Just finished replacing the timing cover and all that jazz. I noticed while taking it apart that there's a bracket that comes very close to the harmonic balancer, on the passenger side of the balancer. It looks like it's supposed to hold something, but it was just chilling there with nothing on it, no wires or anything. I had to remove it to get the cover off, and put it back on when I reinstalled the cover. Is there supposed to be a crank position sensor on this bracket? If so, where would I find the lead going to said sensor? There is no obvious wires or anything going near the bracket at the moment.

I find it very odd because with most EFI cars I've had, the crank position sensor is critical to engine function, and many will not start at all with a faulty one. This truck runs fine and has no CEL.

 

NO, there is not to be anything in the hole.

The crank position sensor or the PIP sensor as we like to call it is located inside the distributor.

For anyone that does not know what he is talking about it is the round hole in the timing bracket in the photo below.




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Thank you for the info! Merry Christmas!

 

The rockauto web site does show your truck as having a crank position sensor. Go to RockAuto Parts Catalog and bring up your truck and click on ignition. It shows pictures from different angles, just click the arrows after you click on the picture, but doesn't tell where it's located.

 

He is from PA and I dough that he has a California truck with the misfire sensor.

 

Mine (a 96 F150 with the EEC-V/OBDII controls) has that same bracket, AND a crank pos'n sensor as well. It's to support the OBDII misfire detection feature, which is the ONLY thing that crank sensor is used for. The RPM signal used to determine crank position is in the distributor, regardless of whether or not the truck also has a crank sensor.

The reason most other fuelie vehicles won't run without the crank sensor, is that it usually IS used as the only crank position reference.

 

The F150 is a different story.
His is a 1997 F-250HD 351W non California and OBD-1.

 

FYI that hole is for a magnetic probe to check timing. I've got an old snap on timing meter that uses one, been in the bottom drawer of my toolbox for over 20 years. I think I used it once just to see if it worked.

 

What the hole was for initially was the Crank Sensor in the EEC-1 system and also used in the Duraspark III Ignition system (EEC-III). The EEC-I was introduced in the 1970's. The EEC-III was introduced in 1980.
The hole was not used with the EEC-IV ignition system.

The Duraspark III Ignition system:


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Duraspark III
Duraspark III
Duraspark III

 

Right, I was only posting that info for reference. I did mention mine's OBDII and that OBDI don't use that sensor at all.