Need help with crank position sensor?

Hm maybe someone with that engine can see how it is. I'd be tempted to say you could just try it both ways and see which way works. I highly doubt it would hurt anything if wired backwards (it might not even matter) except if one of the sensor terminals is actually grounded.

It doesn't matter what the wire color is. What matters is that they are wired correctly and its easy. Really. As long as your replacement plug is the exact same size and shape as the one that is original.

One side of the plug has a lock tab on it. Hold the plug up while you are looking into the plug with the tab up. Note which wire from the harness is on the left. Very important so I will repeat. Holding the plug up and looking at it with the tab up, note which color wire is on the left.

Cut the original plug off leaving room for the splice.

Connect the wire noted, the one that was on the left of the plug to the wire on the left on the replacement plug, again, looking down at it and the tab up. Then connect the other wire. Plug it in.

EASY.

There lies the problem....once I removed the sensor from the engine, I moved the sensor to allow me to unplug the plug from the sensor and the wires (both) broke off flush with the terminal in the plug, leaving no wire with insulation on the removable side of the plug. I have no idea which wire came off which terminal.

JerryD said:

There lies the problem....once I removed the sensor from the engine, I moved the sensor to allow me to unplug the plug from the sensor and the wires (both) broke off flush with the terminal in the plug, leaving no wire with insulation on the removable side of the plug. I have no idea which wire came off which terminal.

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Looking at the plug, with the tab on the top, the left pin is #1, right 2. It should be a black wire and white wire. the black is on the left, #1. If your wires on the engine are not black and white, then what color are they?

Look at the color of the wires on the cam sensor. The pin location is the same on both plugs. If, and its a big IF, the harness is correlated with the wiring diagram, the wire colors on the camshaft sensor will match position with the crankshaft sensor. In other words, Pin 1 on the cam sensor is the same color wire as Pin 1 on the crankshaft sensor. Same with Pin 2 on both.

Another check requires an ohm meter. Check resistance between one of the wires and ground with the ignition OFF. As long as the circuit from the ECM is good, the #1 pin wire will measure at 100 k/ohms or less. Pin 2 would measure 5 ohms or less.

My outback '97 just had this issue, the wires were brittle and they just broke right off and I did not notice until after I put the intake manifold back on.. I plugged in the connector and it was fine but I guess it somehow just broke.. I assume the same stuff here applies to me?

Yes