So Greg how is it working out? Waitin' on your input to head out to place you gave me if your liking it!!

 

CLAY!!! Get it from Clay here! He'll set ya up!

 

I have been intrigued by the everlasting Cam Position Sensor issues since replacing one on a friend’s truck in a parking lot, due to a no start situation after driving fine only minutes before.

When I bought by ’02 the first thing I did was order a spare CPS and throw it in the glove box like so many other 7.3 owners. Over the years I have read many posts and looked at the data the posters provided to make conclusions. Well the other day I decided to order one of the new Dark Blue CPS to see if it would make a difference.

I have noticed a slight miss in the idle of my truck since the dealer put in the grey “recall” CPS. I can’t complain too much, since it seems to run fine everywhere else and my wife will tell you there is nothing wrong at idle, even if I “show” her the feeling of the miss that I feel. I have pondered throwing in the spare Black CPS, but I have also read where some guys are getting less MPG on the black one versus the Grey one.

So when my new Dark Blue CPS arrived in the mail, I decided to break out the AutoEnginuity for some testing of Perdels and Cylinder Contribution Tests (CCT). I decided to run everything in the stock setting on my DP-Tuner to keep it as close to real as possible. Truck was warmed up to get the Engine Oil Temp to spec where Perdels could be read.

CPS Information:
Black CPS P/N: F7TZ-12K073-A
Grey CPS P/N: F7TZ-12K073-B
Dark Blue CPS P/N: F4TZ-12K073-C

The picture shows from left to right, Dark Blue, Gray, and Black sensors.




Black CPS is marked as: 1825899
Grey CPS is marked as: 1876735C91
Dark Blue CPS is marked as: 1876736C91

One thing I did notice about the three different sensors is the body that goes inside the block is much larger on the original Black CPS compared to the two newer versions. Does this have something to do with why they read differently? The Black one has a diameter of 0.892” while the Grey and Dark Blue have a diameter of 0.720”. Maybe nothing since it is just a plastic case, but it did make me think it could have something to do with it.



Here is the data from the Perdels tests:








The Black CPS brought Cylinder 3 and 8 down to a respectable level. Idle was very smooth and CCT passed with no codes. Start took less time than normal although the engine was warmed up.

The Grey CPS performed the same as I have seen in other posts. Cylinder 3 was higher than most and Cylinder 8 was above the 5% limit which appears to make the CCT fail. The CCT test did fail and gave me P0284 Cylinder 8 Injector Circuit Contribution / Balance Fault. Idle seemed to be smooth but if I pay close attention and lean on the door sill, I can feel the slight miss. Appeared to crank a second or two longer than the Black CPS, but nothing unusual and engine was warmed up

The Dark Blue CPS surprised me! The Perdels for Cylinder # 3 were much higher than the Black CPS and even higher than the Grey CPS. Cylinder #8 was slightly less than the Grey CPS reading. The CCT test failed on Cylinder #3 & #8 with codes P0269 & P0284. Appeared to crank a second or two longer than the Black CPS, but nothing unusual and engine was warmed up.

I was a little confused why the Dark Blue CPS (which is claimed to be the “new better version”) did a little better on cylinder #8 but far worse on Cylinder #3. The truck has a much more noticeable miss at idle now too. I will leave it in for a few weeks to see if it performs any differently or has any noticeable effect of fuel mileage.

I guess I would be curious to have a batch of CPS, and then I could run each one to see if it is a manufacturing issue or a design issue. I imagine I will end up pulling out the Dark Blue CPS and install the Black CPS. If I see my mileage drop way down I will probably drop in the Grey CPS again as it idles much more smoothly.

I'm sure every truck will perform a little differently, but this is what I came up with. I did pull various other data during these tests but limited the Perdels and CCT tests as the purpose of this post.

After running this test I ran the Dark Blue CPS for a few months. The truck always idled a bit rough and the CCT always failed on #8. Perdels remained high. Best mileage I obtained while running the Dark Blue or Gray CPS was 18.1 being careful.

I have since put the OEM Black one back in and now CCT passes each and every time, Perdels are under 4% all of the time and the idle is much smoother. I have noticed an increase in mileage. I just took a trip and running 65 mph I got 20.23 MPG. I was not babying the truck to get this, but I was keeping the rpm's at roughly 1800 which kept me at 65 mph. There was a bit of town driving but mostly highway.

I have ordered another black CPS from Clay at RiffRaff to have as another spare now!

 

Makes no sense... I get between 1% and 2% at WORST on #3 and #8 and I've got 297K on my injectors. I also have the IH CPS as well. Weird...

*EDIT* Oh yeah, and I don't fail a CCT either... this is odd.

 

I don't fail the CCT with the black one, only the gray and dark blue ones. I really think it has to something to do with the magnet strength since the OEM black one is much stronger than the other two.

 

I don't know... it's weird. I just went with an IH because I'd heard it said so, but Clay said it as well and had it right there... he's done ALOT of legwork when it comes to his products so I knew if he had it, then I ought to go with it. But that's interesting... I didn't really even look at mine, I just stuck it in there.

 

This makes me SO glad that I just ordered a couple of Blacks from Clay.

 

That I don't know Wayne but if you would like I could pick one up & send it to you.

 

I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll go for the black one.

 

Does anyone have any details on what type of sensor the CPS actually is? What it's output looks like, what it's supply voltage is. From the outside it looks identical to some of the sensors that Caterpillar uses, and I have access to the specs on those. I'm wondering if there could be a Cat part number that matches up and provides another source for these sensors.

 

It's a Hall-effect device. It's reference (or supply) voltage is +5 volts, supplied by the Powertrain Control Module, and it's output closely approximates a square wave.

There are things that could be done to "beef up" its reliability, including signal conditioning and differential signal transmission, but would add significantly to the cost of a CPS, and require modification to the PCM.

But design and manufacturing cost IS a consideration, and they actually did a pretty-good job of it all, considering the trade-offs.

Pop

 

OK bud, I don't blame you, think I might do the same.

 

Didn't International have the equipment to measure and shim it? Does that help?

 

I don't have the capabilities to run the tests like the AE software. I did however take my truck today to get a buzz test & CCT done with the new CPS. The garage used a Snap On scanner & although I do not have the readings.. he told me it passed the CCT with no issues & Buzz test with no issues.. I also had no stored codes. My truck idles a lot smoother with the new IH Cps over the lite gray one that was in there from the Ford recall. Overall, I'm happy with the new CPS