P0340 Camshaft position sensor

1998 Metro 1.0. Car has run great until recently. Suddenly hard starting and got a P0340 code (camshaft position sensor). I have checked wires and no shorts or breaks. Resistance reading is within specs. Checked with digital volt meter and got .03 to .04 volts so got another sensor and still got same voltage. Manual says .4 to .1 A/C volts. Tried another used sensor and got same voltage reading. I get same voltage reading at PCM. I could believe a bad meter but I find it hard to believe three sensors all bad with same voltage. I have checked the gap from sensor to lobe and tried high limit and low limit. Car starts from time to time but only about every tenth time. Something wrong with the basic distributor? Bad PCM? Any ideas?

Had the exact same problem and code. Tried everything you did and then some. Asked all the questions, got all the suggestions, tried all the solutions. Still doesn't run. Bought a new one (car, that is).

I usually don't give up on a problem (my wife says something about an old dog and a bone...), but this one has me baffled. I have: checked every wire and connector in the wiring harness, replaced the ECM, replaced the coil, replaced the crank sensor (there was no actual cam sensor, they use the pick up coil), replaced the pick up coil, adjusted air gap from high to low, replaced the igniter. Everything is within spec or new, and the car still doesn't run.

If you figure it out, let me know. I'll do the same.

Finally ran new wires outside of the wiring harness directly from the sensor to the control module. That made the car start most of the time. Then discovered that the starter was drawing too much so I was not getting a good spark since all of the current was going to the starter instead of the distributor. Rebuilt the starter and now everything is working and the car starts every time. I still cannot explain the low voltage reading so I am not taking the car on long trips until I have more confidence that I have solved the problem but it has been OK for a week now. I also read somewhere that someone else had a similar problem and it ended up being faulty ignition wires. Take a good look at the starer and ignition circuit.

Take your meter to your local parts supplier and use it to test a new Cam position sensor right there at their counter. If your meter shows the new sensor "in spec" then you will have answered the question of whether the ones you got from the junkyard are out of spec or your meter has gone awry and you won't have to spend money to do it.

It's also possible in the course of the printing of the manual that they slipped a digit on the spec and .04 became .4 Not that Chilton ot Haynes would ever make an error......

Sounds like grounding problems to me, very common on our cars.

I checked the ground cables. Where do you think there would be a bad ground?

The sensors and the PCM get their ground from a big pack of wires that bolt to the engine or intake manifold in the most inconvenient spot possible. Kinda underneath the intake manifold, near the alternator. This ground goes bad a lot. Also, the main ground wire off the battery isn't very good, I ran a longer one to where the engine, transmission, and starter all come together, then another heavy cable from there to the steering rack mounting bolts. That's just me, I tend to improve things, but all grounds need to be loosened, wiggled, and tightened. The connections at the battery are famous for looking fine but making poor connection inside the terminal.

I will take a look at the ground wire from the cable bundle. I have checked and cleaned the others but did not find one at the intake manifold. I have to do some other work on the car today so I will look int that. PS: The most trouble I have had with the car is with the exhaust system. About a year ago suddenly the catalytic converter started hitting the oil pan and wore a hole through the oil pan. I cannot find anything wrong and finally added a strap to hold the exhaust system in place.

Found the cable ground. It is no wonder that I missed that one. I had trouble finding it even when I knew where to look. Thanks.