Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR

98 CONTOUR SE, 2.5L A/T
Engine turns over but will not start. I have a spark, fuel pump operates for a few seconds when ignition is first turned on and when I pull a plug after attempting to start the engine, the plug smells of gas. I can feel one of the fuel injectors when someone is cranking the engine and I can feel the injector pulsing. This car has done this three times in the past couple of years but the problem would go away before I could find the cause. This time the problem won't go away on its own. I am beginng to suspect a timing problem. Does anyone know if I would get a spark if the crankshaft position sensor is defective.

http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1079270&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1
Read this you might get some info. Especially Tonys first post to my question, about observing the check engine light when starting engine. You won't get a spark if the CKP is bad.

http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1042840&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1
This is a better description of what I thought Tony 2005 explained in the post before this one. Ignor the info toward the bottom about the CCRM, Contours don't have that relay.

Is there a chance that the engine has flooded and that the rings have washed out? When this happens, the engine will crank extremely fast from the lack of compression, similar to a broken timing belt or a jumped timing chain.

Sometimes the cure is as simple as cranking while holding the throttle wide open (turns off the injectors). In extreme cases, you may need to pull the front three spark plugs and squirt a little oil in the cylinders to regain compression. If you do this, the engine will run a bit rough when it does start until the oil is blown out and the rear cylinders regain compression. It usually only takes a minute or two.

This doesn't happen all that often, but it is more likely to happen as the weather get colder. It usually happens from a cold start with a shut down almost as soon as it is started, such as start up in the garage, shut down in the driveway after backing out, then trying to restart a few hours later. Actually it can happen with a short time before trying to start again as well.

This is the beginning of the season that we start getting questions about this.

Thanks for all of the replies. According to one referenced post, I will not get a spark if the crankshaft position sensor is bad. I am getting a spark so that indicates that the crankshaft position sensor is good. Another referenced post indicated that the check engine light will stay on while cranking if the crankshaft and camshaft position sensors are inoperative. The check engine light stays on until I start cranking the engine and then it goes out; another indication that the two sensors are O.K.
The engine is not turning over any faster than normal cranking speed, indicating that I don't have a cylinder washdown problem.
I have tried cranking with the accelerator slightly depressed to elimate the IAC and I have tried cranking with the accelerator fully depressed to clear out the cylinders in case the engine was floodng. I got a lot of gas fumes out of the exhaust on that one. I have tried spraying some starting fluid into the intake all to no avail. The engine turns over but gives no indication that it wants to start.

I have a spark and fuel, and apparently timing signals for the injectors and spark, yet it will not start. What am I missing???????????? If the PCM is bad would I be getting a spark, fuel and timng?

ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

I know you say you are getting a spark, but how did you test for it? Do you have battery voltage at the coil with the key in the run position? Does it sound like it even makes an attempt to start, when it is being cranked? It helps to have an in-line spark tester and a fuel pressure gauge to verify. One guy with a 98 model has a problem with the wiring to the CKP sensor, cracking insulation, did you check yours?

I checked for the spark with a test plug connected to one of the plug wires. I am getting a good strong spark. I am getting battery voltage to the coil pack with the ignition turned on. I have not checked fuel pressure but I get a strong smell of gas out of the exhaust after continuous cranking and I have tried using some starting fluid. The engine shows no hint of wanting to start even when using the starting fluid. The wiring on the CKP looks good as far as I can trace it. However, since the check engine light goes out when I am cranking the engine, is the CKP still suspect? Do you know of any way to check the timing while cranking the engine? I have an Auto-tap code reader which also reads engine parameters when the engine is running but I have never tried to check parameters while cranking the engine. Does anyone know if the OBDII parameters can be read whIle cranking?

THANKS

Big Jim, I didn't believe it when you said the rings may have washed out, but after trying everything else, I did a compression test on the front three cylinders. BINGO! I had to squirt some oil into the cylinders and crank a little but the car finally started. It had been sitting for about three weeks without being started while I changed out the ATX. I now have some transmission problems but that is another story.