Eating Camshaft Position Sensors (Ignition Pickups)

[SpellsingGeo]

Twilight zone:

I present to you now, for your review, a 1993 Geo Metro, 1.0 L 3 cyl with automatic trans and A/C. It is a Vin Code 6 Engine (5 bolt crank pulley).

This car stopped running on the road without warning. When I finally took off the distributor I discovered a spiderweb of copper wire that apparently came from the Camshaft Position Sensor (some call it the ignition pickup and others erroneously call it a "module.") Full Service Manual says it is indeed the Camshaft Position Sensor.

I thought, no problem, must have worn out or maybe something wrong with the signal rotor. I took the distributor out of my other 1993 geo metro and installed it in the ailing one.

Cranked it twice, it almost started then just died.

When I took off the distributor, would you believe what I found?

It happened to the NEW distributor. Copper wire spiderweb!

What is causing my distributor to eat these sensors? It cannot be mechanical, it must be electrical.

Does anyone have a clue?

Oh, here's some example pictures for you.

[Crvett69]

thats the pickup coil its shredding. i would check all the engine grounds and also make sure ignition coil isn't shorted out

[SpellsingGeo]

Originally Posted by Crvett69

thats the pickup coil its shredding. i would check all the engine grounds and also make sure ignition coil isn't shorted out

Thanks for the advice. You're the second person to tell me to check the grounds. The component is called the "cam position sensor" in the FSM.
I copied and saved this diagram straight from the FSM.