# 4.6 northstar **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Tags:** cadillac, sts\ **Created:** [June 17, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/4-6-northstar/119363 "2018-06-17T16:53:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chris\_Cocke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Chris\_Cocke](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Chris_Cocke)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/4-6-northstar/119363/1 "2018-06-17T16:53:12Z")
hi…I own a 93 sts 4.6l northstar…how do I test crankshaft sensors? ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/4-6-northstar/119363/2 "2018-06-18T01:55:20Z")
The usual test is the engine won’t start. OR the engine dies and won’t re-start until it cools off. I believe you can test for AC output voltage as the engine cranks. See instructions here: > **[How to Test a Crankshaft Position Sensor | DoItYourself.com](https://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-test-a-crankshaft-position-sensor)** > > If your car engine fails to start properly, there could be a problem with the crankshaft position sensor. BTW, this took 5 seconds to google… ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/4-6-northstar/119363/3 "2018-06-18T02:17:35Z")
Whatever he googled he found himself here. I wonder what he entered on his search line. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 4:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/4-6-northstar/119363/4 "2018-06-18T16:58:38Z")
> [@Rod\_Knox](#): > > Whatever he googled he found himself here. I wonder what he entered on his search line Best place to discuss impact of dust on paint and aerodynamics Car discussions on oil changes that exceed 1500 replies Forums that have most closed threads due to deviating from allowed topics Chat boards with wiseacres that clog up valid threads with joke responses (guilty!) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/4-6-northstar/119363/5 "2018-06-19T02:56:43Z")
Diy’ers will verify the problem is caused by spark with a spark test, and if so – and there’s no other visual clue like a wire to the sensor has frayed, or there’s damage to the ring the sensor senses – will often just replace a questionable crank sensor. If that solves the problem, they know why. Shops have more sophisticated test equipment, such as the manufacture’s scan tool, ignition system testing equipment, digital oscilloscopes, etc and can test crank position sensors during cranking with that. It usually has to be failing at the time of the testing of course. For intermittent symptoms which are heat related, even shops possessing the hi-tech tools, a lot of crank position sensors are simply replaced with crossed fingers I expect. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 1:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/4-6-northstar/119363/6 "2018-06-19T13:13:46Z")
Ever heard of a heat gun? Very helpful in diagnosing heat related issues as you can heat up a very select part/area. They are used to diagnose intermittent or suspect heat related failures of electronic circuits and I use one at home for both electronic and automotive diagnostics…and the more traditional use for heat shrink tubing… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/4-6-northstar/119363/7 "2018-06-20T02:18:53Z")
There’s a product that sprays a very cold aerosol that electronics types use to test for heat related problems too. For intermittent failures, they wait until the suspected part fails, then spray it with the cold spray to see if it starts working again. Sometimes they’ll not know which part it is, so they spray each part on the circuit board until it starts working again, then they know which is the faulty part. That latter idea wouldn’t work so well on a car, you’d have to have several cases of the cold spray … lol … The version I’ve used is called “CRC Freeze Spray”.