Chrysler Repair: No spark-94 Concorde. Camshaft position sensor?, camshaft position sensor, crank sensor

Question
On my 1994 Concord 3.3L the spark to the plugs stops with no warning and shuts down the engine. I think it may be the camshaft position sensor but not sure. Can you give me any ideas as to what could cause this.

Any help you can give will be appreciated.

Thanks
Paul


Answer
Hi Paul,
Your guess is pretty good. You can check it out with your ignition key: Turn it "on-off-on-of-on and leave it on" doing this in an elapsed time of 5 seconds or less. Then watch the check engine light which will remain "on" to begin to flash, pause, flash, pause, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause. Then repeat the technique to be sure the counts are accurate. Then group the counts in pairs in the order of appearance to form two-digit fault codes. The last one will always be 55 (end of readout). The codes are translated at www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html
The code for the crank sensor being at fault is 11. Write back if you get some other numbers and for advice as to how to deal with the codes.
The sensor causes the spark coil to fire the appropriate plugs in synchrony with the engine position. If it ceases to work the computer will also shut down power to the coil and the fuel pump via cutting the authshutdown relay which is the voltage source for those two parts. The sensor is a crystal and ultimately fails electronically, usually when its temperature rises to a critical value, then when it cools it will work again, and finally it fails entirely. It is located near the seam between the engine and the transmission. It has 3 wires (orange, light blue/dark blue, black/light blue) and comes with a paper spacer on the working tip that establishes a close but not touching space between the tip and the surface of the flexplate that it is sensing. So press the tip against the surface and tighten its mounting bolt to 8 foot-ponds in that position. The spacer will be worn away quickly but the interface distance will be correct.
If a different code appears, let me know.
Roland