Camshaft Position Sensor (C(3)I System)

A Hall Effect camshaft position sensor is used on 3.8L C(3)I-equipped models, while 3.3L C(3)I-equipped models use a combination cam and crank Hall Effect sensor. The 4.5L engine uses a Hall Effect camshaft sensor located inside of the HEI distributor.

The cam sensor provides ECM with a TDC No. 1 signal used to compute the exact position of valves. This allows ECM to properly time ignition and fuel injection operation on PFI equipped models. A fault in the cam sensor circuit (no cam sensor signal) will result in a no-start condition (except 4.5L) and should set a related trouble code. For additional information, see COMPUTER CONTROLLED COIL IGNITION (C(3)I) and HEI-EST DISTRIBUTOR in IGNITION SYSTEM in this article.