Gen V Camshaft Position Sensor Replacement

[thethom]

Hello all!

After looking all over for good quality pictures and commentary on how to replace the commonly failed camshaft position sensor (CPS) and finding a great paucity on information (and nothing for the GenV) I decided to post my experience.

My Viper has been on my storage lift in my heated garage for several weeks now. I decided to get it down and go for a drive. When I went to start it, everything turned on, lights, infotainment, and I even heard the fuel pump go on. As I went to crank it, the engine turned over....and over...and over...and never would actually FIRE to life. Yes, all this means the battery and starter were good, and I had plenty of fuel in the tank. At that point several codes came up, see below.

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All of these pointed to a faulty camshaft position sensor. I purchased an online version of the 2014 Viper service repair manual. This certainly helped a lot in both my understanding and confidence in tackling this repair.

Lets not forget, the car was still sitting on the storage lift in my garage (lowered to the floor) and would have had to be towed to the dealer if I couldnt fix it myself.

At startup the PCM looks for information from both the CRANK POSITION SENSOR and the CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR. If it doesn't receive information from both within a few seconds of turning on, it de-energizes the fuel pump. This would explain the engine turning over but not firing.

Replacing is quite easy once diagnosed. The wiper cowl has to be removed first so the CPS which sits on the top of the engine, at the rear passenger side somewhat under the intake manifold can be reached.

1. Remove the rubber plugs on top of the wiper arms. I carefully removed these using a plastic knife as not to cut them.
2. There is a nut holding on each of the wiper arms, remove each of these, then wiggle the wiper arms off.

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3. Once the wiper arms are off, there are several torx screws as well as a bolt on the left and right that hold on the wiper cowl. These are easily removed. The doors have to be open to remove the bolts on each side. It just lifts away. It won't go that far as the wiper fluid hoses are attached to it. I simply taped it up and away on the windshield.

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[thethom]

Continued as I am limited in pics with each post....

4. Now you can see the CPS (see arrow).

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5. Pull out the connector cable.

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[thethom]

Continued again....

6. Undo the screw (its recommended 55 in-lb so yes its on there good, elbow grease needed). and then twist the sensor up and out.

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7. Put some oil around the gasket on the new one, push it in, and torque it back down to about 55 in-lb. Reattach the connector.

8. Put everything back together. For me, the hardest part was getting the wipers back on. They don't initially feel like they are seating, but once you feel they are aligned in the parked position, just tighten the nut and everything will straighten out.

9. When I tried to start again, it FIRED RIGHT UP! Woooo!

10. There were still a bunch of fault codes, I took it out and it was in limp mode, wouldn't let me go past 2.5k or 3k rpm and there were some warning lights.

11. I have a scan tool I got off ebay, I was able to clear all the codes, and then all lights were off, check engine light off, and FULL power.

12. That's it, you're finished, this part cost $15 on Amazon, the work took maybe 30 mins tops, mostly because I was working very slowly and carefully and hadn't done this before.

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Shameless pic of my garage:

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[SRT BILL]

Awesome post with great pictures and detail. Thanks for posting.

[99RT10]

You sir, are what Viper owners are all about. Thank you and well done. Merry Christmas!

[ViperGeorge]

Great write-up. Thanks!

[swexlin]

Nice thank you. Your post is the first I remember on this forum about a CPS fail. This looks pretty straight forward.

[Mark1107]

Very cool! Nice stable. I’m only able to drive my GTS every 4-6 weeks. Hopefully it need replacing but you never know.

[Bryan Savage]

Great write up!

Gotta call BS on the 55 lb-ft tightening torque though. That seems insanely high for such a small bolt in aluminum threads. Was that supposed to be in-lb?

[thethom]

Great write up!

Gotta call BS on the 55 lb-ft tightening torque though. That seems insanely high for such a small bolt in aluminum threads. Was that supposed to be in-lb?

Yes you are 100% correct. In-lbs. Here’s a screen shot from the 2014 Viper service repair manual. No way to crank 55 ft-lbs with a small wrench in that space anyways unless your middle name is “forearms” or you wank it 27 times a day.

I’ll update it.

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