must be a front mounted sensor (6012) i'll have to look and see if its run with 5 volts or 12 volts, but i think its 12 volts
the rear mount has red (12v), pink/black (gnd) brown/white (sig)
not sure what it sees on the sig wire
most of my info is rear sen. stuff
i have a couple extra sensors, i can see what they meas
pull it out and see if it has some crap on the sensor end

 

i took some readings on my spare engine
with the sensor installed, i read 17 ohms bet the 12 volt pin (left pin) and the middle pin
(sensor pin) i get aprx 5 ohms bet the 2 outer pins (12 volts and gnd)
i get crazy readings on the middle and right pins (sensor and gnd)
remember this is with a rear sensor

 

it is a 5 volt reference front mount sensor yes. i cant figure out why i keep getting "cam snr fail" i pulled it out and it is clean.

 

im also using the stock vvt timing cover, but i removed the vvt and put a traditional cam in there. would this cause an issue reading the cam?

 

I worked in the engine factory and ran the test equipment. Some cam sensors fail when they are new. It is a common problem. Sometimes when the tester engauges the sensor it bends one of the pins and can crack them. Put a new one in.

 

the ls2 style cover is more flat whereas the vvt cover is bulged out more to clear the cam phaser. would this give an issue reading the cam sensor? i have a 4x ls2 style cam gear.

 

Jim, first off I would sell the malibu. 79 Malibus are junk, especially with 6.0 LS engines. Secondly I would buy a new cam sensor from your local Advanced Autoparts store. Third, I would put a different timing cover on it.l

 

i bought a new camshaft sensor and installed it. i will test the engine tomorrow.

 

no go. the problem is the vvt timing cover puts the cam sensor too far back to read the standard cam gear.

if i leave the cam sensor unplugged will the msd box alter my ignition timing at all from my inputted specs? i am running a carb so i know it wont affect my fuel delivery any.

 

i dont think it would even run w/o the sensor-has this thing ever run before with the 6012?
or a new setup?
can you run a stock front mount sensor cover? might have to swap it out
i would think w/o input from all the sensors, it would keep giving a fault
curious how you get a fault, is there a display panel? my 6010 doesnt have anything but the MSD box, never thought about what would happen if i lost a sensor, lol

 

Jim,

I like 5.4L engines l

Anyways do all your sensors use a COMMON GROUND? If they do say they are hooked to the intake manifold (for example) you should make sure that the Manifold has at least one or two ground sources from the battery

Also make sure that each head is grounded from the main ground point (battery ground connection)

What is the Voltage in a running condition? With the key off check your ground with an ohm meter (DIGITAL), Put it on OHM and hook the red lead to NEGATIVE on the battery and the right end on the GROUND at the terminal with the sensor unhooked from the back

Now watching the OHM Meter plug the sensor in and see if the ground goes up or down

 

i've isolated the problem. yes, my engine has run before. it starts up no problem and runs seemingly fine. the issue is the vvt timing cover puts the sensor out too far to read the standard cam gear. it is designed for use with the cam phaser. i ordered a stock ls2 timing cover to remedy the issue. the only thing no one knows, is if the cam sensor actually does anything in a carb application, except tell the motor tdc on #1 while starting...there is a 50/50 chance each time u crank it...

 

if you call MSD, talk to Peter, he guided me thru setting up my timing, also helped me fig out how to use a laptop
the gnds are kind of controlled by the pcm, sort of like more and less ground
some of the other sensors use a 5V (up to) ref for values for control
my guess it needs the cam sensor as part of the total input that everything is working correct, in phase-i found out the LS engines need a little diff carb settings, the long runners suck up some of the fuel on the way to the head, a little more agression on the pump