdanner.com/scannerdanner-premium/chapter-2-switch-inputs/chapter-2-switch-inputs-full/221-chapter-2-switch-inputs-pages-1-7.html There is a 14 day free trial to subscribe. Thank you!
I am wanting to do Neg. ground pulse ! There was one that I was intrested in purchasing but there tech support said it was not safe to use.. it could burnout the ICU-Ignitor...can you please give me advice on which one to buy. Do you have a link? Thank you.
Great video! Doesn't computer know that the starter is active but it is not getting the crank signal? Shouldn't it immediately flag it in the pending or stored code? I would think this would be flagged as immediate code rather than multi-trip detection. I was hoping that you were going to verify that there were no other pending codes. Do you have any video where disconnecting crank sensor immediately triggers the corresponding check engine light?
It depends on the year of the car and the design of the system on whether or not you will see a crank sensor fault code with a faulty crank sensor. Here are some examples of when you will have no code: The system only uses the crank sensor (no cam sensor) The system uses a synthesized cam signal (GM ecotech engine) The system is stupid :) Like this car. Seriously, I do not have an answer for you as to why I had no code. I know someone else cleared the codes, so it may have had one. It does have a cam sensor, so you would think the PCM would flag the fault right away. Just did a 2007 Ford F-150 yesterday with a faulty crank sensor with no code and this system uses 2 different cam sensors. Like I said, the system is stupid. I don't get hung up on it. It is what it is.
I agree with you. It would be trivial for the ECM programmer to put the code out P1901 which translates to "Hey dummy, I am not getting any crank signal, I have intentionally turned off the injectors too"!
Why would you shut the car off at 26:30 and take a chance on it not starting again . Why didn't you move it to a solid ground so you could get under it without being on gravel ? What does the crank sensor do ? If the sensor is going to leave you stranded why have the sensor in the first place ? Why not bypass the sensor and only use it to test things if the car doesn't start . When the sensor is causing the problem it seem stupid to hove it connected all the time .
Hey Paul, First off, thanks for these videos. I dont get to wrench as much as I'd like to so these keep me sharp. One question though, I see you have a Verus (I have the Verus Pro) and a Vantage with you. Why do you still use the Vantage? It looks like all the component tests are the same in the Verus. Or is there a simplicity that the Vantage offers that I am missing? Thanks and keep up the great work!
I always heard standard test lights are not computer safe. But I see you are using it to check the fuel injector outputs and varioius inputs/outputs of the PCM/ECM. Is this good practice? or is it better to use a computer safe logic probe/tester?
autoparts321 You have to know the system your testing. Some testing is ok other testing will fry electronics. If your not 100% sure of system operation and the test you are doing then stick with computer safe testers. If you know why an incandescent test light won't fry something in a test you have planned then your already self-assured in what your doing and don't need to verify with anyone else.
Since it is a low current signal, could the 12 volts have sort of cleaned off the connections at the sensor plug or as u were pushing on the pins at the computer, that slight physical movement could have reestablished connection? Excellent teaching as usual!!!!
+Bill Rimmer thanks Bill. There was the possibility of a pin issue at the PCM but it wasn't that. I tested for the signal first BEFORE doing the bypass test. So if it was a pin contact issue, the voltage measurement itself would have fixed the issue. You'll have to take my word on it, that a new crank sensor was the fix.
Great video, although I thought variable reluctance sensors operate on AC voltage not the DC you used from B+. What approach would you have taken if this was a Hall effect sensor instead? Thanks.
2000 Mazda Miata, loses rpm at high rpm in load ( while driving). spark is good, fuel is also good but looses injector pulse at like 5-7k rpm and engine seems to have low power, has exhaust leak and a whine which might indicate clogged exhaust and at one point it showed MAF low input and I saw that a blockage would call up a MAF code. my question is will a bad/clogged catalytic converter and muffler cause injection pulse to go out? it feels like a rev limiter and does it about 2 times and then continues to go up and does it maybe once, very inconsistent.
Nice job, shows you that you don't really need to be an expert on a particular car to troubleshoot it. When you say that test works for Ford, do you know how far back that would apply (i.e. year)? I am wondering if this would work on something like a 1994 with EEC-IV? If not sure, would I simply just pull the wiring harness off the distributor to see (crank sensor is inside my disty)?
Hi Paul just a couple of comments, I believe on the wasted spark you have 2 switching leads at the coil, I might have checked both of these in case you had one duff coil, The connections on the crank sensor, I might have tried an ohm test to make sure your connections were ok, and possibly an open circuit sensor, I know how much you like ohms tests :-) Fred UK.
hi I have a issue with a 03 s10 4.3 the truck went dead on the road... I checked and there is no spark and no fuel pressure, the fuses and relays look good .. I hope you can reply with any ideas thank you
Hi Paul I have been watching a lot of your vids which to me an oldtimer are great!. You are an excellent teacher. Unfortunately for me I am in the uk and as a result have a european vehicle. What I would like to suggest if its possible is if you could outline for a simpleton. Is what the normal sequence of events that leads to a normal starting /running situation. then to have a series if vids saying what would happen if a certain input failed at a certain point. Or a sensor died or malfunctioned at certain point how and why these inputs/sensor malfunctions have effects on others and the effect on others throughout the engine. You may have detailed this in your book I dont know but I am at the point of asking where can I buy it. Let me know if its possible to produce the suggestions above as it would be really helpful. I am a retired nurse and we always started our training with normal functioning before moving onto abnormal. I am aware that not all systems are designed the same but they maybe similar. with slight deviation from manufacturer to manufacturer. I have been a part-time petrolhead and am pleased to be able focus more on the electronic controls side in my retirement. The mechanical side is not a problem to me at all. but I am personally a keen student and very willing to learn. whatever I have already learned such a lot from you so thanks very much for that. many many thanks Colin Lyne
Thanks Colin! I have exactly what you're looking for on ScannerDanner Premium. There is a 14 day free trial. If you subscribe, then immediately cancel, you'll still get the full 14 days and you will not be charged. Check out the material, a suggestion is to start with my chapter 1 playlist. You do not need my book to follow along. Or maybe start with chapters 21 and 22 (ignition inputs and no start no spark diagnosis). Let me know what you think okay?
Hi Paul, great video! what about the possibility of a bad connection somewhere between the sensor and the ECM? That might arc over when you put 12v to the sensor establishing a connection.
that is always a possibility, but I was comfortable calling the crank sensor. My ability to test the wiring further in the parking lot where the car was, was not possible so I made the call. I hate not being 100% but I'll take 99% in this case.
Hi Paul, do you think the bypass test may not have worked because the sensor was still plugged in? Could the voltage have went down to the sensor than back on the other wire? The computer would have seen no difference in potential across the two wires since electrically they would be the same point.
ScannerDanner Thanks. The only reason I think this might be the case is for that sensor to generate its own ac sine wave like that, the crank must be spinning a permanent magnet and those two wires are attached to a coil of wire that the magnetic field is cutting across to generate the signal. When it's unplugged you might have to ground one pin and pulse the 12v like you were doing so the circuit can see a potential difference, as it's a " floating ground". Hope that makes sense. Thanks for everything you do.
Teacher Paul Danner .. by viewing Wiring Diagram I knew this Crank Sensor is kind of Variable Reluctance Sensor. In my Country (except dealers, even few) use Wiring Diagrams for Diagnosis/Repair. At local none of Technicians using Wiring Diagrams and also not Oscilloscopes/Waveforms often to reach the real fault. But they are working and earning quite cool. I need your suggestion how to deal these Cars without Wiring Diagrams? My friend who worked 2 years at a Shop, he worked only Electrical works. He said we just follow wiring colors.
+ScannerDanner. When testing for power in a connection i connect the test light to Battery Negative and probe the connection, if test light lights up. i have power ? what about testing the negative(control) and signal wire ? i hook up test light to Battery positive and crank the vehicle.. if test light flickers means i do have control? Does that apply to any connection that pulses? such as injectors and crankshaft
Correct me if I'm wrong... Shouldn't the injector be connected???? If it's a ground side controled injector, You can't see the grounding without the 12v applied to the injector. Under these circumstances, I'd connect a noid lamp or a test bulb across the injector connector to make a quick injector pulse width test.
Sure you can, with the test light connected to battery positive like I did in the video. The injector does not need to be connected to check for pulse.
i have that problem with my 96 grand marquis and found when doing a wiggle test of the wires at the main plugs at pcm and main plugs it started and i was able to recreate the problem by wiggleing the wires
i have noticed you never use the battery negative to put your test light on but always on the engine or body frame.... is that a bad idea to do that on the negative battery pole ?
When I'm doing a spark test with a test light I never go to battery negative as I don't really need to and I'd like to keep any chance of arcing away from the battery. Other times I use battery negative whenever possible
Great video! I have a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis with similar problems. I went to try your check engine light trick while turning the engine over, but on my car the whole digital dash goes dark while cranking the engine, including the check engine light. Any tips or tricks? Thank you!
Can't use that test is all. Like I said it is a quick test only. You'll need to verify what you are missing. (Spark, fuel, compression) th-cam.com/video/S0Fs2i-XBKI/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/q40CPwcPlOE/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/SUxagOAVS5M/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/z5DpsRwHTfo/w-d-xo.html These videos will help you even though none of them are on a Ford. It is the same approach.
Thank you, I have verified I do not have spark but I am getting fuel pressure to the rails so I am going to try and check the crank sensor next. I appreciate your help and great videos!
Hey I have a Mazda rx 8. I lost the key and was trying to get it replaced but they couldnt program it because it couldn't read the ecu. I thought of maybe replacing the ecu. What are your thoughts?
Excellent test, also it seems that 90% of the vehicles you work on are American made? Does that mean there are built cheaper than foreign cars ? Thanks for the video.
I was wondering if you know where to find a crankshaft sensor on a 1994 corvette. No one seems to know. I have asked automotive shops and parts stores. They say its on lower right side of engine block. I even removed the starter and its not there. One vette owner told me it may be behind the timing chain cover. Any help would be great! Thanks
I am directing all help requests to my forum. Sign up (it's free) and create a new post. Be sure to add a name under "alias" as this is the name that will appear in the post. Here is the link to the forum. www.scannerdanner.com/ForumRetrieve.aspx?ForumID=3226
I did a wiring test and I'm getting no power or continuity from it.... It goes to the engine fuse box before the BCM. I'm getting good voltage from the PCM.... I just want to put the sensor in... I think the sensor show's signs of weakness or is it possible? It's reading below 2 ohms? My meter fluctuated from 1 and 2, but then again maybe it's fine. Anyway I am certain no continuity in the wire.... Can you help please?
The signal you are referring to as floating ground is a differential signal. Floating is a good way to describe the signal regardless. But research it and how the signal is interpreted by the computer will become clear. Also this signal is immune to noise as any noise imposed on the signal is ignored as it is not differential.
ScannerDanner If i get time ill get some shots off a scope to explain it but what the computer is looking for is a difference. So say that both output wires are A-B. Whats happening it the computer is measuring the differential between the tow signals. If noise is introduced it will be present both wires and hence A and B will have the same noise imposed on the signal. As the computer is only looking for a difference it will be ignored as it is on both wires and no difference will occur. I hope that made sense if not ill send you some stuff on google plus so you get the idea.
Hi there, i have a 54 plate astra. I dont have any issues beside my car driving rough when the car with the spanner comes up, initially i thought that was a service symbol until i plugged into obd2 computer and came up as 'crankshaft sensor bank 1' isit a major issue to resolve?
great video paul, i asked you this once before, and you had told me something you had to download to get the COLORED schematics on MITCHELL? can you plz tell me what it was, i still cant get those diagrams in color.
Have the same prob with a 96. Notice when you turn on the key without starting it you heard the throttle body set itself? When there's a no start you won't hear that noise under the hood. Can be a bad ground. I'm gonna look at my problem and post back. Mines an intermittent no start also. Crank no start. Turn key on and I don't here the throttle body set itself. Wiggle test then you do and it starts. Can be a bad connection somewhere. Going to see if it has an eec pwr relay. When you put the crank sensor in have you had any more intermittent no starts? Did the crank sensor fix the problem? Don't know when key on sends signal to crank sensor then triggers throttle body ..fuel than spark. Thanks for the info.
+ScannerDanner I forget the name of it. But when you do a KOEO (key on engine off) it makes a noise in the engine compartment. Like something is resetting before it's ready to start. When you first did it you didn't hear it. But when the surprise start happened you heard that noise under the hood then it started. Did the crank sensor fix it?
+ScannerDanner it's ok. The noise I'm talking about is the electronics under the hood seems like an electronic sensor is setting itself. On your vid when it didn't start you heard no noise under the hood. Then on your vid when you turned the key you heard some electronic noise then it started right up like the ecc power relay worked and set a signal to the electronics under the hood. I'll watch the vid again and show you the points of vid I'm talking about. Thanks for the info. My 96 is an intermittent problem. I've been doing wiggle tests to try to make it happen and it hasn't yet. I told my neighbor to test drive it and I swapped the eec power relay with the horn relay. Seems the eec relay was getting hot.
Those relays do get hot man and it's normal. Yeah, if you could give me a time of those two events, that would really help. Thanks! BTW, intermittent crank sensor failures are common
if im getting a signal to the coil but no spark from my plugs, could this mean my crank position sensor is possibly the culprit? already changed new dizzy, checked relay, and im still not getting spark
Hi can you help me with wiring diagram or a link to get it for Chevy equinox 2005 having a no spark issue? I need diagram of the coil pack and crank shaft diagram. Thanks
I applaud your videos because this is what the customer of the viewer is going through they're in the street somewhere stranded not in a repair shop where they have all tools and batteries to change immediately this is the people who watch all channels about electronics
Well, this is my third comment on this video. I just watched it again this morning. Once again I say, these old SD videos r gold. Why? We have a lot of old cars out here in California that people still want fixed. This vid demonstrates the value of having a Vantage. That info on the old cars is very valuable. The use of a test light to verify if u have spark is a super cool way to do it so u can avoid a shock. Also, a bad sensor waking up intermittently is a lesson we can all benefit from. Looking at the wave form on the Vantage, adjusting the time base, what amplitude is all things that help us in our work. And great filming btw.
DEAR SIR: YOU ARE BORN TO BE THE TOP OF THE LINE INTO DIAGNOSTISTICS, YOU ARE REALLY BLESSED BY YOUR GOD. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY YOU MAKE LOGIC AGAIN AND AGAIN
WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS OUR IDEAL. THANKS A MILLION
I AM 75 YEARS OLD AND RETIRED. I DID WORK FOR FANCY DEALERS IN BEVERLY HILLS ALONG WITH A LOT OF MOVIE STARS WHO WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
Thank you my friend. I am blessed indeed to have this platform and may I glorify Him all the more with it, as the time approaches.
I just passed my L1 test today. Thank you Paul for your video lectures and cases studies, it really helped me a lot!
Congratulations Doy:)
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing my friend
To my faithful viewers.
It is possible that there was a wiring or connection problem. But given my circumstances, I could not do further testing nor did I think it was necessary. I touched no other part of that circuit. Wires do not fix themselves, so I am not worried about an open or short. (not to mention a short would have lit my test light during the bypass test) I do know that wiring problems can do similar types of things but the key is current flow, current flow once it starts is what keeps it together. Stop the current flow and the circuit is dead again (open circuit type issue). We did not see that. Could it have been a loose PCM pin? I suppose but that can be easily fixed after a new crank sensor is installed if there is still an issue. I realize this is not ideal thinking but it is reality sometimes on these intermittent issues. How much more time do we spend doing testing? Is it always worth it? Here is another key component. How many loose PCM pins have your seen on Fords? Is the crank sensor wiring in a bad location and is known for issues? Experience will dictate your next move in these situations. In this case, I'm changing the crank sensor before going crazy on this circuit. Don't forget, I was in a gravel parking lot and COULD NOT get to the crank sensor.
You guys are AWESOME in your responses to me. All of you that mentioned wiring and PCM pin problems have been watching to many of my videos! You are so right in asking me that! Thank you all so much
I have a 1997 Continental which once or twice a year has a no start problem. It has had two crank sensor harnesses and seven new sensors, by Lincoln mechanics and others. Best fix for 75 starts had been RTV of the connector and sensor. The problem seems to be the harness cable is supported too far away from the sensor, such that the harness is displaced when responding to road input shocks and vibrations. Love the car otherwise. I plan to better support the harness closer to the cable. This is verified by my pulling on a wire hook fashioned to fit under harness. A slight pull on harness restores the start OK. Hope this helps. I like your video; very informative.
Thanks Paul for showing us this. It never gets old. All cars are different and changing all the time.
I was told to check a floating ground system such as this with the A/C setting on my multi meter. I don't have a scope and not sure I can justify purchasing one, but there are other ways to test than using a scope. It does help to have a Mitchell diagram though, these are the best wiring diagrams I have ever seen !
Dear Mr. Danner, Thank you indeed for your lovely videos. One note over the crank sensor is that maybe sometime a dirt stuck on the sensor or the plate that runs through it that might cause an unjustifiable no start, so an air pressure around the crank sensor might dissolve the dirt , just FYI, I love your videos.
THANK YOU for your invitation Mr. Danner but I'm here in Los Angeles CA and I love your e-book.
I love these field videos. They are one of my favs. :)
Thorough, detailed, educational and professional.
Paul your videos are the best on TH-cam.
I use your techniques all the time at my garage.
I really wish you could do some videos on European common rail diesels
thanks lee fox! I will if I start seeing them. We have basically no diesel cars. A few but not many. Not enough for me to get my hands into them.
Shame but please keep your eye out
Hi from Lithuania, love wach all the videos ,very good step by step explaining showing all the measurements been taken so it makes really easier to understand all the process,good teaching skills!!!
Thanks so much! Greetings from the US
I recently started watching and i love your training. You are easy for me to understand. I just ordered your book and i am gonna use it a lot i am sure. Thanks and keep up the great work.
+AAMCOMARK thank you! email me through my website, send me your receipt and I'll give you a coupon for a free month of my premium channel
@@ScannerDanneryou have a book😮? I'm really happy I found your channel! Not surprising the soldering iron can make it work, though that's kinda risky, that soldering iron puts a practically little to not voltage, but could sink a lot of current kinda like an AC stick welder, I'm pretty sure it's the gun type iron love my vintage 100watt iron. So as for as for a signal generator, I could probably craft something up that's current limited in the micro amp range which is still probably more current than the VR senor is producing, but should still be enough. One problem I see is the output impedance of the "signal generator tester" and the muiltple difference's of input impedance of the circuit inside the ecu that process the output of the VR, and the frequency out put as it will very slightly between different manufacturers. That soldering iron puts out a frequency of 60hz which if I'm not mistaken is 1800rpm that can very alot though,depending on the diameter of the rotating assembly the VR is picking up on id say on a gas IC car engine 60hz could actually be in the higher 3000rpm range but there's a lot of variables, ah wait I could make it variable too.
i love the way you put your full effort into making this video. thanks soo much!
contagiousFX
Test light used as a defibrillator to bring a crank sensor back to life, nice!
buy this book best book ever.
Thanks Jose!
I just did a day ago. I am waiting for it.
Grounding one of the inputs to provide a reference might've let you trigger the sensor input with your test light. Since it's differential input, if you let one side float, it will just float along with the other input and differential input is zero. Ground on one side prevents it from floating and +12V shows up in the differential input.
Fantastic video, each day I watch your videos, I gain much Experience
How to trigger the Crank Position Sensor?, can you explain clearly
It is annoying when the crank sensor starts working again. I've had an old -91 Euro Escort in three times for the same no start problem. I checked spark. No spark. And injection pulse, no injection pulse. And then when taking out the scope and connecting it and cranking, don't you think the car starts. Of course it does. However, the last time it actually acted up when connected and I could call a crank sensor. Good work as usual Paul.
sucks doesn't it?
Well I certainly appreciate your editing efforts!
outstanding video and very informative. Don't worry about the ,people complaining about the length of your videos; they can watch the lucky part changers -
Glad you like them!
@Anthonytheredneck I do and classes on my website visit www.scannerdanner.com
Thank you!
Good demonstration of the floating ground concept Paul. Thanks also for the info on the service engine soon light being used for a diagnostic for the crank signal. I will have to try that when my truck dies again, lol. Been having a intermittent no start condition after a hot soak and I have been unlucky to pinpoint it. I'm ready for next time though, I have a spark tester and my fuel pressure gauge in the back, lol. As usual, always good stuff Paul.
Wonder if you can use a soldering gun and place it near the crank sensor to induct a 60 htz signal into the harness. That may produce a spark. Works on HEI modules.
Paul at 23:56 you had your leads connected to Ch1 and Ch3, you were missing the com connection, that is why you could not see the signal on the screen, I cant think in a quick and dirty way to check this vrs sensor with just our normal 12vdc stuff... but I guess If you Connect a wire between the two lead wires and make a coil and pass side by side a magneto maybe, you could simulate the signal... I don't work on cars every day, If you could try it one day maybe will work!
haha, nice catch! I need to go back and watch that part. That was very dumb on my part :)
This VRS bypass test works with the test light on all other designs but this floating ground type. I have some other videos where I show it. One in particular that comes to mind is on a Saturn no start that I brought my son Beau with me in the field to troubleshoot.
Great vids .While searching for High/Low can scope samples on the net i found your great work.Spent a couple of hours now watching.I have also not given up on using a test light as well as using the other very low current testing devices.It appears that when you reconnected up the vantage after trying to induce switching in the crank sensor wires with your test light that your test leads ended up in Ch 1 and 3/4 instead of Common and Ch1.Would explain the no pattern on the Vantage .And you were able to load the crank sensor circuit up so the leads must have had good contact up to that point. Thanks for sharing
+Auto Elec thanks man! I'll have to go back and look at this when I get time
+ScannerDanner Thanks for the reply, It could also just have been the camera angle that made the leads look too far to the right .I was still watching your vids at midnight last night, great to see and a good stimulator for the Grey matter .With being so busy daily in the w/shop getting the backlog of work out the doors I tend to diagnosing the quickest way I can plus using past experience but i need to make the time to follow up with the scope tests. Do your cars live near the coast seeing the corrosion under the hood. It is great to see you spending the time showing the electrical testing of what you probably already know was faulty before you got the test gear out.
Nice vid Danner i liked very much the whole begining to end format and thought progress explanation, for dialog purposes i noticed you were checking for voltage at the inj and coil pack in my diag process i wouldve bypassed those steps knowing that i have no rpm showing up on my rpm one thing i would like to add to the rpm pid when using it for ckp check is to allow more than 5 secounds and give the scanner time to display rpm been bit by that once or twice
Couldn't it have been a bad wire or connection and somehow you disturbed the wiring harness enough to 'fix' it? Would a wiggle test on the wiring harness have helped to see if the crank sensor dropped out or not while it was running? Also, would tapping on the sensor while it was running to see if it dropped out at all have been a good test to help conclude that the sensor was bad as a posed to a bad wire or connection somewhere? Just spitballing some ideas... Thanks for another great video.
for sure those are possibilities. But I could not get to the sensor to tap on it, nor was the wiring accessible from outside in the parking lot.
After back probing that pcm connector and now seeing it starting and running , besides the crank sensor, I would be inclined to remove that 104 pin connector and see if moisture got in and oxidation is starting. Maybe some electrical contact cleaner , and re-seating the pcm connector a few times ?(Even though after losing keep alive memory might need to clean a dirty throttle body or it might not want to idle)
Using differential signaling is quite common for small signals - when you are dealing with signals on the millivolt scale, you do not want all the noise from body or common ground in your measurements.
What does Ford say about the expected magnitude on that signal?
As for why bypass may have caused the sensor to come back to life and why the signal is weak, I have at least three theories:
1- wiggled a bad connection back into workable state as many have already said... could have been a short but it could have been an open too - you get no signal out of a floating sensor if either lead is not connected since there is no path for current flow
2- there was short (or open) in the computer or the wiring and bypass tests blew enough of it out for the crank signal to come through
3- the magnet in the crank sensor lost its magnetization (overheated engine?) and the probing sent enough current through the pick-up coil to magnetize metal around it - in this case, I would expect the sensor to die again next time it warms up enough to lose that weak magnetization or possibly from just fading over time
I like your thought process for sure. Thanks for your contribution. It is well taken.
Use a magnet to trigger crank sensor screwdriver tip magnetic works really well.
Watching some of these old vids. Love the Vantage. It’s small and light and starts right up. And u can record on it too. I guess u would say it has a buffer.
With Ford computer, I see a lot of computer pin moisture and not good contact, might be engine running after Scanner Danner removed cover and wiggle wiring harness. Good clip for idea where to start with, thanks Scanner Danner.
thanks for sharing Paul, if you would see a weak signal on the scope of sign wave, how many voltage minimum are you inspecting to see on this type of crank sensor, do you measure average or peak to peak. thank you very much I always waiting for your next video.
I look for at least 500mv peak to peak.
And this is why we teach what we teach on our channels scanner we have no lift to lift the car so we are limited to what we have and what the customer who is stranded
would you also want to not reverse polarity on a scope since some dont protected ground, a signal generator off some scopes could possibly be used for a trigger test
Instead of a test light with always moves I never use it only a fluke meter because that ground leads stays put and I only move the positive it avoids wires coming off ground
Wow. Best video on explaining everything. Subscribed. Thanks
Would a signal generator have been useful in helping with this kind of diagnostics.? If you were to introduce a sinewave into the computer would the car have started? Would it damage the pcm?
It wouldn't have started but we would have gotten spark. It just would have been at the wrong time.
If the CEL stays ON, when cranking then no signal from the CKP (crank). Good test at 5:20, and 32:20. BTW, I own a Ford (Contour). Moisture on the connector can short out or weaken the CKP signal. WD40 to the rescue! The CKP signal *needs* to be strong (high amplitude sine wave) or else the ECM does diddly.
you are an amazing teacher !
Paul , not sure if this has bee asked or answered yet but couldn't you have bridged your shielded Vantage /Verus Snap-on wires (Black and Yellow ) with the wires already back probing the ECU pins and then tapped your test light set on positive onto the other spare black connector ( the one you'd normally fit into the scopes) ? This way both wires would get the pulse and the ECU would then register them as an Accurate (in terms of Equal) so plausible signal ? Or with doing this would that still not work on these floating grounds ? Tim :)
I think to be able to inject pulse on one of the terminal on floating ground crank sensor was to place a 47 microfarad capacitor on one of the wire pin. Then probing your tester that was connected to +bat terminal. The capacitor will act as secondary path of ground crank sensor wire.
Probably reseating first the ecu connector might solve the problem earlier.
that's a good tip thanks!
Oh and it wasn't the ecu connector, it was a bad crank sensor
Regarding the floating ground probing and advice a series condenser to ground... I forgot to mention that a resistor probably 10k ohms must be connected in parallel to the condenser as discharge path. For faster repetition of probing the other wire crank sensor..... I'm an electronic enthusiast and try learning troubleshooting EFI engine.. The above advice was only an idea and I hope will work for you.
And your right . I watched some of your awesome videos and mixed up with my analysis and mentioned reseating the ecu connector. LOL.
Does the Pico automotive scope have an arbitrary waveform generator output? My non automotive pico does it can easily generate a sine wave. I'm sure it would have no problem fooling the computer.
Never thought of it till now next time I have a floating ground VRS i'll try it out.
No it doesn't but that is a great thought!
ScannerDanner
Wow even Picos entry level 2000 series scopes have one kind of silly they removed it on the automotive line.
It's a really cool function never looked at it before. You can capture a known good crank waveform import it into the AWG and play it back to the PCM sync notch and all. You can also draw it manually or specify a generic wave sine at x hertz, square at x hertz, etc.
Guess that's one of the reasons the Pico auto has its own software to remove the AWG function.
I laughed my heart out when the car started 😂
Every video about diagnosing sensors makes me miss my 1980 Ford Fairmont with it's carbureted I-6 engine, I could fix anything on that thing without much more than common hand-tools.
Hi
great video
you could try an ohm meter across the pins,using the same technique. As the ohm meter does have a small amount of voltage , might be enough to fool the ecm , this is a test we use , to test electronic circuits,
The ohm meter produces a steady DC signal, not an sign wave like the crank sensor would. The voltage of the ohm meter would also be very very low (like a few mV depending on your meter), not the 5V the ECM was looking for. So I don't think an ohm meter would help here.
I have being using this method for years, for testing inputs on processors, that need feedback
yes it is a mV dc, and the signal would be mV ac range.
I think the voltage would be too low on the ohms scales. Maybe the diode scale would have worked? I should have tried that. Good tip!
Pet Rock's Garage
actually the ECM only typically needs to "see" around 500mv to trigger the AD converter. (to convert to AC sign wave to a digital square wave)
This was not a 5v type of sensor.
diode check would be good there is around 0.6V on these to turn on a transistor or diode,
Great video
my apologies if you have answered this before, but what is the diagnostic software you are using here?
Thanks
Wish you would do this to a 2005 sports Trac 4.0 l that I have not been able to crank in a while now
forget the helper, why don't you have a bumper switch with all the hi tech gadgets you got?..i love the videos.very in depth and to the point. thanks for the help. you got me out of a bind with my Pontiac.i'm now hoping you could help me with my old ford as well..i'll soon see here..
Thanks Mike
Is there a reason why you are not using a power probe. you can power any circuit from the test light. and if u use the power probe (the hook) you can read resistance and amp on the display.
Outstanding video, we appreciate the editing you do, though I imagine it's pretty time consuming! Do you find that VRS sensors fail by giving a weaker and weaker signal or just stop working completely? Thanks.
It certainly is. I've had to drop my 20 different garages I work for down to 2 or 3. I just need enough case studies now to keep this going. It takes so much time to do this. Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily say I see a pattern here. I have seen them weak, I have seen them just simply fail.
That's quite a commitment you've got to us lot then! I certainly appreciate it and I thank you.
ScannerDanner I agree,thanks for the time you take in presenting your videos,I also appreciate it,I am also a premium subscriber and those videos are excellent and very informative I can most certainly recommend your channel
Jonathan Dean
Thank you so much Jonathan!
I would like to know if the obd2 diagnostic code would indicate a faulty crankshaft position sensor ; a faulty computer ?
why didnt you worry at all about excessive resistance in those 2 wires? because if you got a signal at the pcm it could have been weak down at the sensor connector causing the no spark but im just guessing so i dont know
Do you think the reason you didn't get a signal by putting 12V to the floating ground signal wire was because you didn't complete the circuit by connecting battery negative to the other wire? If the ground is truly floating, there was no way for power to make its way through the test light back to the battery.... Were you concerned about applying 12V to both sides of the circuit? Last week in the garage I took a broken headlamp that used three 1.4V batteries in series, and soldered an inline fuse and a 5000 ohm resistor in series to one of the two wires that comes from the salvaged battery case. It gave me a simple, extremely limited current 4.2V signal generator that should work well for a case like this with a floating ground. I would briefly touch the two leads to the two signal wires leading back to the PCM. If I complete the circuit I get a 4.2V square wave signal, and the extra resistance of the line should protect anything downstream. As you know those signal wires lead to a second big resistor inside the PCM, but I'm not too concerned if there is a voltage drop between the two resistors since I'm really just looking for scan tool evidence the signal is being received. You and many others say that 12V through a test light is safe, but with limited practical experience I was looking for something generally useful but a little lower in voltage.
I've tried all different way to trigger these floating ground VR sensors with no luck. I like the way you are thinking though. Somethings to try the next time. Thanks brother
Hey Paul, do nowadays car still use the vrs ? the difference between the vrs and hall effect sensor are one have two wires and the other have three wires? right
hi paul very good yours videos, what's the meaning of pull up or pull down circuit? and how to identified them, thank you, see you cheers
Go here
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I am wanting to do Neg. ground pulse ! There was one that I was intrested in purchasing but there tech support said it was not safe to use.. it could burnout the ICU-Ignitor...can you please give me advice on which one to buy. Do you have a link? Thank you.
Great video! Doesn't computer know that the starter is active but it is not getting the crank signal? Shouldn't it immediately flag it in the pending or stored code? I would think this would be flagged as immediate code rather than multi-trip detection. I was hoping that you were going to verify that there were no other pending codes.
Do you have any video where disconnecting crank sensor immediately triggers the corresponding check engine light?
It depends on the year of the car and the design of the system on whether or not you will see a crank sensor fault code with a faulty crank sensor.
Here are some examples of when you will have no code:
The system only uses the crank sensor (no cam sensor)
The system uses a synthesized cam signal (GM ecotech engine)
The system is stupid :) Like this car. Seriously, I do not have an answer for you as to why I had no code. I know someone else cleared the codes, so it may have had one. It does have a cam sensor, so you would think the PCM would flag the fault right away.
Just did a 2007 Ford F-150 yesterday with a faulty crank sensor with no code and this system uses 2 different cam sensors. Like I said, the system is stupid. I don't get hung up on it. It is what it is.
I agree with you. It would be trivial for the ECM programmer to put the code out P1901 which translates to "Hey dummy, I am not getting any crank signal, I have intentionally turned off the injectors too"!
Hey great job again! Whats is the diagnostic suite software you use? Where is it and how much?
Hi Paul great video I'm curious who do you use for your wiring diagrams any sites you can suggest?.....Phil
Phil Schmitt www.scannerdanner.com/forum#/20150619/where-to-get-wiring-diagrams-4839109/
Love your video , could you use a DMM on ac volts and crank the engine to see an ac volt signal output of crank sensor
Why would you shut the car off at 26:30 and take a chance on it not starting again . Why didn't you move it to a solid ground so you could get under it without being on gravel ? What does the crank sensor do ? If the sensor is going to leave you stranded why have the sensor in the first place ? Why not bypass the sensor and only use it to test things if the car doesn't start . When the sensor is causing the problem it seem stupid to hove it connected all the time .
Hey Paul, First off, thanks for these videos. I dont get to wrench as much as I'd like to so these keep me sharp. One question though, I see you have a Verus (I have the Verus Pro) and a Vantage with you. Why do you still use the Vantage? It looks like all the component tests are the same in the Verus. Or is there a simplicity that the Vantage offers that I am missing? Thanks and keep up the great work!
I always heard standard test lights are not computer safe. But I see you are using it to check the fuel injector outputs and varioius inputs/outputs of the PCM/ECM. Is this good practice? or is it better to use a computer safe logic probe/tester?
autoparts321 You have to know the system your testing. Some testing is ok other testing will fry electronics. If your not 100% sure of system operation and the test you are doing then stick with computer safe testers. If you know why an incandescent test light won't fry something in a test you have planned then your already self-assured in what your doing and don't need to verify with anyone else.
Since it is a low current signal, could the 12 volts have sort of cleaned off the connections at the sensor plug or as u were pushing on the pins at the computer, that slight physical movement could have reestablished connection? Excellent teaching as usual!!!!
+Bill Rimmer thanks Bill. There was the possibility of a pin issue at the PCM but it wasn't that. I tested for the signal first BEFORE doing the bypass test. So if it was a pin contact issue, the voltage measurement itself would have fixed the issue. You'll have to take my word on it, that a new crank sensor was the fix.
Would this apply to OBD-I and/or OBD-II Fords?
Which part my friend? The check engine light test or the bypass test?
ScannerDanner Sorry, the check engine light "feature". Oh and I mention you at the end of my water pump part 2 video.
Great video, although I thought variable reluctance sensors operate on AC voltage not the DC you used from B+. What approach would you have taken if this was a Hall effect sensor instead? Thanks.
2000 Mazda Miata, loses rpm at high rpm in load ( while driving). spark is good, fuel is also good but looses injector pulse at like 5-7k rpm and engine seems to have low power, has exhaust leak and a whine which might indicate clogged exhaust and at one point it showed MAF low input and I saw that a blockage would call up a MAF code. my question is will a bad/clogged catalytic converter and muffler cause injection pulse to go out? it feels like a rev limiter and does it about 2 times and then continues to go up and does it maybe once, very inconsistent.
Nice job, shows you that you don't really need to be an expert on a particular car to troubleshoot it.
When you say that test works for Ford, do you know how far back that would apply (i.e. year)? I am wondering if this would work on something like a 1994 with EEC-IV? If not sure, would I simply just pull the wiring harness off the distributor to see (crank sensor is inside my disty)?
The older Ford distributor systems used hall effect sensors. You can bypass those too. I've done some video on these.
Hi Paul just a couple of comments, I believe on the wasted spark you have 2 switching leads at the coil, I might have checked both of these in case you had one duff coil, The connections on the crank sensor, I might have tried an ohm test to make sure your connections were ok, and possibly an open circuit sensor, I know how much you like ohms tests :-) Fred UK.
if you had one duff coil as its a eight cylinder motor it would start on six cylinders !! and you would still see an RPM ..
John Fountain Hi Yes I am aware of that, I had a 4 cylinder than ran on 2 once..Fred
hi I have a issue with a 03 s10 4.3 the truck went dead on the road... I checked and there is no spark and no fuel pressure, the fuses and relays look good .. I hope you can reply with any ideas thank you
Hi Paul I have been watching a lot of your vids which to me an oldtimer are great!. You are an excellent teacher. Unfortunately for me I am in the uk and as a result have a european vehicle. What I would like to suggest if its possible is if you could outline for a simpleton. Is what the normal sequence of events that leads to a normal starting /running situation. then to have a series if vids saying what would happen if a certain input failed at a certain point. Or a sensor died or malfunctioned at certain point how and why these inputs/sensor malfunctions have effects on others and the effect on others throughout the engine.
You may have detailed this in your book I dont know but I am at the point of asking where can I buy it. Let me know if its possible to produce the suggestions above as it would be really helpful. I am a retired nurse and we always started our training with normal functioning before moving onto abnormal. I am aware that not all systems are designed the same but they maybe similar. with slight deviation from manufacturer to manufacturer.
I have been a part-time petrolhead and am pleased to be able focus more on the electronic controls side in my retirement. The mechanical side is not a problem to me at all. but I am personally a keen student and very willing to learn.
whatever I have already learned such a lot from you so thanks very much for that.
many many thanks Colin Lyne
Thanks Colin! I have exactly what you're looking for on ScannerDanner Premium. There is a 14 day free trial. If you subscribe, then immediately cancel, you'll still get the full 14 days and you will not be charged. Check out the material, a suggestion is to start with my chapter 1 playlist. You do not need my book to follow along.
Or maybe start with chapters 21 and 22 (ignition inputs and no start no spark diagnosis). Let me know what you think okay?
Hey Paul many thanks your a Star!!!
Hi Paul Yes many thanks for that really kind suggestion cheers Colin
for sure man. Hope to see you there.
Hi Paul, great video! what about the possibility of a bad connection somewhere between the sensor and the ECM? That might arc over when you put 12v to the sensor establishing a connection.
that is always a possibility, but I was comfortable calling the crank sensor. My ability to test the wiring further in the parking lot where the car was, was not possible so I made the call. I hate not being 100% but I'll take 99% in this case.
Hi Paul, do you think the bypass test may not have worked because the sensor was still plugged in? Could the voltage have went down to the sensor than back on the other wire? The computer would have seen no difference in potential across the two wires since electrically they would be the same point.
great thought!!! I'll have to try an unplug it next time before totally writing off the bypass test on the floating ground type of sensor
ScannerDanner Thanks. The only reason I think this might be the case is for that sensor to generate its own ac sine wave like that, the crank must be spinning a permanent magnet and those two wires are attached to a coil of wire that the magnetic field is cutting across to generate the signal. When it's unplugged you might have to ground one pin and pulse the 12v like you were doing so the circuit can see a potential difference, as it's a " floating ground". Hope that makes sense. Thanks for everything you do.
Could you check resistance through the crank sensor circuit.
Teacher Paul Danner .. by viewing Wiring Diagram I knew this Crank Sensor is kind of Variable Reluctance Sensor. In my Country (except dealers, even few) use Wiring Diagrams for Diagnosis/Repair. At local none of Technicians using Wiring Diagrams and also not Oscilloscopes/Waveforms often to reach the real fault. But they are working and earning quite cool. I need your suggestion how to deal these Cars without Wiring Diagrams? My friend who worked 2 years at a Shop, he worked only Electrical works. He said we just follow wiring colors.
Here you go my friend
scannerdanner.com/forum/post-your-repair-questions-here/16-need-service-info-check-here.html
Thanks soooooooo much, Teacher.
good job on overlaying the video feeds of the rpm etc.
thanks!
+ScannerDanner. When testing for power in a connection i connect the test light to Battery Negative and probe the connection, if test light lights up. i have power ? what about testing the negative(control) and signal wire ? i hook up test light to Battery positive and crank the vehicle.. if test light flickers means i do have control? Does that apply to any connection that pulses? such as injectors and crankshaft
Correct me if I'm wrong... Shouldn't the injector be connected???? If it's a ground side controled injector, You can't see the grounding without the 12v applied to the injector. Under these circumstances, I'd connect a noid lamp or a test bulb across the injector connector to make a quick injector pulse width test.
Sure you can, with the test light connected to battery positive like I did in the video.
The injector does not need to be connected to check for pulse.
i have that problem with my 96 grand marquis and found when doing a wiggle test of the wires at the main plugs at pcm and main plugs it started and i was able to recreate the problem by wiggleing the wires
when cranking the engine you notice the rpm gauge not moving if your car has one would tell you crank sensor problem?
i have noticed you never use the battery negative to put your test light on but always on the engine or body frame.... is that a bad idea to do that on the negative battery pole
?
When I'm doing a spark test with a test light I never go to battery negative as I don't really need to and I'd like to keep any chance of arcing away from the battery. Other times I use battery negative whenever possible
Great video!
I have a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis with similar problems. I went to try your check engine light trick while turning the engine over, but on my car the whole digital dash goes dark while cranking the engine, including the check engine light. Any tips or tricks? Thank you!
Can't use that test is all. Like I said it is a quick test only. You'll need to verify what you are missing. (Spark, fuel, compression)
th-cam.com/video/S0Fs2i-XBKI/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/q40CPwcPlOE/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/SUxagOAVS5M/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/z5DpsRwHTfo/w-d-xo.html
These videos will help you even though none of them are on a Ford. It is the same approach.
Thank you, I have verified I do not have spark but I am getting fuel pressure to the rails so I am going to try and check the crank sensor next. I appreciate your help and great videos!
Hey I have a Mazda rx 8. I lost the key and was trying to get it replaced but they couldnt program it because it couldn't read the ecu. I thought of maybe replacing the ecu. What are your thoughts?
Excellent test, also it seems that 90% of the vehicles you work on are American made? Does that mean there are built cheaper than foreign cars ? Thanks for the video.
I was wondering if you know where to find a crankshaft sensor on a 1994 corvette. No one seems to know. I have asked automotive shops and parts stores. They say its on lower right side of engine block. I even removed the starter and its not there. One vette owner told me it may be behind the timing chain cover. Any help would be great! Thanks
I am directing all help requests to my forum. Sign up (it's free) and create a new post. Be sure to add a name under "alias" as this is the name that will appear in the post.
Here is the link to the forum.
www.scannerdanner.com/ForumRetrieve.aspx?ForumID=3226
voltage sent to the sensor energized the magnet. the magnet field was weak,same thing as energizing a iron rod.
I have a 1999 with the same problem. It gave codes p0113 & p0102 which are MAS, IACV, & IATS.
I did a wiring test and I'm getting no power or continuity from it.... It goes to the engine fuse box before the BCM. I'm getting good voltage from the PCM.... I just want to put the sensor in... I think the sensor show's signs of weakness or is it possible? It's reading below 2 ohms? My meter fluctuated from 1 and 2, but then again maybe it's fine. Anyway I am certain no continuity in the wire.... Can you help please?
How to do a clear flood crank on a newer ford with a key fob ?
The signal you are referring to as floating ground is a differential signal. Floating is a good way to describe the signal regardless. But research it and how the signal is interpreted by the computer will become clear. Also this signal is immune to noise as any noise imposed on the signal is ignored as it is not differential.
Thanks Kris!!
ScannerDanner
If i get time ill get some shots off a scope to explain it but what the computer is looking for is a difference. So say that both output wires are A-B. Whats happening it the computer is measuring the differential between the tow signals. If noise is introduced it will be present both wires and hence A and B will have the same noise imposed on the signal. As the computer is only looking for a difference it will be ignored as it is on both wires and no difference will occur. I hope that made sense if not ill send you some stuff on google plus so you get the idea.
Hi there, i have a 54 plate astra. I dont have any issues beside my car driving rough when the car with the spanner comes up, initially i thought that was a service symbol until i plugged into obd2 computer and came up as 'crankshaft sensor bank 1' isit a major issue to resolve?
great video paul, i asked you this once before, and you had told me something you had to download to get the COLORED schematics on MITCHELL? can you plz tell me what it was, i still cant get those diagrams in color.
you needed an adobe program called SVG viewer
thx
Have the same prob with a 96. Notice when you turn on the key without starting it you heard the throttle body set itself? When there's a no start you won't hear that noise under the hood. Can be a bad ground. I'm gonna look at my problem and post back. Mines an intermittent no start also. Crank no start. Turn key on and I don't here the throttle body set itself. Wiggle test then you do and it starts. Can be a bad connection somewhere. Going to see if it has an eec pwr relay. When you put the crank sensor in have you had any more intermittent no starts? Did the crank sensor fix the problem? Don't know when key on sends signal to crank sensor then triggers throttle body ..fuel than spark. Thanks for the info.
A 1996 shouldn't be an electronic throttle body?
+ScannerDanner I forget the name of it. But when you do a KOEO (key on engine off) it makes a noise in the engine compartment. Like something is resetting before it's ready to start. When you first did it you didn't hear it. But when the surprise start happened you heard that noise under the hood then it started. Did the crank sensor fix it?
yes, a new crank sensor was the fix. Sorry about not being able to answer your noise question
+ScannerDanner it's ok. The noise I'm talking about is the electronics under the hood seems like an electronic sensor is setting itself. On your vid when it didn't start you heard no noise under the hood. Then on your vid when you turned the key you heard some electronic noise then it started right up like the ecc power relay worked and set a signal to the electronics under the hood. I'll watch the vid again and show you the points of vid I'm talking about. Thanks for the info. My 96 is an intermittent problem. I've been doing wiggle tests to try to make it happen and it hasn't yet. I told my neighbor to test drive it and I swapped the eec power relay with the horn relay. Seems the eec relay was getting hot.
Those relays do get hot man and it's normal. Yeah, if you could give me a time of those two events, that would really help.
Thanks!
BTW, intermittent crank sensor failures are common
One question: How did you rule out a wiring issue from the ckp to the computer?
if im getting a signal to the coil but no spark from my plugs, could this mean my crank position sensor is possibly the culprit? already changed new dizzy, checked relay, and im still not getting spark
Hi can you help me with wiring diagram or a link to get it for Chevy equinox 2005 having a no spark issue? I need diagram of the coil pack and crank shaft diagram. Thanks
eautorepair.adtrk.biz/?a=10817&c=24&p=r&s1=
Here you go. $20 gets you access for a month for your car. Same diagrams and service info I use.