Camshaft Position Sensor

[ejschultz]

My girlfriend has an '01 PT. I've read that it's a very common problem on the '01s to have issues with the CMP sensor. I took the car to my local mechanic. I've been using him for a few years now and he's always helped me out with stuff. He did a diagnosis on the car and told me the coil is weak and that the 3rd spark plug is supplying a very weak spark. On my way home this morning from his shop, the car finally threw a light. (I've been waiting for it to do this because it's been sputtering badly.) I checked the code and it's P0340 which is the CMP sensor circuit. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if that goes out or acts up, the coil is going to act up as well. This in turn, leads me to believe that the $477.xx my mechanic wanted to do a full tuneup on the car is not needed. I'm fully capable of doing the tuneup myself so I wouldn't have paid him anyways to do that. I guess my main question is, should I throw the money at the CMP sensor or should I do the tuneup? I've read that there could be other reasons that the CMP sensor could act up, one possibly being the coil. Should I go by the code or by what my mechanic told me? Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Oh, by the way, this is my first post on this forum so hello to all.

[quicksilverdon]

Welcome.
Several thoughts - what would you get for $477 - what constitutes a "tune up"? Seems to me, plugs and wires.
For wires, good reports about Motorworks 10.2mm racing plug wires recently posted on eBay - do NOT use stock wires, they are crap.
Plugs, the stock Champions aren't bad - just gap at 0.040.

There have been many Cam position failures, I can't recall any taking the coil with them.
I'd do plugs and wires - can't hurt (there's a how-to sticky here).
If you still have the cam sensor code (I suspect you will) I'd suggest getting a Mopar replacement - there have been many who found other brand sensors were bad.

[ejschultz]

I'll definitely check into the Mopar CMP sensor. The tuneup includes the coil, wires, and plugs (all AC Delco). The cost is pretty evenly divided into parts and labor. I'm beginning to wish my girlfriend didn't get a PT Cruiser. I'm starting to read some pretty "scary" stuff about the timing chain. She's got 87000 on the clock right now so hopefully she's got a little more life in the chain, but with the CMP sensor acting up, who knows? Supposedly they go around the same time. I don't have the tools required to do a job like that and I really don't think she'd pay $800 or more for something to be fixed on her car. She's been thinking about an '06 or '07 she saw. Maybe, hopefully, she'll sell it before the chain goes. Anyways, thanks for the input and the welcome.

[royboy]

jim ducan ina il usa,i am having the same problem,cam shaft sensor error p0340
having it replaced tommorow,$42 for the new sensor,plus a little labor,i am not going to the big stealership garage,they want $80+just to diagnose the problem
service is out of site price wise,i hope this does the trick,if any one can shed light on this problem,e mail me jimduncan531@gmail.com

thanks jim r duncan ina il

[ejschultz]

It sure did take me a while to get back on here...

Anyways, I've fixed the problem with the CMP sensor. I also did a full tuneup (very fun) and put a new battery in it. That group 26 battery really sucks. There's no gold/yellow tops in that group. I ended up putting a 35/75 battery in there. It's slightly larger, but it still fit. The car is better now, at least running wise. I still get a lot of front end noise which I'm beginning to believe is caused by the control arm bushings. The tires lose a bunch of air. It seems like every week I've got to put air into them for my girlfriend. Hopefully, the rims just need a good cleaning, not a replacing.

[frizzyliam]

my mechanic is also asking a 80$ price for the camshaft sensor. I think it is so costly, since I already purchased the camshaft position sensor online already. That is a big hefty amount. Do you have DIY on how to do it? just to save some money.. thanks.

[cruserdad1976]

I just replaced the cam senson it is only 2 bolts and is a 10 minute job it is oneof the easiest things to do on a curser

if you remove the air box and it is just help in place by some rubber gromuts the sensor is RIGHT THERE 2 little 8mm bolts and it is done it really is that easy