cam sensor light on newish stroker

Performance mods and Advanced Stroker discussion.
Post Reply
Lightfoot
Posts: 5
Joined: November 4th, 2008, 2:37 pm
Stroker Displacement: 4.6
Vehicle Year: 1999
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: Cherokee

cam sensor light on newish stroker

Post by Lightfoot »

Hey everyone,
I put a stroker in my jeep a few months back and ive got about 500 mile on it, but ive had this problem since i put it in, and im hoping to fix it. First here is what ive got: the jeep is a 99 cherokee with just under 200k on it. The engine i believe is from a 95 wrangler. its a 4.6, with a comp cam, larger valves and a few other mods, including 24lb ford injectors. I did not build it but it was done by a reputable shop. My problem is that I keep getting a cam position sensor check engine light. I believe the code was odb11 po178. I have tried unplugging my battery, and resetting everything, but it comes back on within a few miles. I have also put a second sensor in it to see if that was the problem, and nothing changed. I have read that you sometimes have to adjust the timing according to the cam setup, and i was wondering if that might be my problem. Here are my cam specs if i helps at all.

part# 68-232
grind: a6 x4 250h-13
intake exhaust
valve adjustment: .0000 .0000
gross valve lift .462 .478
duration@ .006 tappet lift 250 256
valve timing open@ .050 open closed
INT. 13 btdc 56abdc
EXH. 62bbdc 13atdc

specs for cam installed: @110.0 intake centerline
intake exhaust
duration@ .050 206 212
lobe lift .2890 .2990
lobe separation 113.0

The engine seems to run well, doesnt knock as far as i can tell, and my plugs look decent, but im getting poor milage. like 12-15 highway.
Any idea what could be causing my issue?
is there any chance my relocation of the coil could have caused this?
Thanks for all the help
~lightfoot
User avatar
SilverXJ
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
Posts: 5790
Joined: February 14th, 2008, 7:14 am
Stroker Displacement: 4.6L
Vehicle Year: 2000
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: Cherokee
Location: Radford, Va

Re: cam sensor light on newish stroker

Post by SilverXJ »

How does the gear on the cam and distributor look?
User avatar
seanyb505
Donator
Donator
Posts: 447
Joined: February 16th, 2008, 9:34 am
Stroker Displacement: 280ci
Vehicle Year: 1997
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: Cherokee
Location: West Palm Beach Florida

Re: cam sensor light on newish stroker

Post by seanyb505 »

Thats about the mileage I got with mine for the first 1000 miles or so. It picked up from there. I had to cut the ears off my distributor to even get the engine to fire due to the cam positioning sensor.
Now I can be like all those other awesome people with more than one Jeep in their sig, but now I have to say one of them is sold:(
97 XJ 4.6
90 MJ 4.0 - sold

I want to have as many Jeeps as children. DD, offroader, drag MJ and another one. 4=4
Lightfoot
Posts: 5
Joined: November 4th, 2008, 2:37 pm
Stroker Displacement: 4.6
Vehicle Year: 1999
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: Cherokee

Re: cam sensor light on newish stroker

Post by Lightfoot »

The gear looks good, I think its new actually. I am beginning to suspect i need to trim my ears and rotate a little bit. From what i gather this does not do anything on a stock engine because the sensor compensates for it, but with a different cam, i might be a bit outside of what it can compensate for. How can I figure out where is the best spot to lock it down? Can you use a timing light on these engines to effectively figure it out? Most of my experience is on way old trucks, like 50-60's, so this is new to me. Thanks a bunch
Lightfoot
User avatar
SilverXJ
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
Posts: 5790
Joined: February 14th, 2008, 7:14 am
Stroker Displacement: 4.6L
Vehicle Year: 2000
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: Cherokee
Location: Radford, Va

Re: cam sensor light on newish stroker

Post by SilverXJ »

http://www.angelfire.com/my/fan/dist_index.html probably the best write up on how to do it.

-Chris
dwg86
Donator
Donator
Posts: 1245
Joined: February 13th, 2008, 6:20 pm
Stroker Displacement: 4.6
Vehicle Year: 2003
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: Wrangler

Re: cam sensor light on newish stroker

Post by dwg86 »

Doesn't the cam sesor tell the injectors when to fire, and the crank positon sensor tell when to spark?
User avatar
SilverXJ
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
Posts: 5790
Joined: February 14th, 2008, 7:14 am
Stroker Displacement: 4.6L
Vehicle Year: 2000
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: Cherokee
Location: Radford, Va

Re: cam sensor light on newish stroker

Post by SilverXJ »

On the later vehicles the cam sensor predominately controls the fuel synch. Don't know on the earlier systems.
Lightfoot
Posts: 5
Joined: November 4th, 2008, 2:37 pm
Stroker Displacement: 4.6
Vehicle Year: 1999
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: Cherokee

Re: cam sensor light on newish stroker

Post by Lightfoot »

Alright, so I actually used that page to index my distributor the first time, and it has to be close to correct because the engine runs pretty well. I was just thinking that maybe the cam/ distributor gears were off by a few degrees or something. Ive been doing some serious searching of the internet for about 2 hours and after this, and realizing that the code is actually po340, not 178 ( not sure where that came from), :doh: it turns out that it is more likely a problem with my wiring harness, a ground, or the alternator. It also has little to do with timing at all, and like both you said about me, its all about the fuel sysem. hopefully i can get it sorted out. Thanks for the push in the right direction
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot], Google [Bot] and 1 guest