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Crankshaft Position Sensor (Ford 4.6L, 5.4L)

How To Test The Crankshaft

Position Sensor (Ford 4.6L,
5.4L)

May 04, 2011 Updated: December 21, 2022 By:

Abraham Torres-Arredondo Article ID: 349

1 Page 2

Symptoms Of A Bad Ford

Crankshaft Position Sensor

You're probably ready to get this test

started and over with, but, before you do
you need to keep one very important
thing in mind:

When the CKP sensor fails (goes

bad), the most obvious symptoms is
a cranks but does not start
condition due to no spark and no fuel
injection.

With a bad crankshaft position sensor on

your Ford 4.6L or 5.4L vehicle you'll also
see one of the following symptoms:

1. If the vehicle is coil pack equipped:

The ignition control module will not
produce its PIP signal and thus, the
PCM will not activate the fuel
injectors.

You can verify this by using a Noid

light to check for the fuel injector
pulses.

If the fuel injector pulses are

present, the crankshaft position
sensor is OK.

2. If the vehicle is COP coil equipped:

The PCM will not activate the fuel
injectors.

You can verify this by using a Noid

light to check for the fuel injector
pulses.

If the fuel injector pulses are

present, the crankshaft position
sensor is OK.

3. No spark to any of the 8 engine

cylinders.

You can verify this by using a

spark tester and checking each
spark plug wire or COP coil.

If spark is present (even if it's just

at one cylinder), the crankshaft
position sensor is OK.

OK, enough reading, let's get testing!

TEST 1: Verifying The

Crankshaft Position Signal

The crankshaft position sensor on the

4.6L and 5.4L Ford engines is a two wire
sensor that can be easily tested with your
multimeter in AC Volts.

Remember, the battery must be fully

charged for this test to produce an
accurate result. Why? Well, because the
strength of crankshaft position sensor's
signal, that you'll be measuring with your
multimeter, depends on the amount of
RPMs your engine is turning as it's
cranking.

The following test steps assume that you

4.6L or 5.4L pick up (car, van, or SUV)
cranks but does not start (if you haven't
already read the section: Symptoms Of
Bad Ford Crankshaft Position Sensor,
please do so now). OK, this is what you
need to do:

1 Disconnect the crankshaft

position sensor's electrical
connector.

You'll need to remove some of

the plastic wire loom protector
and/or the black electrical tape
that shields/protects the two
wires of the crankshaft position
(CKP) sensor.

2 Reconnect the connector to

the crankshaft position
sensor.

3 Place your multimeter in Volts

AC mode.

4 Connect the red multimeter

test lead to one of the two
wires of the connector.

IMPORTANT: Make sure your

multimeter test leads DO NOT
interfere with the crankshaft
pulley or the serpentine drive
belt, since you'll be cranking the
engine in one of the following
steps.

5 Connect the black multimeter

test lead to the remaining wire
of the connector.

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6 When everything has been set

up and you're a safe distance
from the engine, have your
helper crank the engine as you
observe the multimeter's AC
Volts readings.

7 The multimeter should register

an oscillating voltage between
0.5 to 1 Volt AC.

Now, to be a bit more specific:

your multimeter will not register a
steady AC voltage. Instead, the
reading will jump between 0.5
Volts AC to 1 Volt AC continually
as the engine is cranking and
only when the engine is
cranking.

Alright, let's find out if you have a bad

crankshaft position sensor on your hands
or not. Choose from the CASES below
that best match your specific results:

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Foods
10 Delicious Foods That Fight
Joint Pain & In8ammation

CASE 1: The multimeter registered the

indicated AC voltage with the engine
cranking. This result indicates that the
crankshaft position (CKP) sensor is
creating a good CKP signal and is
working fine.

If you have confirmed that the crankshaft

position sensor is OK but your Ford still
doesn't start, take a look at the following
tutorial for more testing suggestions:

How To Test A No Start Condition

(Ford 4.6L, 5.4L).

CASE 2: The multimeter DID NOT

register the indicated AC voltage with
the engine cranking: This confirms that
the crankshaft position sensor is fried and
is the cause of your 'cranks but does not
start' condition.

If you'd like to buy the factory original

Motorcraft crankshaft position sensor
(and save), check out the section: Where
To Buy The Crankshaft Position Sensor
And Save.

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More Ford 4.6L, 5.4L Tutorials

To see all of the Ford 4.6L, 5.4L

diagnostic tutorials, check out this index:
Ford 4.6L, 5.4L Index Of Articles.

Here's a sample of the troubleshooting

tutorials you'll find in the index:

How Can I Tell What's Wrong With

My Transmission? (Ford 4.6L, 5.4L).

How To Diagnose Misfire Codes

P0300-P0308 (Ford 4.6L, 5.4L).

How To Test Ford 4.6L, 5.4L Coil-On-

Plug Ignition Coils (at:
easyautodiagnostics.com).

How To Test The Ford MAF (4.2L,

4.6L, 5.4L) (at:
easyautodiagnostics.com).

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Wiring
Diagrams
All The Service & Repair
Information You'll
Need

Identi'x

How to test the 4.6L, 5.4L Throttle

Position Sensor (TPS) (at:
easyautodiagnostics.com).

If this info saved the day, buy

me a beer!

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