Repair 7

How to Tell if Your 2001 Toyota Camry Camshaft Positioning Sensor Is Bad

In 2001, Toyota Camrys were manufactured with multiple engine options. In base form, the Camry came equipped with the 2.2-liter DOHC inline four-cylinder engine which offered buyers excellent fuel economy at a reasonable price. In upgraded form, the Camry came equipped with a more powerful 3.0-liter DOHC V6 that provided more power with slightly increased price tag. The camshafts in each engine are monitored by a camshaft position sensor that records the position of the camshafts in relation to the crankshaft. The positional information is used by the PCM to alter ignition timing and ensure that the engine runs smoothly. A faulty camshaft sensor can cause symptoms such as stalling, sputtering, and lack of power. Checking the resistance on camshaft sensor terminals and comparing that to a specified value is the proper way to determine the whether the camshaft sensor is operating properly.

Instructions

2.2-Liter Engine

1

Open the hood and locate the camshaft position sensor. It is bolted to the lower-right side of the valve cover assembly, on the front side of the engine block. Its a small black sensor with a two-wire connector attached to it.

2

Disconnect the sensors electrical connector by depressing the locking tab on the connector and pulling it away from the sensor.

3

Measure the resistance across the camshaft sensors pin terminals with a digital multimeter.

4

Compare the resistance value on the digital multimeter to the specified value. The specified resistance value for the 2.2-liter engine is 835 to 1,400 Ohms when cold and 1,060 to 1645 Ohms when hot. If the sensors resistance value is outside these parameters then the sensor must be replaced.

3.0-Liter Engine

5

Open the hood and locate both camshaft position sensors; in the V6 engine there are twoone in each cylinder head. The sensor itself is located on the back rear corner of each cylinder head. It is black, just like the sensor for the 2.2-liter engine and has the same two-wire connector attached to it.

6

Disconnect the electrical connectors on each sensor by depressing the locking tab and pulling the sensor connector off of the sensors connector flange.

7

Measure the resistance across each sensors two pin terminals and record that value on a piece of paper.

8

Compare the resistance value against the specified values for the sensors. If the sensor is made by DENSO, the resistance should fall between 835 to 1,400 Ohms when cold and 1,060 to 1645 Ohms when hot. If the sensor is made by Wabash, the resistance should fall between 1,690 to 2,560 Ohms when cold and 2,145 to 3,010 Ohms when hot. The sensor should have a stamping mark on the inside of the plastic connecting flange indicating which company manufactured it. If the sensor falls outside of these specified values then it is faulty.