I got the CPS sensor from www.alloemautoparts.com for about $45.00(aka reference sensor / crankshaft posititon sensor / heard of it called a camshaft sensor too). It is a little cheaper on the 97' vs 00'. I don't know why. Let me say first that this fix immediately fixed the cold cranking problem. I can't express in words how happy I am. Anyways, I'll explain where the CPS sensor is. Imagine your standing on the the driver side fender looking down. You are also standing parallel to the driver side front tire. Locate the black plastic cover over the entire engine, at the right end of the plastic engine cover will be the sensor dug deep down. Also, the sensor is located between the engine and the firewall. You will have to remove the engine cover to get to the sensor unless you have extrememly small hands. There is a single torx nut holding it down. There is also a single wire/cable which connects to the sensor, just pull on it vertically to remove it. I wasn't able to remove the nut with my rachet set even though I had the right torx lug because of the angle of the torx nut made it impossible to get any leverage. I instead used a small allen wrech tool which worked perfectly. It fit right in there and twisted easily. The torx nut was not in there tight at all. Makes me wonder if maybe if it was just loose all along so the original sensor wasn't able to "sense" whats going on. Installation is self explantory. Hope this helps someone. Below are pictures!
Great writeup -- and I think I need to replace the CPS in my car b/c of issues in the cold weather. What's your guess on the labor charges if I were to have a mechanic do it?
Hey thanks for the replies. One thing to note about accessing the sensor. You do not need to fully remove the black engine cover. One can probably just lift the side of the cover where the sensor lies to get access. I'd recommend to remove it fully to inspect the other hoses underneath since I found out one of my vaccumm hoses was pretty deteriorated.
As for the estimate for a mechanic to install it? I don't think it would be too much. Probably an hour to install it at the max unless they do all this other "testing." I would say between $100 - $200 for a mechanic to install it with the cost of the sensor included.
Yeah, I would also like to know if it is fitted to a 1996 E230. I couldn't find it either. However, on the same location, there seems to be a hole which is meant for the CPS, if fitted. Thanks in advance.
Raylee and Black Stallion, I did a quick search for each of your vehicle's CPS sensor location and it says that it is located at the flywheel. A better way to find out where the CPS resides is to actually buy the sensor at the MB dealership and ask the parts clerk to show you a schematic of the location of the sensor. They tend to be very helpful.
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