The fastest way to render your engine powerless is to have your camshaft go haywire. A camshaft sensor is an electrical device used to monitor the positioning or the rotational speed of a camshaft both in a petrol and diesel engine.
When a camshaft sensor goes bad, it sends unreliable information to the engine like a mismatched fuel delivery, wrong ignition timing, etc. The best solution at this time would be to have the sensor replaced. Therefore, what do you do after replacing camshaft sensor?
What to do after replacing a camshaft sensor is to use a diagnostic scanner OBD-II to clear the error code or reprogram your car’s ECU to erase the check engine light on the speedometer to allow the car to start receiving information from the newly installed sensor.
What to Do After Replacing Camshaft Sensor
After replacing a camshaft sensor, you can either:
- Use an OBD-II scanner to erase the error code that came on because of the bad camshaft position sensor that was replaced. Doing this will get rid of the error code that caused the check engine warning light to come on and allow your car to adapt to the new sensor.
- Use an OBD-II scanner tool to reprogram the car’s computer to start receiving information from the new sensor.
Failure to either clear the code or reprogram the ECU will prevent the car from receiving information from the newly installed sensor. So, you have to make sure this is done immediately after the replacement before driving the car.
Nonetheless, you also need to ensure that the connection and mounting bolt are wired and installed appropriately otherwise you are likely going to continue seeing the check engine light on even after clearing the error with a code reader.
When to Replace Camshaft Sensor?
It sometimes gets confusing to understand which and which is the problem, the camshaft sensor or the crankshaft position sensor. Because they work in hand to make a vehicle function well and the similarities to their names, it feels cranky and tricky to truly understand if you are a newbie who is told everything about a car.
A camshaft is always attached to the crankshaft with a timing belt. A failure in the camshaft can cause a bit of serious is malfunctioning to a car. You can call it is the “Cancer attack”. It comes with symptoms and strikes aggressively when not corrected fast at its early stage.
You replace your camshaft sensor when you have read signs/ symptoms of damages from your vehicle. A few symptoms you should note include:
- Reduction in engine power
- Stalled engine
- Vehicle refusing to start
- Rough idle
- Visible of an engine light
However, before replacing your camshaft sensor, there are certain things you have to know such as knowing how to identify unknown camshaft. You need to know how to identify the type of camshaft your car uses to be able to get the right one for your car.
Can You Reset Camshaft Position Sensor?
Yes, you can reset a camshaft position sensor with car equipment such as a voltmeter and ohmmeter. Resetting a camshaft position sensor can be done if precautions are followed duly even as a newbie with little or no knowledge about vehicles.
- The inductive performance of the sensor should be checked with a voltmeter and ohmmeter
- Turn off the car ignition to take a few measurements
- Verify the resistance, ensuring it is between 200-900Ω
- Verify the measured resistance with the car’s standard data
- Have the terminals of the voltmeter connected with the sensors
- Startup the engine again, leaving it running without driving it
- Your RMS value should exceed 0.75V
Advantages of a Good Camshaft Sensor
There are various reasons you need a good camshaft sensor as a vehicle owner. Aside from breaking free from stress, there are other interesting factors that can’t be neglected. They include:
1. Considerable Fuel Consumption
Aside from a peaceful ride, it is the joy of every vehicle owner to spend the desired amount of money on fueling and not be in a position where they are forced to spend extra because of the overconsumption of fuel by the engine.
Overconsumption of fuel isn’t so much of a pleasant experience, particularly if the driver isn’t so much buoyant in resources; they restrict their movements just to maintain fueling. Having a good camshaft can save you from the stress of spending excessively on fueling.
2. A Good Driving Experience
A bad engine will cause a bad driving experience. Nothing is so shaming, like having your car break down with a client in it. It can be painful when your engine doesn’t function normally.
Every driver doesn’t want to be pained for handling engines the wrong way. More reason it is recorded that drivers give more attention to their car engines compared to other components of the car.
With a good camshaft, your engine efficiency is high. A splendid car is a good car, not because of the beauty alone, but because you can drive it in peace.
3. Swift Use of the Gear
Another interesting factor every fast driver will love is to harness the power of their gears to the best of their ability.
With a camshaft problem, it becomes stiff to adjust gears to taste. It wouldn’t be a pleasant experience to be on a highway to slow down or push in a little nitro and you have your gear seizing.
4. Doesn’t Flash the Danger Engine Light
Having a peaceful ride is another way to enjoy life. Drivers jump into a state of panic immediately they see flashes signaling danger from the engine part of the car.
Even if the driver is of high hopes and resilient, at the sight of the sparks of flashes signaling the engine is cursed with a problem, any driver grows into a state of panic, and an urge to check what is wrong arises.
A good camshaft cannot be deeply emphasized other than the peace it delivers to the car and the car owner likewise.
Conclusion
It is explosively great to know what to do after encountering a problem with your car. Fixing up your camshaft can be easy, resetting isn’t hard too. Therefore, know what to do after replacing the camshaft sensor in your car.
A sprinkle of focus and knowledge with a ready-to-get-it-done mentality is good enough to reset and do everything that involves your camshaft sensor.
It can frustrate and be petty confusing if every detail isn’t properly followed, but with enough understanding, you can get it done all by yourself.