Crankshaft Position Sensor: Description and Operation

The CKP sensor is a three wire sensor based on the magneto resistive principle. A magneto resistive sensor uses two magnetic pickups between a permanent magnet. As an element such as a reluctor wheel passes the magnets the resulting change in the magnetic field is used by the sensor electronics to produce a digital output pulse. The PCM supplies a 12-volt, low reference, and signal circuit to the CKP sensor. The sensor returns a digital ON/OFF pulse 3 times per crankshaft revolution for the V6 engine, 4 times for the V8 engine. The CKP sensor reads the crankshaft mounted reluctor wheel to identify pairs of cylinders at Top Dead Center (TDC).