replacing crank position sensor / Pulse Generator

[Fishermark]

I recently posted about reading codes on my bike and the result was a code 19. I am set to order and replace my Pulse Generator and will be looking for a few pointers. I do not have a Service Manual... but it appears to be fairly straightforward. Anyone who has done this have any tips?

Looks like I remove the muffler in order to pull off the side engine cover - then remove the old sensor and replace with the new. Clean the cover, put on a light bead of sealer and reinstall everything in reverse order.

Any "gotchas" that I need to be aware of before tackling this?

 

[DirtFlier]

Besides removing the muffler, the bolts for the exhaust headpipes have to be slightly loose to allow the pipes to flop down a little and allow the bottom of the clutch cover to clear. Getting the bolts for the rear pipe loose is a real tedious process with only about 1/4 turn of the wrench possible because of the tight confines!

ps. You should buy a service manual and perhaps there is one for sale on this website? If not, new ones are available from Helm & Associates in Detroit. Helm handles all of Honda's print materials.

 

[Fishermark]

DirtFlier - thanks. Ironically enough, I only recently had the muffler off. When I bought the bike someone had installed an aftermarket muffler on it which I did not care for. Fortunately, they kep the original which I put back on. Now it looks like I will be taking it right back off! Do the down pipes have a gasket that I will need to be replacing?

 

[Ron Hudson]

Just had my done... need 2 exhaust gaskets about $3 each
part # 18291-MN4-920 my Honda Dealer had in stock.. these fit other models.

 

[DirtFlier]

There is a crush gasket where the pipe flange fits into the cyl head's exhaust port but I left the original ones as-is. That was 20k miles ago and so far no problems.

 

[Fishermark]

Okay - my part came in today... removed the muffler, no problem. Question - how do I access the pipe coming out of the head? I cannot see how to get to it. As I mention, I do not have a service manual, and all the ones I see online are pretty expensive. Give or take $100. Anyone lend a little help here? What needs to be removed to get at the bolts holding the pipe to the head?

 

[DirtFlier]

The nuts for the front pipe are easy to access while the rear pipe nuts are just the opposite. There was just enough room to fit a wrench on those nuts for the rear pipe but moving the wrench any meaningful distance is difficult. I think I did it 1/8-1/4 turn at a time. By the way both pipes only have to be loose and not completely removed which is why I still have the original headpipe gaskets in place.

The Crank Position Sensor is the small black box directly opposite the first curve in the exhaust head pipes.

 

[Fishermark]

Success! By the way - for anyone who might read this and need to do the same job.... I discovered that I did not need to do anything with the two head pipes hanging down. I was able to easily get to all of the bolts and remove the cover without needing to swing the pipes out of the way. Put it all back together - runs good. Hopefully this is the last of the "heat soak" problem with the old sensor.

 

[rc_heli_nut]

Nice to see NT owners taking a DIY approach to the crank sensor, empowering to fix it yourself and you learned something.

The failure while hot is classic crank sensor failure mode, I put lots of them in customer's cars over the years. Of course they usually started when towed in, with the engine cold. They still got replaced, the scan tool shows the failure in freeze frame data, engine hot of course.

 

[Nick Wilkinson]

In the UK salt is liberally sprinkled, it rains a lot and the air is often moist. Here the first resort is to check electrical connections. The most basic remedy is to separate plug from socket then reconnect. The super cure is to do it several times then pack with dielectric grease.

Frequently, it works. However, electrical failures may occur a little more often here.