Symptoms of a Bad Crank Shaft Position Sensor

Crank shaft sensor is a crucial part of car's engine in modern automobile engineering. It monitors engine's various components via the vehicle's computerized engine management system. This sensor helps to look overall engine functions, track the speed of crank shaft rotation and also check for the engine valves with respect to the pistons. The warning signs of a bad crank shaft position sensor can be detected easily by the driver and ignoring such symptoms will result in wear and tear of various engine parts.

• Blinking of “check engine light”: The most obvious and simplest symptom of a car's bad crank shaft position sensor is the blinking check engine light. As the light is programmed to work well in advance, it allows you to take care of the malfunction before the car is left stranded. Once the light starts blinking make sure to take your vehicle for servicing.

• Malfunctioning of ignition: The signals that are to be transmitted by the crankshaft sensor to the computer begin to get low when the crank shaft sensor begins to fail. This failure causes the spark plugs to die out and thus have a negative impact on the engine's system. A problem in switch starting a car indicates that it has a bad crank shaft position sensor.

• Vibrations in engine: Crank shaft position sensor helps to regulate its position and in case if the sensor fails to do so, a considerable rise in engine vibration occurs. This ruins the engine power as well as the mileage.

• Backfiring and stalling: A constant back firing and stalling is one of the signs of a defective crank shaft sensor. In this case, the engine is more prone to stalling/stopping as you drive for few seconds. The engine gets backfired if one ignores the warning signs where the engine gets exhausted and ultimately dies out.

• Rough idling: One can feel that the car's engine vibrate or runs rough at its idling if its crank shaft position sensor is defective.

• Reduced gas mileage: With a bad crank shaft sensor, the engine will not receive required amount of fuel at the right time thus resulting in lower fuel efficiency.

• Problems with acceleration: A failed crank shaft sensor will not send right information to the car's computer which is important to make adjustments in fuel injection and spark timing. Without accurate information from the crank shaft, ECU (Engine Control Unit) will not be able to coordinate the engine pistons together resulting in the inability to maintain speed and poor acceleration.

If you are experiencing the above mentioned disruptions, it might be the right time to overhaul your vehicle's crank shaft position sensor.

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