DTC 19 - Crank Angle Sensor Fault..

[Robsey]

Well, I have all but rebuilt the C18NZ.

Fresh oil, coolant, new filters..blah, blah
Even put a new Alternator Drive belt... what a cow of a job...
(Split the off-side engine mount to get the belt out / in).

Anyway, put it all back together...

Turn the key, and the car cranks in a suggish was...but won't start...
Checked the injector, yes fuel getting to throttle body, but not coming from the injector.

Did the good old flash code - gives 19...

So crank signal malfunction - re-checked all my wiring etc... everything fine.

so is it a coincidence that my C.A.S. has just gone belly up.?

I made a point of not trapping, tugging or snagging anything.. so quite cheesed off...

Any ideas, before I spend yet more money on the damn thing

Another thing I noticed...my cam-belt auto tensioner still moves, despite being locked / bolted back absolutely solidly..
yet i tug on the long run of the belt, and the pointer moves to a slack position and stays there ?????
Had the flamin' belt off and on, along with the tensioner about fives times this weekend...
No matter what I do, the tensioner needle still moves to the slack position...??
totally confused

[Envoy CDX]

Not sure Rob, not moisture in the contacts or something silly like that is it?
As for the tensioner, I've had that ALOT on mine, but thats on a non genuine tensioner, so I put it down to that, however it could be down to the cycle of the belt as I found on my dads astra when I did the timing belt on that it goes a little slack 180 degrees into the crank cycle.

I'm assuming since you checked for fuel, you also checked for spark?
Do you have a battery booster too?

[Robsey]

Had two newish batteries connected up...

I have had a look round on other forums, and it could be a dirty sensor, or then I could have knocked the probe out of square, removing or refitting the engine mount.
I will have another poke about on wednesday evening...

Can't be bothered to strip the front wheel, alternater drive belt, crank pulley and cam-belt cover tonight...
too pigged off with the car at the moment

must admit, that I didn't do spark test, as that is controlled by the dizzy and amplifier..
could include that in my list of things to check on wednesday...

[Envoy CDX]

must admit, that I didn't do spark test, as that is controlled by the dizzy and amplifier..
could include that in my list of things to check on wednesday...

No, but if there is no spark, then I'd agree with the sensor being off. If there is a spark, then theres something a bit urgh about it.

[planetc]

^ what he said, another simple check is if the eml goes out on cranking, if it does then you are getting rpm signal. Start there, if you got no fuel then chances are you haven't got a signal. Also bear in mind that if the head has been stripped then it can take a bit of cranking before the lifters do their stuff properly.

re the tensioner, as long as its tight then see what it does with the engine running, it should fluctuate around the v, if it's totally static the tensioner is sticking

[Robsey]

You know, I have no idea...

Think it stayed on most of the time, however I did notice that the dash illumination and all the gauges virtually went out at various stages through cranking..
almost a discharged battery... but the two batteries were only charged last night.

I did wonder if the car was struggling to crank, not just to start...
Don't know too mentally tired now..

[Envoy CDX]

You know, I have no idea...

Think it stayed on most of the time, however I did notice that the dash illumination and all the gauges virtually went out at various stages through cranking..
almost a discharged battery... but the two batteries were only charged last night.

I did wonder if the car was struggling to crank, not just to start...
Don't know too mentally tired now..

What kind of batteries were you using Rob?
Might take a while to get the compression up properly to fire.
Also, did you leave the HT leads open to the elements (under the bonnet of course) when the head was away?

[Robsey]

Wife's new wheelchair batteries (12V 50amp), they have been more than powerful enough to start the car previously..

I fully cleaned and re-packed the lifters with fresh oil.. four of them were gummed up solid...
I also pumped the lifters in a bowl of oil to get the oil to draw-in and pressurise the lifters.

HT leads were kept clean and dry in a lovely orange basket along with several other cleaned engine components.

I was absolutely scrupulous with cleanliness and following the instructions in TIS and Haynes...

[Envoy CDX]

Wife's new wheelchair batteries (12V 50amp), they have been more than powerful enough to start the car previously..

I fully cleaned and re-packed the lifters with fresh oil.. four of them were gummed up solid...
I also pumped the lifters in a bowl of oil to get the oil to draw-in and pressurise the lifters.

HT leads were kept clean and dry in a lovely orange basket along with several other cleaned engine components.

I was absolutely scrupulous with cleanliness and following the instructions in TIS and Haynes...

Excellent, I would be tempted to borrow the Vectra's battery *whistles innocently*

[daimo]

i put anothet engine in mine and it would turn over until 2 perfectly good batteries went flat, tried for days until i got fed up and jumped it of our grand scenic and turned and held key for ages then sprung into life.
refitted flat battery after charging and never had a problem starting since

[Gaz]

Ive got a brand spanking new crank sensor sat here if you need to test

[Robsey]

Thanks Gaz,

Anyway it is now sorted

Don't ask me how or why... but here is what happened..

Cranked for about 1/2 hour yesterday, until I too had flattened two batteries..
Got flash code 19 (hence this thread).

So got in from work tonight and set about removing the Crank sensor...

Anyway, I have so much corrosion on the bolt head that retains the sensor, that I could not remove it.. hammered a 5mm allen key (T-key tool), but it still slipped in the bolt head socket.

Got a strop on, and just thought... bog it !!.
Cleaned the connector pins (plug is at the back of the cam housing cover,on the cam-belt end).. The connector pins were clean, but what else could I do?

So got back in the car, (with jumper battery fully charged and connected), and after about 10 seconds, I was blessed by the sound of a very clattery (tappetty) diesel sounding engine.

In short - the car now runs, and no engine management lights

[Envoy CDX]

At least shes running again. Have you been for a wee drive yet?

[Robsey]

At least shes running again. Have you been for a wee drive yet?

Went for a short drive around a few of the local streets.. enough to silence the tappets, and to get the temperature right up, so that the fan cuts in..

Not driven the car very much, as the oil pressure situation appears not to have been resolved...

Await an oil pump thread shortly - ha ha