ok, i will try to attach photos later tonight, but twice now, my car has thrown a P0340 code, which is the Cam shaft Sensor Circuit code, and scrolling through the pids it says loop is open. car runs..ok, untill it tries to shift, then it just bogs down, acts like it's not getting enough fuel( 'cause it's not) both times, i pop the hood, and the same wire/connector has come slightly loose(like a couple mm), i slide it back into place, and the car runs fine, i clear the code out, and am fine for about a week, untill it pops loose again.
The wire in question comes around from behind the engine, and clips into a space atop what i belive is the throttle body just coming out of the air box.

i'm gonna go take some photos and try to get 'm uploaded tonight.

now, possibly unrelated, i noticed today, that if i just turn the key to "run" so i can listen to the radio, roll down the power windows, etc, after a few seconds, the check engine light starts to flash. if i am counting right, it was 11 flashes the last time i noticed, but my scan-gauge isn't picking up any codes( associated with the flashing), nor are any coming up when doing the "keydance"

 

here are the Pics:
Attachment 8631 http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

Attachment 8632http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

Attachment 8633http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

 

Seems to be the throttle cable? That has nothing to do with the camshaft sensor.

 

happened to me again tonight, hit a bump in the highway, same code triggered, i pulled over @ the next gas station, pop the hood, same connector is a mere mm out of place, snap it back in, clear the code, everything is right as rain.

the code doesn't say that the problem is the cam position sensor itself per say, but the cam position sensor CIRCUIT (and it's showing an open loop in the circuit). which from what i have read on the interwebs, the whole circuit has to do with making sure the fuel pump and cam are in sync to deliver enough fuel, etc, etc.

 

That is interesting, because according to the FSM, these are the possible causes of that code:
INTERMITTENT CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR SIGNAL
INTERMITTENT CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR SIGNAL
(K7) 5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT SHORTED TO GROUND
(K7) 5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT OPEN
(K7) 5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT SHORTED TO VOLTAGE
(K44) CMP SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED GROUND
(K44) CMP SIGNAL CIRCUIT OPEN
(K44) CMP SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED TO VOLTAGE
(K44) CMP SIGNAL SHORTED TO (K7) 5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT
(K4) SENSOR GROUND CIRCUIT OPEN
PCM - (K7) 5 VOLT SUPPLY
PCM - (K44) CMP SIGNAL
CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR

Sounds like you might try a new throttle cable (or maybe it's the housing it clips onto)...or one from the junkyard anyways. That cable you circled; does the wire coming from it wrap around the little throttle body plate? I'd just double check and confirm it's the throttle cable.

 

yeah, i felt around a bit and that is the throttle cable, which leads me to believe the "loose connector" i had found is just a red herring, the other common denominator in all instances, was after the code triggers, shutting the engine off, then re-starting.

now, a new wrinkle appeared today, twice, first time was on my lunch break, drove the mile or so down the road to Burger King, order my food, went back out, got in the car, turned the key, wouldn't fire. tried it again, let the starter crank for what felt like 15-30 seconds, then it finally fired. and put up the same code P0340, i turned it off, cleared the code, and it fired right up.

cut to 20 minutes ago, i was going out to my car to come home from a friends house(drove there after work, no problems) car didn't want to fire. let it crank for a bit until it finally turned over same code came up, shut the car off, cleared the code, and it cranked right up. drove home no problems. i'm definately going to have to talk to my mechanic tomorrow.

and Pardon my ignorance, but what is this FSM you speak of???(Ford Service Manual?)

 

now seeing as the sensor itself is only 21 bucks, and the replacement looks fairly straight forward, do i just go ahead and replace it?
is this a common problem for a car with 57k miles?

 

FSM= Factory Service Manual.

As for the sensor, people have them go out with under 40K miles on the car. Stick with a Dodge one though. These cars generally don't like aftermarket sensors.

 

ok, so no "duralast" from autozone then....

i wonder how much the dealer will ***-rape me then....
I should be used to it though. my last car, an '00 Hyundai Sonata, would squeal/eat any belts that weren't official Hyundai Belts.

shop i go to replaced the aftermarket ones 3 times within a year, before he gave up and got the oem parts. only charged the first time though. good shop.

 

ok, FINALLY got the sensor changed. it was VERY intermittent. would go a week or more with out failing, then it would trip, i'd stop, kill the engine, restart, worked great. no codes coming up. then one day last week, it seemed to be just plain GONE. every time i started it had to crank absurdly long to start, and then would hesitate or try and cut out above 2k rpm. after work, went to my normal shop, booked solid untill the following friday (this is on a tuesday) so against my better judgment( aka: i listened to my dad), i go to the local dodge dealer, they get me in that afternoon, and find the problem to be exactly what i thought it was, the friggin cam sensor. their charge? $205 dollars. $63 for the part, and $124in labor, and the rest shop/enviro fees/taxes.( equivalent Duralast part listed @ autozone for like $23, and from what i've read i cold have changed this in my driveway in like 30minutes.)
BUT, it's fixed. and it's only money right??