Crankshaft Position Sensor
WARNING: This page does not describe the selected car, but rather 32 other vehicles, including the 2002 Mercury Sable, 2002 Mercury Mountaineer, 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis, 2002 Mercury Cougar, and 2002 Lincoln Town Car. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
Crankshaft Position (CKP) sensor is a magnetic transducer mounted on engine block, next to crankshaft pulse wheel. On all engines except 6.8L, trigger wheel has a total of 35 teeth spaced 10 degrees apart with one empty space for a missing tooth. On 6.8L, trigger wheel has a total of 39 teeth spaced 9 degrees apart and one 9 degree empty space for a missing tooth. By monitoring pulse wheel, CKP sensor indicates crankshaft position and speed information to PCM. By monitoring missing tooth, CKP sensor is also able to identify piston travel to synchronize ignition system and provide a way of tracking angular position of crankshaft relative to a fixed reference.