2008 crankshaft position sensor question

Finoke

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I need to change out my 08 Viper crankshaft position sensor. Is this just a quick swap then plug it back in and go? Or is there a relearn or activation process that needs to be done by the dealer service garage?
 

TexasViper35

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Why to you believe your CPS is bad? Generally speaking a car won’t even start if a CPS is defective. It’s basically a fancy magnet with a few wires that sends (vital) info; it typically works or it doesn’t, nothing in between.

But to your question, I don’t think that changing a CPS will affect stored computer memory. And besides, you can just drive the car a few cycles to allow it to evaluate and reset everything.
 
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Finoke

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Thanks Guys, I just got the car a month ago. The first time I took it on the highway, it cut out when I accelerated hard in 5th gear.

I pulled over and it restarted and got me home no problem.

Codes P0335, P0337 showed up. I will get it up on the 4 post lift on Tuesday and check the plug in and wires leading to it.

The battery is 2 years old and is holding 12.6 volts. I hear a lot about these cars doing weird things with a bad battery. Is it worth having the battery checked?

Tom
 

TexasViper35

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I had that same drive a few weeks after getting mine. I was doing 140-145 when I hit 5th! Sorry your car let you down, this time.

It could definitely be a CPS, or it’s wires. You should not drive it until you get it diagnosed and repaired. Was anything mechanical done to the car before you bought it? If you don’t see any obvious issue with the wires you might go ahead and replace the CPS, use OEM MOPAR, and hopefully that will do it. But if not you might need diagnostic tools that many don’t have, so your dealership is the next stop I suppose.

On the other question, I don’t think it’s your battery, the alternator takes over after you start the car. But I had a bad battery that would still start the car every time, but there was this weird sort of hesitation when I first press the button, I didn’t realize that the battery was going out. I finally figured it out when I kept failing emission inspection. So yea, it could be going out, but it’s probably not the cause of your issue. If you pull the battery to get it tested go to Walmart, their battery testing equipment is way superior to auto parts stores. But you will clear all stored memory and will have to drive the car to get everything reset. The dealership supposedly has equipment to store your settings during testing, and perhaps that’s a better choice. BTW, my last THREE (3) MOPAR batteries have all died just after 24 months, like clockwork!

Good luck!
 
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Finoke

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I told myself I was going to change tires and battery as soon as I got the car. I did the tires but held off on battery since it’s dated 2019. It is a mopar battery.

ive read that a bad battery can affect the engines operation while running. It’s still tied into the system and it can cause the system volts to fluctuate if there’s a short in it.

i will change the CPS and battery then go from there.
 
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Finoke

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Also, I don’t have any service history on the car but it appears **** stock. The car looks new in, out and under the hood. It only has 5700 miles on the odometer.
 

TexasViper35

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I suppose it’s true that the battery is still an important link in the system.

Have you driven it 3-4 times since throwing the codes? Sometimes it’s a false reading because of how you were driving. I have not thrown a CPS code, thankfully, but I did get a code for O2 sensor when I stupidly started off from a red light in 3rd gear once. I suppose if you were only doing 55-60 mph and floored it hard in 5th gear it “could” throw a false code. Mine cleared itself after three short drive cycles - the car is constantly monitoring things and if it was a fluke it will see that after a few trips and cancel the CEL on its own.

For my battery, I now basically have a routine to buy a new one every other Christmas before it has an opportunity to let me down again!
I’ve read that a bad battery can affect the engines operation while running. It’s still tied into the system and it can cause the system volts to fluctuate if there’s a short in it.

i will change the CPS and battery then go from there.
 
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Finoke

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Haven’t driven it again but the CPS is cheap and I was going for a new battery anyway.

So I will get it on the lift and do the sensor. Then take it out and see what happens. On a day that I’m not working lol! Just in case.
 
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Finoke

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I changed out the crankshaft position sensor. Super easy and inexpensive.

I also changed out the MOPAR battery which was 2 years old for a yellow top Optima. I didn’t have any history on the battery and have no idea how many times it may have been discharged. It was reading 12.2 volts when I checked today.

i took the car out today and it ran strong. Absolutely no issues.

thx for all replies!
Tom
 

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