Ok, I heard a loud "tick" every few seconds coming from my engine recently. I looked at it at night and there is a strong blue electric arc coming from where the crank angle sensor plugs in to the adjacent pulley. I suspected the wiring harness to the sensor and gave it to the honda dealer and asked them to replace any faulty wiring.

They called and said it was the crank angle sensor shorting itself. So I changed it and no luck. It is still doing it.

Anyone have any clue where to look next?

P.S. is the sensor supposed to be covered in oil when removed? Does it actually go into the block?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Oh yeah, the tick increases in frequency with RPM's

 

Are you sure its the crank angle sensor which is down low on the front of the motor. The cam sensors are on the head.

The crank angle sensor and cam sensors are magnetic reluctor type and use very low voltage levels. They are passive devices and not supplied by any power sources.

If its the cam position sensors I would suspect that you have a major spark plug insulation problem with the spark plug tubes, or a major earth problem on the engine. Check the condition of the tubes leading down to the spark plugs, and the plugs themselves. The rocker cover is insulated from the head with rubber seals, so you may be seeing some spark leak tracking down the shield braid on the outside of the cam angle sensor lead.

Good luck. PS if the dealer service guys dont believe it, get them to hold onto some solid metal in the engine bay and touch the part with the blue spark with their fingers.

Chris.

 

Sounds like an insufficient ground. There is a ground wire that goes from the subframe to the engine on the intake manifold side, I'd remove and clean any corrosion or dirt from the wire's terminal rings.

 

It's definitely coming from where the crank angle sensor plugs in. It's a strong spark coming directly forward onto the pulley. I'll check my ground. Thanks guys.

 

Another possiblity could be that your front pulley and belt are acting like a giant Van De Graf generator (static electricity generator). Are you running a new or different brand of belt?

Chris.

 

don't know, I'll see if there's any markings on the belt

 

The belt appears to be the original. The grounds look perfect. I guess it's back to the dealer......As long as they keep diagnosing and not charging I guess I can't complain.