Issue 11: Crankshaft sensor problems for Renault engines

The situation

As a result of a high number of crankshaft sensor problems with popular Renault engines, Renault discovered that the issue does not lie in the crankshaft sensor itself (Cambiare part no. VE363079) but in the connection between the component and the vehicle harness multi-plug.

How is the connection causing problems

Engine vibrations cause the terminals within the multi plug to work loose, causing a poor connection which in turn triggers a crankshaft sensor fault code. Simply replacing the sensor is not always enough to completely eradicate the fault as the underlying issue actually lies with the connection.

The solution

sensor plug locators

The solution to remedy this issue is to replace the sensor along with the connector with a newly modified blue version (Cambiare part no. VE363530) The re-worked sensor and connector kit, has very slight differences to the original version (Figure 1), so installation of the original sensor is not possible after the vehicle has been re-worked. For this reason, the new sensor is blue in colour to aid part identification.

It is highly advised that this modification is carried out, rather than just the sensor being replaced on its own with the original version. This will fix the whole underlying problem, eliminating costly repeat repairs and re-occurring break downs due to this crankshaft sensor problem.

Symptoms

  • EML on
  • Non start
  • Engine misfire
  • Possible loss of rev counter

Common fault codes

P0335: Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Malfunction
P0336: Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Range/Performance
P0337: Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Low Input
P0338: Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit High Input
P0339: Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Intermittent

Cambiare Tips and Tricks Issue 11 PDF