(T) Crank sensor=TDC sensor? How to get to it?

Hello,

I was advised in a previous thread that my Cinq's intermittent stalling problem might be due to faulty wiring to or failure of the crank sensor. I can't find crank sensor in my repair manual - is it also called the TDC sensor?

If indeed it is the TDC sensor, the manual gives instructions for removing the spark plugs, etc. to set TDC for each cylinder (I think), but no instructions for just checking/replacing the sensor. It looks like the sensor is on the outside of the engine. Can I remove it easily without taking off other bits first?

Many thanks for any advice you can give! It's a lovely weekend in Amsterdam and I want to see if I can sort the car out before it rains again.

Cheers!

crank and tdc sensor are the same thing. if you look under the car from the front, left hand side of the engine. look at the auxilary drive pulley. it has teeth on the outer bit of it - and pointing at them teeth is the TDC sensor. just taken a couple of pics of mine to show you, but my car has a few other bits missing atm so might look a bit different. circled the TDC and cabling in yellow. hope this helps.

The crank sensor is the TDC sensor, so thats quite straightforward.

Now, The TDC sensor tells the ECU when the engine is at TDC (top dead centre) by looking at the toothed wheel on the end of the crank. If you look at the wheel you will see it has two teeth missing, these missing teeth is what the sensor is looking for to send the signal to the ECU.

You do not need to remove any other engine components to access the TDC sensor, although taking the wheel off will greatly help.

Hope this isn't too basic for you

Cheers

D

Thank you both so much!!

The pictures are brilliant - the diagrams in the book never quite do it for me when I'm trying to find something under the bonnet.

And thanks for the tip about removing the wheel, I'll keep it in mind if I'm struggling to get to the TDC sensor.

Here goes...I'll see what I can find and let you know how I get on.

Hello again,

First of all, thanks to rallycinq and arc for their help. We replaced the crank sensor and the car is running better, but still stalling occasionally. Again no real pattern, but once it has stalled out it can't be cranked again right away. However often it is better when left overnight or for a long period of time. The starter motor is new and if the car stalls, when you try to start it again it turns over like it wants to start, but can't.

We've looked at the wiring from the crank sensor as well and in general it seems fine. But we were thinking of replacing the wiring from the crank sensor wiring connector to the main wiring block (so that from the crank sensor to the main wiring block it's all new). Do you think this is worth doing? It looked tricky to disconnect the old wires from the main block.

This morning the car was driven to work, parked just outside and then when the gate opened an hour later it stalled when it was time to drive into the car park.

So I was wondering what you would suggest checking out next. I've read a lot of different posts and seen various sensors mentioned, but really have no idea.

Thanks again for any input you can provide!

Check for a spark when it doesn't start. Easiest way is to put a spare plug in the door pocket to use.

If there is a spark it will be fuel related. When was the fuel filter last changed?

Cheers

D

i know its completely different, but i had a simular problem with my old 750 bandit. although it didn't stall, but if you turned it off, then tried to restart, it wouldn't for at least 10 mins. this was down to a faulty o-ring in the fuel tap.

what i'm getting at, is that it could be over fueling and flooding itself?

dont think they can flood as the injector/s are electronically controlled

yeah good point.

was mearly a stab in the dark.

To all,

I have a very similar issue, for weeks now my cinq will start first time but after that its hopeless. While repairing the fan belt I found a crack on the TDC bracket that holds the sensor on. Before reading the book I took it off. However this is problem as now it won't start at all.

Should I replace the bracket / sensor?

Can I do the work myself ? ( bad with cars)

Sorry for interrupting this thread

I would agree with Rallycing, sounds like a possible intermittant coil pack problem. These sort of problems are the hard to nail down without the use of a scope. Try getting a coil pack from a scrapyard, you can at least rule this type of fault quite cheaply. Also check to see if you have any cracks or splits in the HT leads causing a voltage leakage.

if the bracket that holds the sensor is out it a put the sensor out and it won't start.

The angle of the sensor bracket is factory set and should not be removed, only the sensor should be drawn out. If you have to remove the bracket for any reason it is a bit of a job to get the correct angle back by trial and error.

Did you remove the bracket when replacing the fan belt?

Yes I removed the bracket to put the fan belt on... However there is a crack along the bottom half of the bracket so much so that I could lever the bracket even while the bottom screw was still attached.

Can the angle be obtained by trail and error then?