97 Ram 1500 5.9 4x4.
My truck was broke down for around 3 months. Didn't know what the issue was. Replaced every sensor that I thought needed to be replaced. Including the crank sensor.
Found out it was a clogged Cadillac converter. Drilled it out. Truck fired up. No more problem. So I thought.
After 3 weeks I get the check engine light comes on.
Code for crank sensor. It's brand new. So why the hell did the check engine light come on? Found another one that I had laying around. Put that in. Was fine for about a week then check engine light comes back on. Don't have the old one to put back in. Because I pulled the wires out when I was removing it.

Has anyone else had issues with there truck not liking the brand new crank sensors? Read once that someone said they are to long. (The aftermarket ones). I tried putting a washer on both sides. But now the truck won't run at all.
So if anyone has any ideas. Plz let me know. As it is getting late where I live and have to be at work early in the morning. Me other two trucks have bad tags.

I have a couple other PCM that I'm going to try. To see if the check engine light comes on

 

What brand crank sensors? It's hit or miss with the aftermarket ones.

 

I'm just curious here, maybe @Moparite can answer .... on a 1997, would it be possible the cam sensor was bad and giving same signal as crank sensor?

My little knowledge, the crank sensor works and it runs, or the crank sensor is bad and it does not run .... cam sensor can go bad and engine still runs ... not finely tuned but still runs.
All I'm reading from op, is the cel light is on .... not that it wont run.
This is true on my 1991 OBD1 Dodge 3.3.

@Jon Johnston Please take the washers/spacers out of the crank sensor. There is a exact measurement for a air gap between sensor and the flywheel. By changing that gap you are putting the engine out of time ..... I learned this the hard way.
The computer will compensate for it around town at lower speeds .... out on the highway at 75mph it can not keep up. The signal has too far to jump and it will be out of time and destroy the engine.

In my defense I was at home when the wife was driving the car and the engine blew up .... When I went to pick her up she was still in shock.
All I could see was one huge spot of oil on the road with a trail of oil leading off the road to the car .... there was shrapnel everywhere and I cleaned all the metal off the road and took her home.
When I tore the engine apart, it had a rod that broke loose from a piston and getting spun around it put at least 2 holes in the block .... 10 holes in the oil pan ... other pistons had broken rings, ring landings, broken skirts .... pistons were destroyed ..... All signs the timing was off and the explosion in the cylinders was happening when the valves were closed ... or the timing was off. ..... this was the result of not following proper procedure while installing a crank sensor.

 

PCM needs both to start the truck, after that though, it doesn't need the cam sensor any more. Rumor has it, that once running, you can unplug the cam sensor, and the engine will continue to run.....

 

I remember somebody posting a link or a video of somebody doing it. It was only idling and he disconnected it for only a minute but it still ran.

 

You see that is my point .... it still ran with a disconnected cam sensor. ..... I forget how I learned it a few years ago, I just learned my cam sensor was bad and replacing it did good things.
When my crank sensor died .... I bought me a ride home on a flatbed .... was a simple fix to install a new crank sensor .... it would not run without it.

So that is my point here ..... will @Jon Johnston engine run with a bad crank sensor ..... I'm thinking no .... I'm thinking he is spending too much time chasing crank sensors when possibly it might be a cam sensor .... or something else .... if it runs is not crank sensor.

 

From my experience, the engine will not run with a completely bad crank sensor. I had an aftermarket crank sensor (ran it for about 3 years) in my truck that started to go bad and the engine would run and sometimes just shutdown in the middle of the street. I made it back home by disconnecting the battery cables, touching them together, then re-connecting the battery cables to reset the PCM. Another time when the truck shutdown while driving, I connected the scanner and it gave me a code about the crank sensor being intermittent. I reset the PCM again by removing the battery cables again. When I got home, I ordered a Mopar OE crank sensor. I've had no more issues since installing it.