Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Camshaft sensor problem - 98 contour

I have a 98 contour and the check engine light has been on for a while. my friend attached it to his obdII reader and the codes it pulled were for the camshaft accuator circuit and the cam positioning being advanced. we called the dealership and they said it was most likely a loose wire but werent able to help at all with the location of it.

I was hoping someone could help me locate where this sensor/wire would be at maybe with pictures or an exploded view of where its at.

-jeffsore

Welcome . 4 cylinder or V-6?

Edit. Read this for 4 cylinder Zetec
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1061033&Forum=trouble&Words=camshaft&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=2&Limit=25&Old=1year&Main=1060841&Search=true#Post1061033

And this for V6 Duratec
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=738657&Forum=trouble&Words=p0340&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=728603&Search=true#Post738657

On a 4 cylinder the code for cam timing is sometimes a jumped timing belt, but more often it is from a sticking VVT (variable valve timing) solonoid on the exhaust cam.

If you are lucky, an oil change may unstick it. If you are not so lucky, you will need to replace the solonoid. That requires removing the exhaust cam. This is usually caused by lack of oil change maintenance. This engine is also fussy about using oil that is too heavy and this problem is less likely to happen if you use the specified 5W30 or 5W20 engine oil.