How To Test The Cam Sensors (2002-2003 3.5L Nissan Maxima)

TEST 2: Making Sure The Cam Sensor Is Getting Power

Making Sure The Cam Sensor Is Getting Power. How To Test The Camshaft Position Sensors (2002-2003 3.5L Nissan Maxima)

The red with green stripe (RED/GRN) wire of the cam sensor (whether it's bank 1 or bank 2 cam sensor) is the one that feeds power to the camshaft position sensor.

In this test section, we're gonna' make sure that it has 10 to 12 Volts DC when we turn the key to the ON position.

If power, is present, then the next test is to make sure that it's getting Ground.

IMPORTANT: Do not probe the front of the connector with your multimeter test leads or you will damage the connector and the female terminal in inside it. To check for power or Ground, you need to use a back probe or a wire piercing probe.

Let's get started:

  1. 1

    Place the multimeter in Volts DC mode and with the red multimeter test lead, probe the RED/GRN wire that connects to the camshaft position sensor you're testing.

  2. 2

    Connect the black lead of the multimeter to directly on the battery negative (-) terminal.

  3. 3

    When everything is set up, have an assistant turn the key to the ON position inside of the car. You don't need to crank the vehicle for this test, since voltage will be present with just the key in the ON position.

  4. 4

    If the all is OK with this circuit, then your multimeter will display 10-12 Volts DC.

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

CASE 1: The multimeter showed 10-12 Volts when the ignition was turned On. This test result confirms that the camshaft position sensor is getting power.

The next test is to verify that the cam sensor has a good Ground. For this test go to: TEST 3: Making Sure The Cam Sensor Is Getting Ground.

CASE 2: The multimeter DID NOT show 10-12 Volts when the ignition was turned On. This result tells you that the cam sensor does not have power.

This result exonerates the camshaft position sensor as the cause of the cranks but does not start condition you're trying to solve, since without power, the crank sensor can not create a signal.

TEST 3: Making Sure The Cam Sensor Is Getting Ground

Making Sure The Cam Sensor Is Getting Ground. How To Test The Camshaft Position Sensors (2002-2003 3.5L Nissan Maxima)

The camshaft position sensor (bank 1 or bank 2) gets chassis Ground from the black (BLK) wire of its connector.

In this last test, we're gonna' make sure that Ground is available.

IMPORTANT: Do not probe the front of the connector with your multimeter test leads or you will damage the connector and the female terminal in inside it. To check for power or Ground, you need to use a back probe or a wire piercing probe.

These are the test steps:

  1. 1

    Place the multimeter in Volts DC mode and with the black multimeter test lead probe the black wire that connects to the terminal identified with the number 1.

  2. 2

    Connect the red lead of the multimeter to directly on the battery positive (+) terminal.

  3. 4

    If the all is OK with this circuit, then your multimeter will display 10-12 Volts DC whether the key is ON or not.

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

CASE 1: The multimeter showed 10-12 Volts when the ignition was turned On. This test result confirms that the camshaft position sensor is getting Ground.

So, if the camshaft position sensor is not producing an ON/OFF signal, and it's getting power and Ground, then you can correctly conclude that it's bad and needs to be replaced.

CASE 2: The multimeter DID NOT show 10-12 Volts when the ignition was turned On. This result tells you that the cam sensor does not have Ground.

This result exonerates the camshaft position (CKP) sensor as the cause of the cranks but does not start condition you're trying to solve, since without power, the crank sensor can not create a signal.