Aztek V6-3.4L VIN E (2001)
Crankshaft Position Sensor: Description and Operation
24X CKP SENSOR AND INTERRUPTER RING
The 24X CKP sensor (1), secured in a mounting bracket (3) and bolted to the front side of the engine timing chain cover (2), is partially behind the
crankshaft balancer. The crankshaft balancer contains the 24X CKP sensor interrupter ring.
The 24X CKP sensor contains a hall-effect switch. A hall-effect switch is a solid state switching device, which produces an OFF/ON pulse when a
rotating element passes between the sensor tip and a magnet. This rotating element is called an interrupter ring. In this case the interrupter ring has 24
evenly spaced blades and windows. This sensor produces 24 ON/OFF signal pulses per crankshaft revolution. The 24X signal is used for enhanced
smoothness and idle stability at a lower calibrated RPM. The 24X signal is known as the medium resolution engine speed signal.
The 7X CKP sensor is bolted into the center of the engine block and protrudes into the crankcase. The 7X CKP sensor reluctor wheel is cast into the
crankshaft.
The 7X CKP sensor is a variable reluctance sensor. The magnetic field of the sensor is altered by a reluctor wheel that has seven machined slots, six of
which are equally spaced 60 degrees apart. The seventh slot is spaced 10 degrees from one of the other slots. The 7)( CKP sensor produces six pulses
and one sync pulse for each revolution of the crankshaft. This signal must be present for the Ignition Control (IC) module to send a 3X reference signal
to the Powertrain Control Module (PCM). The 3X reference is known as the low resolution engine speed signal.
