Crankshaft Position Sensor Failure?

crankshaft sensor problemsMy question is I have a Dodge Grand Caravan SE 3.3l, it just died while driving down the road bogged out for a second then caught and I was able to make it home, parked it and it hasn’t started since, it will crank but won’t start.

I’ve replaced the alternator, battery, battery cables, camshaft sensor (twice to make sure), fuel filter, ASD relay, fuel pump relay, recently had the transmission rebuilt less then a month ago.

Checked for spark has good spark, did the turn the key 3 times thing to see if it would throw any codes, which it hasn’t. I can hear the fuel pump whir when I turn the key on. I’m at a loss with this and don’t know what else to do, not working atm and don’t have the money to take it into a shop again. Thank You and God Bless.

Hi there
Hi there,

I would first start out by checking your fuel pressure at the engine with a manual fuel pressure gauge you can usually rent from your local auto parts store. You can sometimes bang on the bottom of the fuel tank with a rubber hammer or a block of wood AS someone cranks the engine over, this can help jump start a weak fuel pump. I would try this first and see what happens. If it starts you most likely need a new fuel pump.

You might also want to check the crankshaft position sensor, although you say you have spark, the crank sensor also controls fuel pump and injector pulse, and I would suspect you do not have fuel getting to the engine OR you do not have enough fuel PRESSURE at the engine.

The pump could be getting a signal (the whir noise you hear) but is not providing the proper fuel pressure to start the engine.

Video showing how a crankshaft sensor works (in layman’s terms)

The crankshaft sensor should look something like this

Crankshaft Position Sensor

Please share this with your friends,
Austin Davis

Posted in: Won't Start Issues

5 Comments on "Crankshaft Position Sensor Failure?"

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  1. Diana says:

    Crankshaft position sensor was bad on my van, check that

  2. Robin says:

    Austin, I love your site you are so helpful to people here and it really shows your love and attention. That means a lot to me.

  3. Darrell Poliquin says:

    I had with my 97 grand caravan 3.3 the same problem.What I found was the wires for the cam sensor had slacked against the serpentine belt and had been worn through.After separating and splicing the three wires,I carefully suspended them ,with ties,up and away from moving parts.No problem ever again

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