I would argue that “crank position sensor (CPS)” is the proper proticol to indicate that henceforth in the remainder of the paragraph CPS will mean Crank Position Sensor. I prefer this form of describing a part for a few reasons; first, it describes exactly what the acronum means. This avoids confusion. Second, often different manufacturers will use different acronums and even different nomenclatures for the same basic parts. For example, Toyota calls its oxygen sensors air/fuel ratio sensors (A/F Sensor) and its alternators generators. This might be considered more accurate in my opinion, mainly because with the rectifier being contained in the alternator assembly, the output of the unit is actually in DC. Although the argument could be made that the structure of the armature, commutator, and windings is what shoud determine the correct term (does it put out a sine wave or a pulsed DC wave?).
If we describe what we’re alluding to (our acronyms) we stand a much better chance of getting problems solved. Even if our acronyms vary.