Help, please!

[dispatchick]

Hi there, my 2003 PT Cruiser just broke down, first time ever - just stopped right in the middle of the road. It is turning over, but not starting. Had it towed back home, tried the self displaying error code and it gave me PO344, which from this site came to be "Camshaft Position Sensor Circuit Intermittent." However, from reading some other postings, I find that vehicles are still running with this error code...? Is this something that would cause my vehicle to not run at all?

[CREWZIN]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry about your trouble. Not sure where you read about other cars still running, but if it's really the Camshaft Position Sensor that's bad, the car will act exactly like yours ....and mine when the sensor wires were burnt stopping the signal from the camshaft to the computer.
Maybe it's the "intermittent" part that lets them keep running.

It's pretty easy to replace, located on the right side of the engine just behind the oil dipstick. I think someone said it was about $60, but I can't be sure of that.




To remove the electrical connector, there's a red clip that pushes to one side that lets the connector come loose.

[dispatchick]

Thank you so much!! A friend suggested it was the timing...which is MUCH more expensive and we cannot replace ourselves ( I dont think anyway...) I had a '98 neon prior which sent me to the coals several several times, I think I replaced the head gasket 3 times and I just had horrible horrible flashbacks when this happened. We've already paid for towing and all that jazz, and I just don't know about the local car repair shop...

I thank you for your quick reply!!

[CREWZIN]

You were lucky. Mine broke down at 11pm on Interstate 95 in the middle of South Carolina. Called my Chevron car club and had it towed to the nearest town and they locked it up overnight at a FORD dealer while I was put up into a motel. The next morning they picked me and my car up and took me 50 miles to the nearest Chrysler dealer. They found the burnt wires and I was on my way with 2 hours of labor costs.

[quicksilverdon]

Welcome.
How many miles on your PT? If you're under 100,000, then it should just be the sensor. If you're over 100,000, if it isn't the timing belt this time, it probably will be next time....

[TinBromide]

I'm sorry for the thread necromancy, but I would like to post my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for this forum. At lunch time today, my 2004, 55k mile, pt cruiser flashed the check engine light and shuddered at a stop light, once I got it back to the work parking lot, the car wouldn't start again. If not for this forum, and this thread in particular, I would not have known how to prevent a costly tow, diagnostic, and all that jazz.

Instead, I used the instructions in another thread to extract the check engine light code (the ignition on-off-on-off-on trick) and found that my issue was related to this sensor. I had the wife pick up a new sensor for 35 bucks and figured I would install it once I got home. Didn't make it there, instead, I had her bring out the tools and the part that she purchased and replaced it by the side of the road. The pt cruiser ran fine on the way home and is running so well that I had to make sure that the air filter cover was secure because it was purring in a way that I haven't heard it for a year and a half now.

[CREWZIN]

What a great story. Sometimes the code only gives an idea what's wrong and it's trial and error but yours seems to have worked out.