camshaft position sensor (CMP)

[hobbyman]

Recently our 2003 cruiser engine light came on.

Advanced auto parts is kind enough to have a code reader.

It showed 340.

I took off the CMP this afternoon and behind the magnet was some
oil. Is that supposed to be there? It wasn't much but I thought it
might have been what was causing the engine light. I cleaned
everything off and am hoping that was the problem.

Anybody else seen this happen?

--lance

[CREWZIN]

Check your wiring. I had the wiring from the CMP come loose after a small white clamp broke which allowed the wiring to hang down and touch a moving part. Wore through the wires which cause the PT to come to a complete halt (with code 340) because there was no signal from the CMP to the computer.

[nasteven]

Hello Crewzin...You were kind enough to email back last weekend. I am in Palmdale, Ca. I was talking about my 2004 PT that started chugging? on the freeway at 70mph "after the engine light would come on"! My husband pulled up the codes and it says 340. He is right now out buying one. Question is...is this what could be causing the car to chug and choke...when I am driving after the light comes on? I told you it started when after I had been driving in some some soft dirt. It only does this when the engine light comes on. The first time he pulled up the codes it also read the oxygen sensor...however it has not come up again. Should he buy one of them also? On your question (which I could not answer then because I had to get to work...economy sucks ...I am in real estate so I had to get two jobs!) but, my husband is a mechanic from the old days...but, these are new cars now! Ya know what I mean? He can put them on for me...I hate to waste the money because of the process of elimination. So he told me to go online and see if either of these items going bad would cause the problems I am having...thank you for your input...you are kind to email me back!! (At my age...the computer contact think really amazes me!) nancy s.

[pt_bruiser]

Originally Posted by nasteven

Hello Crewzin...You were kind enough to email back last weekend. I am in Palmdale, Ca. I was talking about my 2004 PT that started chugging? on the freeway at 70mph "after the engine light would come on"! My husband pulled up the codes and it says 340. He is right now out buying one. Question is...is this what could be causing the car to chug and choke...when I am driving after the light comes on? I told you it started when after I had been driving in some some soft dirt. It only does this when the engine light comes on. The first time he pulled up the codes it also read the oxygen sensor...however it has not come up again. Should he buy one of them also? On your question (which I could not answer then because I had to get to work...economy sucks ...I am in real estate so I had to get two jobs!) but, my husband is a mechanic from the old days...but, these are new cars now! Ya know what I mean? He can put them on for me...I hate to waste the money because of the process of elimination. So he told me to go online and see if either of these items going bad would cause the problems I am having...thank you for your input...you are kind to email me back!! (At my age...the computer contact think really amazes me!) nancy s.

i am new to this forum, but am having the EXACT same problems! i have an 04 pt with 106,000 kms on it and it has run fine until the MIL came on and threw me a 0138 (02 sensor) code and then yesterday it threw a P0340 code (camshaft position sensor) as well..the car wants to stall at low rpms but is fine on the highway...i am testing the sensor with a voltmeter tonite but i have a sneaking suspicion its just the wiring of the sensor(s) and not the sensors themselves. any advice you can give me and nancy would be muchly appreciated....and would probably save us both some $$$

[CREWZIN]

All,

As a backyard mechanic I can only tell you want I've experienced and what the codes mean plus anything I've read about the PT on this and various other PT forums.

The P0340 code for the Camshaft sensor will bring the car to a screeching halt if the sensor is bad. The computer needs the input from the sensor so the coil will throw spark to the right plug. I have seen where the wires to the sensor were bad or making bad connections and the car will run ruff but it will be ruff all the time, not just at idle or high speed. I know no body wants to throw parts at a problem and hope it goes away but the P0340 code is pointing at the sensor and I believe it's only about $40 and easy to replace. Hopefully, it does away with your problems.

Same goes for the P0138 (02 sensor) code. Cheap part, pretty easy to change. I'm pretty sure the P0138 is the downstream sensor which measures gases coming out of the CAT and YES it can cause a drop in gas mileage.

[oktarheel]

I am experiencing Check Engine Code P0016 - Crankshaft / Camshaft Timing
Mis-alignment, P0344 - Camshaft Position Sensor Intermittent, and P0340 -Camshaft Position Sensor Circuit.

At times, the vehicle is difficult to crank, takes a few tries and we notice this more frequently when it is warm. At RPM 2500 the car, intermittently begins to stall out. Today at around 70 MPH when I let off the accelerator around 2500 RPM the car began to have intermittent stall. I am hoping that it is either the wiring of the sensor. Does anyone think that I need to look at anything else?

[CREWZIN]

Your definitely starting at the right place with those codes/ Good luck. Have you done a search on this forum for the code or "camshaft sensor" for information about it?

[oktarheel]

Yes this Forum has been very helpful and I have researched many other sites and comments regarding these error codes. Hopefully, it will resolve the issue. Thanks.

[mkshell]

I have had similar problems with my computer on my PT with a turbo. I have 130K miles and have the third computer on it. The last one didn't make 50K miles. It will throw the codes that the cam shaft sensor is bad even after replacing it. Then it said the crank shaft sensor was bad and it was also replaced. Then it started saying the sensors were bad again, so the dealer replaced the computer. I drove it to work one day (it had been in and out of the Chrysler service garage for 5 weeks after my mechanic discovered the problem and referred me back to Chrysler) then it started doing the same things, shuddering violently, going into "limp in" mode, won't accelerate with the shuddering, and doing dead with difficulty to restart. The wiring harness from the computer to the cam sensor was spliced into by someone working on the first computer replacement. That splice failed and stranded me and my family returning home from a trip to Dallas. The short harness was replaced for $300 but it got us home. Any idea what keeps killing my computers?

[gdottie]

Broke a back tooth while working night shift and on the way to the oral surgeon car bucked three times and the engine light came on. Sigh. It drove fine the last 2 blocks to the dentist and about half mile to autozone after. Got the Po340 code and bought the sensor for $39. The really awesome salesguy Joey printed out the vehicle repair guide (which is available online) with pic of where it is etc. The car ran fine at about 40 mph for the couple miles back home. Guess I'll look it over and see how I feel about doing it myself when I wake up. Any warnings? A little disconcerting to see the post that says if its the sensor the thing shouldn't be running....