How To Test Crankshaft Position Sensors (CKP) The Right Way

How to test crankshaft position sensors without any guess work using multiple methods and tools to obtain and analyze sensor signals. These proven methods can be helpful when diagnosing anything from a crankshaft position sensor trouble code to a engine no start.
0:00 Intro
0:35 What does a crankshaft position sensor do?
1:02 Faulty crankshaft position sensor symptoms
1:57 Trigger or reluctor wheels
5:36 Analog or VR crankshaft position sensors
6:05 Ohm testing analog sensors
6:57 Signal testing analog sensors
11:25 Digital or hall effect crankshaft position sensors
12:04 Testing digital sensor wiring
15:06 Testing digital sensor signals
18:02 Conclusion

[@ronigasmen6365]

I have been asking for help and telling people to pretend. Like it's the crank shaft class for dummies. And they don't get it. This is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much for putting this video out. It was thorough and in -depth and very easy to understand.

[@R3YNZ]

Awesome video! Informative and simple to understand. You guys are great teachers!

[@GoTechTraining]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for the support! ~Ryan

[@richardlewis4288]

Your lesson knocked it out of the park! Awesome instructor.

[@GoTechTraining]

Thanks Richard! ~Mike

[@bernardocisneros4402]

Great class professor, you're so right about an inductive (analog) type CKP not being good eventhough it ohms to spec. I had a Pontiac Grand Am that would die on me about 15 minutes after reaching operating temp. I did a resistance check on it after car cooled down and it was good, so I went looking for something else. Couldn't find anything, so I waited for the car to die again and did a resistance check, it was in the Megaohms. I replaced it and car ran great. No more dying out.

[@mrgalea100]

Finally a Chanel that goes in depth

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Jeff, Thanks for checking out the video! Glad you enjoyed it ~Ryan

[@jzr5560]

Forgot to say thankyou for a very,very thorough/detailed youtube!

[@stephenrose8188]

Great piece of work and well presented, thank you!

[@jgeorges3061]

AWESOME information thanks for sharing as always.

[@GoTechTraining]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for checking out the video and reaching out! ~Ryan

[@gerardkavanagh144]

Very well presented. Thank You.

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Gerard, Thank you for Checking it out! ~Ryab

[@neverstoplearning382]

Excellent. More of this kind of videos. Take care.

[@GoTechTraining]

Thanks, will do!

[@mariafernandamartinez1971]

Thank you for the video 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@GoTechTraining]

You’re welcome 😊 ! Thanks for watching! Ryan

[@beluxauto5968]

Great explanation.

[@GoTechTraining]

Thank you, Glad you enjoyed it!

[@patrickmulumba5547]

Very informative! I almost skip this great video.

[@GoTechTraining]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching! ~Ryan

[@kenlow4028]

Top gun mechanic with theory put into practice

[@joedantuono3467]

Good content, nice delivery!

[@GoTechTraining]

Thanks Joe!

[@JiuJitsuDad]

Earned a sub with this video. Great teaching!

[@son-of-godadam9644]

First , great video. Very informative. And I can show my friends why I'm not crazy! I can usually tell when something is wrong before the computer triggers the engine light. My friends think I'm crazy when I replace sensors when the M.I.L. is not on. But when I notice a difference after replacing a sensor, whether good or bad, I know it was beginning to fail. Sometimes I have to change multiple sensors because the first one makes it run different or even worse. Think....when they wear together they start to compensate together too. Just don't wait till the car warns you something is wrong because by then who knows how much it has compromised the motor or catalytic converter. Expensive shit to replace.

[@GoTechTraining]

Thanks for checking out the video! I agree, not all issues set a warning light!

[@ThunderbirdRocket]

Great topic ! Great tutorial !!

[@GoTechTraining]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reaching out!! ~Ryan

[@okaforblessed]

Love this! Good information thank you

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Okafor, Your welcome! Thanks for reaching out! ~Ryan

[@okaforblessed]

@@GoTechTraining thank you, you're doing a great job

[@KAMIL_ALMAZEG]

Thank you very much ❤

[@madmadmickhog]

really appreciate that mate / BRILLIANT !!!!

[@malibuStroker]

Great video!

[@GoTechTraining]

Thanks for watching!

[@akdenyer]

Thankyou, the level of the VR sensor is critical. I had a Ford F250 that only has the VSS on the back axle. Even with a new sensor it only read about 350mV P-P. It would operate the speedometer but was not good enough for the ABS and ECU. You need at least a couple of volts and some go much higher. like 20V at speed. From various videos I think it should be at least 4V P-P but there seems to be nothing in service data on the expected output. Also some are grounded and some a floating.

[@GoTechTraining]

Right! Wouldn’t it be nice to have that information in service data! Thanks for sharing and checking out the video! ~Ryan

[@Bobbygale121]

Good Job, Thanks !!!!

[@GoTechTraining]

Hello Robert, Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and the support! ~Ryan

[@sheerwillsurvival2064]

Excellent 👍🏻👊🏻

[@GoTechTraining]

Thanks 👍

[@nigelnkunzi6414]

If u can help me here to understand more on how to test camshaft sensor if I connect my voltmeter negative wire to ground wire of the camshaft sensor then posetive voltmeter wire to the signal wire of the camshaft sensor it shows 5 volts but if I put metal gear or a metal screwdriver the voltage dropped to 0.01 In the first place is it supposed to show 5 volts or any voltage reading without putting the sender close to a metal coz on your vid is shows tht it must produce voltage when the camshaft or crankshaft is turn or spinning

[@DavidGutierrez-zi4dy]

great!!

[@jzr5560]

can you use an inexpensive (e-bay 25.00) hand held O scope to test a 2 wire analog CKP? Also is 2 wire always analog?

[@doug2202]

What Scan tool and model do you recommend for aftermarket shop owner. I’m looking to upgrade my older Snap on modis and looking at possible Autel.justnot sure which model is best bang for the buck

[@alexybodom]

perfect presentation very well put together information 10 points from me P.S. what happened with the gotech garage t-shirt questions 😀

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Alexy, Glad you liked the new video! Stay tuned for New t-shirt giveaways!

[@lloyd-qt1mg]

Thanks Ryan , perfect explanation re: Crank shaft sensor! Have you made a 'vid' on testing the Cam Position sensor? With 'key ON and engine OFF', I cannot get my DVOM reading to drop to zero V when I place a metal object on the base of the sensors, as many KZbinrs demo! It's driving me 'nuts'! Please help.....Lofty, Qld, Australia.

[@henryt3441]

Ground and ref. Signal you need a scope

[@mubirukadiri4632]

Thanks

[@GoTechTraining]

Thanks for checking out the video! ~Ryan

[@smiles7631]

I got a request for a video that might be good. When is it NOT safe to use a test light? I admit I get a little confused here because of the info out there. The incandesent and the led. Which is better? Do you need both? Maybe you already made a video? Thanks for your videos guys.

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Smiles76, that's not a bad idea at all! We will look into making a video on it. We have an old PCM laying around here that we can do some load testing with. Thanks for the idea! ~Mike

[@heidiklum3962]

Nicely done! You should be an instructor!

[@GoTechTraining]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! ~Ryan

[@stevewalker412]

Right on right on

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Steve, Thanks for checking out the new video! ~Ryan

[@mohamedelyas9294]

Good job, but you didn't mention how does the hall effect sensor really work ? and what about the signal, Is it from the sensor to the moodule or from the module to the sensor ?

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Mohamed, We are actually planing to go more in depth on that subject in a future class. Stay tuned! Thanks for watching and reaching out ! ~Ryan

[@arkangel2487]

So is it a myth that if you turn the engine by hand you should see the 3 wire go from 12-0-12 (or in your case 5-0-5)?

[@joshwilson849]

Can you guys show the connections?

[@jeffspen4594]

If the vehicle will not start, will you garner enough information on the scope with just the starter turning over the engine?

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Jeff, Yes , the crank sensor signal should be able to be picked up at cranking speed. ~Ryan

[@danman9017]

tks

[@GoTechTraining]

You’re welcome! ~Ryan

[@AhmedAli-hu8ng]

Boss ihave 2017 audi a1 fualtcode c104b29 and u101700 that small yellow sliding light comes on and one massage on the culster stabilisation control (ESC)fault see owner's manual iam atuo electrian and check wiring power ground ignition and can bus everything is there and ican ask some one he told me about voltage problem ican cheng the alternator brand new battery and cheng the abs module but problem still there and same fualtcode when ican clear the codes are clear but when I drive the car same light same massage and same fualtcodes come back can have any idea please

[@GoTechTraining]

I’ll look into it and see if I can help you out !

[@otiliohernandez8349]

How would a magnetice tone wheel would affect the wave form? What would it be the characteristics on the waveform to say that the tone wheel is magnetice?

[@GoTechTraining]

It’s impossible to tell from the signal, it will look the same if the reluctor wheel is metal or magnetic. What it changes is how the Hall effect is triggered. Service information is the only way to tell or a inspection. Great question! ~Ryan

[@otiliohernandez8349]

I asked this question because you mentioned that sometimes the tone wheel get damaged or gets magnetice by accidents or mistakes . Thanks for the info. Great video

[@GoTechTraining]

Ok, if the tone wheel becomes magnetized, it will either not produce a signal, or it will drop out, usually at higher speeds. I have also seen a magnetized tone wheel invert a signal and cause a lot hard to diagnose drivability issues. ~Ryan

[@davidessien5465]

Great engineer, please help! How can I solve this car problem? Recently, a client called me to fix his 2000 Toyota Avalon car that cranked but wasn't starting. From the onset, the car experienced several mechanical, as well as, electrical issues. Some of those problems were:- (1) Engine Oil consumption; (2) Engine misfire; (3) Engine rattling; (4) Intermittent hard starting after shutdown; (5) Hard to engage in drive, except engine is hot; etc. Hence, he took the car to a garage inorder to rectify the excessive Engine oil consumption and other car problems highlighted above. Consequently, the car problems exacerbated after engine rebuild by the engineer! The car owner wasn't satisfied with his repairs because it seems the engineer was deceitful. Although the car started after the rebuild, the problems still persisted. Valves weren't grinded after engine overhaul, engine still misfired at idle and when accelerating, etc. The engineer whose garage the car is presently being parked, requested for another engine overhau/ rebuildl. After engine rebuild the car started, the oil was mixed with water; the engine was still misfiring, rattling, etc. It was obvious, that he didn't use durable parts to do his work. Hence, the car owner moved the car to another garage for better repairs. The new garage suggested to the car owner that another engine rebuild is pertinent for optimal engine operation. During my conversation with this engineer, whose garage the car is presently being parked, he told me that: "when the car was first brought in, he noticed a black smoke ( maybe he was mistaken for blue smoke, at exhaust tail at idle). When accelerating, there's a loss of power, engine bucking, popping,etc. After the rebuild, the car didn't start because the mechanic didn't unlock the car with the remote but proceeded directly to cranking the engine. In addition, the security relay wasn't actuated for starting to take place. Electrician did some wire cutting around that axis which he said was corrected to factory, opened with a remote before the car started. Fortunately, after everything, the car started again. But there was still an intermittent misfire. What the car owner said was that, 'even when the second mechanic did engine rebuild, the car still misfired. Until he personally bypassed earth from the COP wire to the solenoids very close to the fuel injector often tightened with 10mm knot and depicted with blue and green colors on the picture. Car owner verified that the reasons for the misfire from both mechanics which still prevailed, was due to the solenoid valve that wasn't opening. That's why when accelerating it experienced a loss of power, similar to that experienced by a faulty fuel pump. After gear oil replacement and test driven by the second mechanic , smoke started emanating from the engine bay. Precisely, from the fan relay that the car owner connected by himself. Within few minutes, the car shutdown by itself as if fuel is finished. As he tried to restart it, the car refused to. Infact, when the ignition switch was turned to Acc/ ignition position, battery and fuel light was not displaying in the dashboard/ instrument cluster. However, during cranking battery light glew faintly and start. But when throttled, it would shutdown. Electrician verified and replaced the alternator diode with a new one. When Ignition switch was turned to Acc/ ignition position, the battery and other lights came out brightly but when cranked to start engine wouldn't start again. Sadly, it still wouldn't start. I tried to scan for DTC codes, but my scanner wasn't communicating. I checked all fuses, power and ground at obd port, those checked ok. but my scanner isn't compatible to read CAN network. there are only 4 wires intact for the obd2 port. Furthermore, I added fuel through the intake to the engine, no change at all. I checked for spark and injector pulse. These things weren't present. But there was power to injector with just the key at ignition or ACC and COP had 1 ground and 1 power as usual. Electrician from that garage, who also worked on the car said that he sniffed burning smell from the ECU, however personally I didn't when I went to start the car. I don't know how certain that was. Hence, I pulled out the ECU to a laptop board engineer to test the components inside. He said: "everything looks ok and test fine, however the IC he doesn't have the right tools to proceed with the test. With the ECU removed battery connected, Engine light would come ON. with ECU connected check light still comes ON. Before I left, I checked the MAF sensor 5 wires and noticed that 3 wires were earth instead of 2 and 1 power; no ignition current/ power was available for the remaining 2 wires. Please, what should I do to start the car?

[@mikesabin8568]

Seen ten million videos on people using a test light to check ground and voltage supply to crank sensor. He said dont, yet scanner danner, diagnose dan, pine hallow, south main, and dozens of others have. I also have… a test light is fine on that circuit…

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Mike, I will agree if you have the right low amperage test light it may be fine to test computerized circuits. I personally just don’t like the results. It already a low 5 volt circuit, so at best you may get a dim lit test light. I like to see the correct supply of voltage and ground. Thanks for reaching out ! ~Ryan

[@tarek_hosni8348]

Hi, can you please show us how this pattern looks like on canbus raw data?

[@GoTechTraining]

Hello, I'm not sure what you mean? The crank sensor on this vehicle is interpreted by the ECM and turned into a digital RPM reference. The RPM reference is shared between modules using data. If you took the time you could decode the CAN message between modules, but not sure what the benefit would be? I have not spent much time decoding CAN Bus data because I never had a use for it, but some find it helpful in diagnosis. ~Ryan

[@tarek_hosni8348]

@@GoTechTraining Thanks for your prompt reply, i replaced my OEM cluster with digital cluster and i need canbus data to catch all info. I am not using obd2 protocol because it is too slow for this project. I just missing some info such as inj pulse width, flow rate and MAP pressure. I still trying to catch all ECM but it is not an easy job at all

[@GoTechTraining]

Wow sounds like a task ! I’m personally don’t get into custom programming much but it sounds pretty cool!

[@aymenmohamed1134]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@GoTechTraining]

Thanks for watching !

[@robertfrancisco1193]

question if there were 3 teeth worn down say, 1/8 in on wheel would the scope show missing SQ.WAVE on them teeth!

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Robert, Great question! If the sensor was strong enough to pick up the trigger it would switch normally, if not it would show a gap or missing teeth. On a VR sensor the amplitude of the signal would drop till the gap was too big to generate a signal. ~Ryan

[@robertfrancisco1193]

@@GoTechTraining thx!!

[@jonathanmohr6114]

If i unplugged the camshaft sensor then someone started the car would the computer think it was on open circuit

[@nickayivor8432]

Good Evening Go Tech Ryan Wilsing Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us My Mentor Go Tech Ryan Wilsing From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧 ⏰️ 18:06pm

[@jawadamer6902]

Thanks for sharing you information its perfect

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Nick, Thank again for all the support! ~Ryan

[@PhillyDee215]

Do you guys trust the "reading RPM gauge method" while cranking as a quick Crankshaft sensor check?.....I know it doesn't work with all manufacturers.

[@R3YNZ]

It's a quick and dirty check when you got no tools in the moment. But like you said on some manufacturers it doesn't show RPMs while on my scan tools i can see RPMs.

[@GoTechTraining]

Good question! I always look at it from habit and try to graph it with the scan tool if I can. It’s a good tool for Quick checks, but like you said , don’t trust it ,if doesn’t show a reference. ~Ryan

[@jimhaines8370]

Older fords would tell you the crank sensor is working if the check engine light goes out during cranking. This would be the cars that actually have lights for mil indicator not electronic dashes because not sure on those at all

[@PhillyDee215]

Cool.....💪

[@nwadeswim]

Good afternoon everyone:)

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Nicholas, this is in the comments section. Try joining in on the live chat! ~Mike

[@billsmith2212]

There was a GM VAN where the engine was rebuilt by a machine shop . The reluctor wheels were MIXED when rebuilt . A V6 went on a V8 ! The VAN would not run . Jerry Truglia diagnosed it with a scope . The engine had to be REMOVED from the VAN - OUCH 🤕 ! There was a car with a bad ground . The reluctor became MAGNETIZED and the vehicle ran terrible ! Bernie Thompson, ATS , diagnosed it with a scope . He fabricated a tool to DEMAGNETIZE it . There are videos on the above . Great lesson . Did you send Mike to pick up lunch ?

[@GoTechTraining]

Cool case studies! I had a GM van with a PCM from a salvage yard out of a v6, put in a v8, It ran but missed on 2 cylinders. Thanks for reaching out and checking out the video! ~Ryan

[@billsmith2212]

Ryan : Is that the GM " cylinder deactivation " PCM ? LOL !

[@GoTechTraining]

With an added shake feature!

[@jeffarmer4428]

Where's Mike ? you didn't lose him did you ? lol

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Jeff, I know Mikes around here somewhere! Lol

[@jungvary]

So from what’s said here you can’t test because who is going to have a lab scope? If testing with a multimeter cannot confirm that the sensor is faulty then this video won’t assist the home mechanic - what’s the point then?

[@GoTechTraining]

If the sensor is completely dead, a multimeter will show no signal and can confirm a faulty sensor. The multimeter can also be used to test reference and ground. But it can be hard to find faulty signals or intermittent issues with an average voltage reading. This is when a lab scope needed. Scopes are becoming better priced, and are being used by a lot of DYI technicians. The point of the video is to show what the signals look like and how to obtain them. ~Ryan

[@orphiasmayanyi7209]

My 4g 64 engine can't crank

[@GoTechTraining]

Hi, If it doesn't crank over, I would start by checking the battery and starter circuit.

[@georgesontag2192]

Never replace a cam or crankshaft position senor with an aftermarket brand. They usually don't work. I know, I had an Altima with no start symptom. Changed sensor with aftermarket. Still no spark. Probably ECM, because wires and connector were good. Nope..... another bad senor. Pay more money and buy the oem.

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey George, Bad new parts are the worst! Thanks for checking out the video! ~Ryan

[@kyletuttle9064]

Another informative video.thanks for sharing.whens part 2 of can bus coming out.thanks again.

[@GoTechTraining]

Hey Kyle, Thank you! CAN Bus should be out sometime next week! ~Ryan

[@kyletuttle9064]

Thank you Ryan