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2001 Grand Prix GT - RPM gauge and traction problem...

D

DarkLord

New member
2001 Grand Prix GT, 3.8 motor. My son was driving it (maybe that's!
the problem!) and he said he heard a small click. Afterwards, the Tach
goes to 0, and the traction light stopped working.

What's the most likely cause - fuse or sensor, or something like that?

Thanks all.
 


Yes, he said it all came back on after he turned the car off overnight and started
it the next morning. It also hasn't done it since.

So that's the crankshaft sensor?

How hard is that to put on (and is it very expensive)?

Thanks!
 
Bumping this thread a bit...

Some friends of my son told him to change the cam shaft position sensor first.

Well, we did. It wasn't hard, but it also didn't fix the problem. Right now, he
can start the car, starts fine, drive it, and only sometimes, when it acts up, the
tach will drop to zero, the traction warning light comes on, and any time he stops
(red lights, stops ect) the car will die if he doesn't keep it revved up. It's running
smooth though, no roughness or anything like that.

Still probably the most likely culprit is the crank shaft sensor?

Thanks, and still wondering how hard this is to replace. I tried some searches,
looks like its fairly involved, with having to use some kind of puller to remove
stuff to get to the sensor. Do you also have to have a press to put it back on?

Thanks gang.
 
Well, had some other people tell us that it could be something in the instrument cluster, as well as some black box on the side of the transmission that would cause it to do the same thing.

I'm leaning towards the crankshaft position sensor, but does anyone have any experience with the above?

Thanks!
 


Update:

We finally got a day off together, along with some good weather (well, a little
hot - it busted 90+ here today), so we tackled replacing the CPS.

Everything went just like the guide and video showed until we hit the big 24mm
center bolt. Man, that sucker was on there hard. We broke a few tools and things
trying to anchor it down and never could break the bolt loose. We didn't have
access to an airgun/wrench.

So we finally got in touch with a local auto parts store owner that we know pretty
well (he also has a garage) and he told us to pull the fuel pump relay, start the
car and run it till it died. Then, using a 1/2" breaker bar with the 24mm socket,
put it so it catches the frame of the car, after noticing which way the dampener
turns (it's clockwise). Then, just touch the key and "hit" the bolt like that. Took
about 3 tries but I'll be danged if it didn't work. 3rd try and the bolt was loose
enough to unscrew by hand.

I had bought the GM 3800 specific bolts from that Amazon link that another
guy posted so the puller part went great. No problems there. Even managed
to get that plastic housing off without breaking it.

Everything else went fine after that. Of course, he'll have to run the car for a few
days just to make sure it's all good, but it's all done now.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and links to guides and videos. Really awesome
stuff and a great help. :)
 
thats called the redneck starter trick to remove the balancer bolt. works every time it seems. you can also pull the ignition fuse. or pull the plug wires. to keep the engine from starting.
 
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