How To Test The Crankshaft Position Sensor (1996 2.5L Dodge Dakota)

By: Abraham Torres-Arredondo
Created: 28 February 2017
Updated: 13 March 2024
Articl Id: 619

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TEST 2: Making Sure The Crank Sensor Has Power And Ground

How To Test The Crankshaft Position Sensor (1996 2.5L OHV Dodge Dakota)

Before we condemn the crankshaft position sensor as defective, we need to make sure it's getting power and Ground.

Both power and Ground are provided by your 1996 Dodge Dakota's fuel injection computer.

Ground is provided by the black with light blue stripe (BLK/LT BLU) wire of the CKP sensor's engine wiring harness connector. Power is provided by the purple with white stripe (PPL/WHT) wire of the CKP sensor's engine wiring harness connector.

NOTE: The power and Ground tests are done on the engine wiring harness crank sensor connector. This connector has round female terminals. Avoid probing the front of the female terminal.

IMPORTANT: Be careful and don't short the Ground wire to battery power or you'll fry the fuel injection computer. The multimeter voltage test suggested below (for testing the Ground circuit) is a safe and accurate test.

OK, these are the test steps:

1
Verify that the PPL/WHT wire that connects to terminal #1 of the connector has 5 Volts DC with the key on but engine off.

Connect the red multimeter test lead (using the appropriate tool) to the PPL/WHT wire of the engine wiring harness crank sensor harness connector.

Connect the black multimeter test lead to the negative (-) battery terminal.

Your multimeter should read 4.5 to 5 Volts DC.
2
Verify that the BLK/LT BLU wire that connects to terminal #2 of the connector has Ground with the key on but engine off.

Connect the black multimeter test lead (using the appropriate tool) to the BLK/LT BLU wire of the engine wiring harness crank sensor harness connector.

Connect the red multimeter test lead to the positive (+) battery terminal.

Your multimeter should read 10 to 12 Volts DC.

Let's take a look at what your test results mean:

CASE 1: The crank sensor is getting power and Ground. This is the correct and expected test result.

You can now conclude that the crankshaft position sensor is defective if you have:

Verified that it is NOT producing its ON/OFF signal (TEST 1).
Verified that IT IS getting power and Ground.

If your test results match, then replacing the CKP sensor will solve the no-start problem and/or the P0320 trouble code.

CASE 2: The crank sensor IS NOT getting power. This lack of power will stop the crankshaft position sensor from functioning.

Although it's beyond the scope of this tutorial to check for this missing power, your next step is to find out why it's missing and restore it. This should solve the no-start problem and/or the P0320 trouble code.

CASE 3: The crank sensor IS NOT getting Ground. This lack of Ground will stop the crankshaft position sensor from functioning.

Although it's beyond the scope of this tutorial to check for this missing Ground, your next step is to find out why it's missing and restore it. This should solve the no-start problem and/or the P0320 trouble code.

Intermittent Failure Of The Crankshaft Position Sensor

I can tell you from personal experience that the crankshaft position sensor can fail intermittently. To be a bit more specific, the crankshaft position sensor works perfectly most of the time and keeps the engine humming along.

All of a sudden, the crankshaft position sensor stops working and the engine stalls. This can happen without any warning. When the engine stalls, it will not restart for a period of seconds or minutes. Once the CKP sensor cools down, the engine restarts as if nothing ever happened.

These types of intermittent failures are sometimes the hardest to troubleshoot and resolve. Since these intermittent crankshaft position sensor failures are quite common, I'm gonna' offer some suggestions as to how to troubleshoot them.

TIP 1: Check for CKP sensor failure trouble code P0320. If it is stored in the fuel injection computer's memory, and the engine stalls intermittently, replace the CKP sensor (even if it tests good) and the camshaft position (CMP) sensor.

TIP 2: Use a USB oscilloscope connected to a laptop or tablet to test the CKP sensor as you road test it.

Using an oscilloscope to test the CKP sensor is the most accurate way of confirming if it's bad or not. What I've done is to road test the vehicle with an oscilloscope connected to the CKP signal wire. I have a helper drive while I observe the CKP signal waveform. If the waveform starts to break up into an erratic signal just as the engine starts to stall, I then know that the CKP sensor is defective without a shadow of a doubt (and causing the intermittent engine stall problem).

More 2.5L Dodge Dakota Tutorials

You can find a complete list of tutorials here: Chrysler 2.5L 4-Cylinder Index Of Articles.

Here's a sample of the tutorials you'll find there:

If this info saved the day, buy me a beer!