1997 Grand Voyager SE 3.3, 135,000 miles

JMCDONALDVA

MEMBER
1997 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER

A friend has a 97 Grand Voyager SE with a 3.3 liter engine.
Several days ago the van began to cut off on him. We ran the codes and were given 12, 32, 54 and 55. Disconnecting the battery and rerunning the codes produced the same results. Long story sort, we replaced the cam position sensor based on the 54 code and the van started right up and ran for about an hour or so with no issues. The next morning the van would not start and there was no code 54. I loosened the sensor and pressed it in just a bit and tried to start it again, it fired right up. He went to go to work this morning and again it will not start. Any ideas?
How do you know besides trail and error when the sensor is actually in correctly?

1 Reply

EDI3000

MEMBER
34 POSTS

WELL IT SEEMS YOU WERE ON THE RIGHT TRACK, BUT HAVING LOOSENED THE SENSOR, AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE, AND PUSHING IT IN MORE, SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE DAMAGED IT. THESE SENSORS COME WITH A PAPER SPACER. WHEN INSTALLED, AND THE ENGINE CRANKED OVER, THE SPACER GETS REMOVED, AND NOW YOU HAVE THE CORRECT 'AIR GAP'. IF YOU PUSH IN THE SENSOR MORE, IT WILL TOUCH THE CAM GEAR (OR FLYWHEEL FOR CRANK SENSOR) AND BE DAMAGED. WHEN INSTALLING A USED ONE, GLUE A PIECE OF CARDBOARD (ABOUT 0.020" THICK) ON THE END. TRY AGAIN!