Crank and cam sensor compatibility between years

[squeegee_boy]

Hi there,

  (Yes I searched, but my search-fu is failing me.)

  I have an EJ22 from a 1992 Legacy in my 71 Super Beetle.  Runs great, lots but not too much power, and I no longer have to do monthly valve adjustments. I'm very happy with it.

  I had a crank-no-start condition the other day, quickly found no spark. It turned out to be a bad coil pack in the end, but while troubleshooting I looked up the price of new cam and crank sensors just in case.  CAD$160 for the cam and CAD$270 for the crank. W...t..f...

  After wiping my coffee of my keyboard, I checked the price of the sensors from later models. More like $50 each landed. That I could live with.

  Right now this is mostly to satisfy my curiosity, but I have 2 questions:

1. Are the later sensors physically identical to the old ones other than the plug, i.e. will they mount to the existing holes and be triggered properly by the crank/cam? It sure looks like it from the photos, but I don't have one handy to verify.

2. Are the later sensors electrically compatible with the ones from '92? Given the they're basically an induction coil, I would suspect yes. However, once again I don't have one here.

 

Has anyone looked into this before? Or even better done it? Searching for cam and crank sensors reveals a LOT of threads, and I wasn't able to find one that referred to this, though I may have missed it in the haystack.

The physical wiring would be easy, as the connectors are readily available. 

Again, right now I'm just curious. I don't actually need either sensor (yet).

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Robyn

[FerGloyale]

Early ones like you need have a long lead on them.  Crank about 12" long, Cam about 24" long.

They connect at the rear of the engine above bellhousing.

From 95 on they are all the same up to 2009-ish or Whenever the EJ series ended (way later for tubos)  And those have no wire lead, just connector right on the unit.

Electronically they are all the same. You can even use a Crank sensor as a cam sensor if needed, although not the other way around, as the CAM sensor is large diameter and won't physically fit int eh Crank mounting hole.

I suppose you could adapt the new style and just add an "adapter" pigtail. Just a simple pickup coil....the 2 wires in/out don't matter position, and the 3rd wire int eh old style is just a grounded sheild around the other 2.

 

[squeegee_boy]

Thanks FerGloyale. 

  Yeah, I'm familiar with their appearance and the wiring, thanks for the confirmation about the physical size and the electrical compatibility.  And yes, pigtails are readily available, and easily spliced.

Robyn