cam sensor, what happens when not aligned correct?

I just di dmy cam sensor on my 94...What a *****..But there really wasnt any room for adjustment and car ran just fine afterwards...Fine enough to peg my speedo at 140 on the way to PA this weekend..hehe...But theearlier cars are different...The important things to look out for is clearance from crank sensor to crank itself.To close youlll wipe it out..Also make sure wires arent rubbing against anything...Basically If you changed it and it was to close to crank..You wiped it out,,Your car wont start..And you need a newone;O)
 
i am wondering the same thing myself about the cam sensor alignment. when they put my new motor in the aligned the sensor a few degrees to far so that the connector almost rubbs the sc tensioner pulley. my car runs like ***** and i have tried everything to fix it. maybe this is it. i have alway thought it is, but i dont know how to reliegn it. i mean i do but it says to make sure the crank is at 26degrees and what not. also i dont have the alignment tool. brian
 
ugg I menat crank sensor haha..I had changed my cam sensor on an 89 I had no problem..Pop one off add other one on
 
Some info I found. Alldata is invaluable.. at least for my 89.

A special tool must be used during the installation of the replacement synchronizer assembly. Failure to follow this procedure will result in the fuel system being out of time with the engine, possibly causing engine damage.
It is very important to coat the gear on the camshaft synchronizer with Super Premium SAE-5W30 Motor Oil XO-5W30-QSP or equivalent meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C153-G or equivalent, prior to installation. Failure to do so could result in gear failure upon engine start-up.
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The PIP output is a 50 percent duty cycle signal that provides base spark timing information. The CID signal output is also a 50 percent duty cycle signal and is required so that the DIS module knows which coil to fire and for fuel timing in the EEC-IV processor. CID is high (VBAT) half of the cam revolution (180 degrees) and low the other half (refer to Figure 10).

Thus the CID signal (Camshaft sensor signal) is used to determine which coil to fire, and to set fuel timing. It doesn't specify when to fire the coil, only which coil to fire. The Crankshaft sensor sets when to fire, and for how long.

So what you would have would be misfires and possible rich or lean conditions depending of if the wrong coil is firing, or if the fuel is being injected during the wrong stroke.
 
actually - I don't think the car would start at all. there are 4 strokes, and if the fuel was injected in any other stroke, it wouldn't run.
 
While the situation is best described as "Unexpected Results may Occur", it's possible that if not aligned properly, you might get fuel injected during an overlap period of the cylinders either late, after the piston is already traveling down, or ahead of the piston reaching it's proper fire point on the way up.

Such a small variance could cause extremely odd, and hard to pinpoint issues as most of us concern ourselves with spark timing and don't consider often the impact of fuel injection timing when someone reports a problem. Mostly because injection timing is not particularly easy to diagnose with the tools most of us have.
 
ok

I agree with you, but, do you know how to align a cam sensor without the syncro position tool? you hook up a volt meter and tighten it down RIGHT where it changes from 0 volts to +12 volts at 27 degrees TDC NOW, say it was 180 degrees off (it would still go from 0 to +12 volts) do you think it would even start???
 
engine timing

bacondoggy, how exactly do you adjust the cam sensor? where do you hookup the meter leads? i'am working on a project 90 sc and follwed the recommended procedure in the ford service manual for installing the syncronizer. tonight i checked the timing with a light, referencing the pointer (the plastics cover are long gone) and the marks on the balancer. appears to be about 20 degrees. i just read something about a (spout connnector)? where is that located? thanks, bob. it starts fine, just seems a little sluggish,so i checked the timing with the light.
ps, i didn't have the alignment tool when installing the syncronizer.
 
The car will run without the cam sensor. The cam sensor only sends a reference signal to the ECU to tell it when cylinder #1 is coming up so it can synchronyze the firing of the fuel injectors. Thats the only time the ECU uses the signal from that sensor. If the sensor goes out the ECU will geuss when cylinder #1 comes back around, it will geuss right by 3 try's and the engine will run. Its not a sensative setting all you have to do is get close.
 
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