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From: f250pskc on 5 Apr 2007 19:54
My 1996 Cavalier has given a dts code po0341 .When i looked it up the
book reads camshaft position sensor / performance. What does that mean
exactly? Am i looking at a timing issue or what? Has the sensor
malfunctioned? Please help this Big Dummy!

From: Steve Austin on 5 Apr 2007 21:47
f250pskc(a)yahoo.com wrote:
> My 1996 Cavalier has given a dts code po0341 .When i looked it up the
> book reads camshaft position sensor / performance. What does that mean
> exactly? Am i looking at a timing issue or what? Has the sensor
> malfunctioned? Please help this Big Dummy!
>

The pcm needs the cam sensor to switch into sequential mode fuel
injection. The engine will run without this sensor working but it will
stay in bank fire injection mode. Usually it's the sensor, but it can
be a wiring problem or even the pcm itself.
From: Hal on 5 Apr 2007 20:59
On Apr 5, 4:54 pm, f250p...(a)yahoo.com wrote:
> My 1996 Cavalier has given a dts code po0341 .When i looked it up the
> book reads camshaft position sensor / performance. What does that mean
> exactly? Am i looking at a timing issue or what? Has the sensor
> malfunctioned? Please help this Big Dummy!

FYI, OBD-II diagnostic codes are 5 characters...one letter and 4
numbers. Your code is P0341. P = Powertrain. The leading 0 means your
code is a generic OBD-II diagnostic code. Anything starting with a
P1xxx means the code is a manufacturer-specific code.

OBD-II codes indicate a problem in a CIRCUIT, not necessarily a
problem with a SENSOR. Yes, it could be a bad cam position sensor. It
could also be a bad ground, a broken wire, a bad ECM, and so on. The
point here is don't assume the sensor is bad just yet.

Keeping that in mind, unplug the wiring for the sensor and visually
inspect the wiring at the connector and as far back as you can from
the connector for any evidence of damage, and then turn the ignition
key to run(do not start the engine) and probe the pins in the
connector with a standard voltmeter to see if you have a voltage
supply, one of the lines will probably give you a +5 volt, and it will
probably be one of the pins on the OUTSIDE of the connector. Another
will be ground, usually on the opposite side of the supply voltage,
and then you'll have a signal return line as well, usually in the
middle. You won't really be able to do anything with the signal return
wire in terms of testing without additional tools. The best you can do
right now is check the wiring, verify supply voltage and ground, and
if that looks okay then buy a sensor and see if that resolves your
problem. Or pay a mechanic to diagnose the problem for you and then
fix it yourself.

If you decide to buy the sensor you'll usually find the best prices at
www.rockauto.com. I see they list the sensor for your car(assuming you
have a 2.2l engine) for about $70.

Good luck with it.

Chris

From: George on 5 Apr 2007 21:36
On Thu, 05 Apr 2007 20:47:08 -0500, Steve Austin <saustin4(a)twcny.rr.com>
wrote:

>f250pskc(a)yahoo.com wrote:
>> My 1996 Cavalier has given a dts code po0341 .When i looked it up the
>> book reads camshaft position sensor / performance. What does that mean
>> exactly? Am i looking at a timing issue or what? Has the sensor
>> malfunctioned? Please help this Big Dummy!
>>
>
>The pcm needs the cam sensor to switch into sequential mode fuel
>injection. The engine will run without this sensor working but it will
>stay in bank fire injection mode. Usually it's the sensor, but it can
>be a wiring problem or even the pcm itself.

(New poster, similar problem)

I have an intermittent P0342 ("CPS low voltage"), which I've been
ignoring - it seems to go away when the weather warms up.

1. If this is really just an occasional glitch, will the engine resume
sequential mode if it recovers, or does it stay in bank-fire until you
restart the engine?

2. Is there a downside to running in bank-fire? I haven't noticed any
loss of 'performance' (so to speak), or of fuel economy.

Thanks,
George
From: f250pskc on 6 Apr 2007 00:12
On Apr 5, 6:59 pm, "Hal" <hala...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> On Apr 5, 4:54 pm, f250p...(a)yahoo.com wrote:
>
> > My 1996 Cavalier has given a dts code po0341 .When i looked it up the
> > book reads camshaft position sensor / performance. What does that mean
> > exactly? Am i looking at a timing issue or what? Has the sensor
> > malfunctioned? Please help this Big Dummy!
>
> FYI, OBD-II diagnostic codes are 5 characters...one letter and 4
> numbers. Your code is P0341. P = Powertrain. The leading 0 means your
> code is a generic OBD-II diagnostic code. Anything starting with a
> P1xxx means the code is a manufacturer-specific code.
>
> OBD-II codes indicate a problem in a CIRCUIT, not necessarily a
> problem with a SENSOR. Yes, it could be a bad cam position sensor. It
> could also be a bad ground, a broken wire, a bad ECM, and so on. The
> point here is don't assume the sensor is bad just yet.
>
> Keeping that in mind, unplug the wiring for the sensor and visually
> inspect the wiring at the connector and as far back as you can from
> the connector for any evidence of damage, and then turn the ignition
> key to run(do not start the engine) and probe the pins in the
> connector with a standard voltmeter to see if you have a voltage
> supply, one of the lines will probably give you a +5 volt, and it will
> probably be one of the pins on the OUTSIDE of the connector. Another
> will be ground, usually on the opposite side of the supply voltage,
> and then you'll have a signal return line as well, usually in the
> middle. You won't really be able to do anything with the signal return
> wire in terms of testing without additional tools. The best you can do
> right now is check the wiring, verify supply voltage and ground, and
> if that looks okay then buy a sensor and see if that resolves your
> problem. Or pay a mechanic to diagnose the problem for you and then
> fix it yourself.
>
> If you decide to buy the sensor you'll usually find the best prices atwww.rockauto.com. I see they list the sensor for your car(assuming you
> have a 2.2l engine) for about $70.
>
> Good luck with it.
>
> Chris

Thanks for the reply.

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