omniphil

I have an 86' 951. Occasionally the car will not start, I get out and wiggle the crank sensor connector and it fires right up. I can tell when it wont start because the tach needle does not twitch like normal while cranking.

I have cleaned out the connector and put some tie wraps on it to hold it in place tighter, but it still failed to start the other day. I think it may be in the wiring near the connector and not in the connector itself. I can easily buy another crank sensor and replace that half of the connector, but the other side of the connector is part of the wiring harness. Should I just find a junked 951 and cut the connector off the harness and solder it in? 951's aren't that easy to find junked out here.

How do you folks hanlde this issue? Its seems fairly common.

dlr944

I encountered a similiar problem. Your best bet is to replace both sensors rather than slice new wires with old sensors or vis versa. I don't believe they are that expensive - definitely cheaper than a flat bed tow.

David

omniphil

Its only the crank sensor that is giving me issues, I will buy a new crank sensor, but the other half of that connector goes to the main harness? I will have to cut and splice that wont I ?

Claus Groth

I can sell you the harness connector and 6" or wires if it helps.

omniphil

If you mean the side of the connector that goes to the main harness then yeah, that does help me Is it in good condition? and how much?

and just to clarify, on the back of the maifold there is this metal bracket that holds 2 sensor connectors, the one I need is the top sensor which should be the crank reference sensor.

dlr944

I believe the sensor includes the wire that attachs to the harness behind the manifold. I suggest replacing both sensors - if one is going out then the other one is sure to fail. Check with Zims, Paragon, Pelican..

PorscheDoc

I had the exact same problem, i ended up putting in a good used wiring harness. Not much to it, just remove the intake and feed the new harness through the firewall. I thought it would be a huge pain in the butt, but it wasnt that hard at all.

ninefiveone

How timely. I'm replacing my dme harness this weekend. Any gotchas I should know? It seems pretty straightforward. The only part that might seem iffy is at the fuse box.

Mike Murcia

I was stranded last night by the exact same connector. Is there a source for the connectors, or do we have to rely on fellow listers with parts cars?

Danno

I can get you guys the proper 3-pin female connector that goes on the harness side. Not very much, a little less than $10 each.

dlr944

Not sure why you need to make a wire harness when a new sensor includes one? Seems easier and more reliable to purchase a new senor w/ harness than piece something together?

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/reference_sensor.jpg

Danno

They're talking about female connector that the sensor plugs into. The female plug is on the engine-harness side and it too can be broken and corroded over time.