What's the resistance in the Crankshaft Position Sensor Connector of Your Volvo 850

XavierEduardo99 · Post by **XavierEduardo99** » 29 Aug 2026, 11:05

Hi everyone,

I’ve been dealing with long cranking times and intermittent no-starts for about a year on my 1993 Volvo 850 with the 4.2 Bosch ECU.

I finally decided to measure the resistance across the crankshaft position sensor connector and got a reading of 14.67 on the 20 kΩ range—so I assume that means approximately 14,670 Ω. That seems quite high to me, although I’m using an inexpensive multimeter, so the reading may not be completely accurate. (Keep in mind I just put the multimeter leads in the connectors pins (Not the sensor itself), and since there are only two pins this was easy, however I'm not sure if that's the intended way to do so)

Could anyone with the same vehicle measure the resistance across the crankshaft position sensor connector, the sensor located near the transmission bellhousing and post the reading? I’d really appreciate it. Please also mention which multimeter setting you used.

Post by **misha** » 29 Aug 2026, 15:54

I never measured it but it usually needs to have around 350ohm.
That's tdc sensor on transmission bell housing.
I can check in my Volvo data if you want.

Reading must be measured on the connector from sensor side with engine off.

XavierEduardo99 · Post by **XavierEduardo99** » 29 Aug 2026, 23:06

misha wrote: 29 Aug 2026, 15:54 I never measured it but it usually needs to have around 350ohm.
That's tdc sensor on transmission bell housing.
I can check in my Volvo data if you want.

Reading must be measured on the connector from sensor side with engine off.

I would really appreciate if you could confirm the actual resistance value of the connector itself, because I'm starting to think the constant 214 codes are related to a broken or worn down wire which is increasing resistance a lot.

Post by **jreed** » 30 Aug 2026, 06:20

The Volvo 850 1995 troublshooting guide states 200-500 Ohms for the CPS:
"ENGINE SENSORS & SWITCHES
CAUTION: To prevent damage to Electronic Control Unit (ECU), ensure ignition switch is in OFF position before disconnecting or connecting ECU.
Crankshaft Position Sensor
Crankshaft position sensor is also known as an RPM sensor. Turn ignition off. Disconnect sensor, located below distributor.
Measure resistance between sensor terminals. Replace sensor if resistance is not 200-500 ohms."

From your description it sounds like you are using the multimeter correctly. At least, on mine when I set it to the 20KOhm range, if it displays a value like 14 that means 14KOhms.

Post by **Olegs855R** » 30 Aug 2026, 11:17

[attachment=0]IMG_1122.jpeg[/attachment

jreed wrote: 30 Aug 2026, 06:20 The Volvo 850 1995 troublshooting guide states 200-500 Ohms for the CPS:
"ENGINE SENSORS & SWITCHES
CAUTION: To prevent damage to Electronic Control Unit (ECU), ensure ignition switch is in OFF position before disconnecting or connecting ECU.
Crankshaft Position Sensor
Crankshaft position sensor is also known as an RPM sensor. Turn ignition off. Disconnect sensor, located below distributor.
Measure resistance between sensor terminals. Replace sensor if resistance is not 200-500 ohms."

From your description it sounds like you are using the multimeter correctly. At least, on mine when I set it to the 20KOhm range, if it displays a value like 14 that means 14KOhms.

Technically, I didn’t open the bag just in case I needed to return if it didn’t meet the minimum requirements.
lol. It’s funny, when I was younger, I figured out how to break into the honor bar in hotel rooms without getting zinged $87.59 for a can of soda and some M&Ms

Post by **misha** » 30 Aug 2026, 12:14

You do realize that car have engine ecu and ignition ecu?
What port did you used for reading codes?

A2 is engine ecu.
A6 is ignition ecu.

Members allready answered about the sensor reading.

If the sensor itself have readings within range...try to re-seat engine & ignition ecu a few times.

XavierEduardo99 · Post by **XavierEduardo99** » 30 Aug 2026, 12:45

jreed wrote: 30 Aug 2026, 06:20 The Volvo 850 1995 troublshooting guide states 200-500 Ohms for the CPS:
"ENGINE SENSORS & SWITCHES
CAUTION: To prevent damage to Electronic Control Unit (ECU), ensure ignition switch is in OFF position before disconnecting or connecting ECU.
Crankshaft Position Sensor
Crankshaft position sensor is also known as an RPM sensor. Turn ignition off. Disconnect sensor, located below distributor.
Measure resistance between sensor terminals. Replace sensor if resistance is not 200-500 ohms."

From your description it sounds like you are using the multimeter correctly. At least, on mine when I set it to the 20KOhm range, if it displays a value like 14 that means 14KOhms.

Thank you so much for your reply. From what I can tell, the sensor itself seems to be okay, at least resistance-wise. However, my main concern is the resistance in the wiring harness. What resistance reading do you get when measuring the harness connector that connects to the crankshaft position sensor?

XavierEduardo99 · Post by **XavierEduardo99** » 30 Aug 2026, 12:46

Olegs855R wrote: 30 Aug 2026, 11:17 [attachment=0]IMG_1122.jpeg[/attachment
jreed wrote: 30 Aug 2026, 06:20 The Volvo 850 1995 troublshooting guide states 200-500 Ohms for the CPS:
"ENGINE SENSORS & SWITCHES
CAUTION: To prevent damage to Electronic Control Unit (ECU), ensure ignition switch is in OFF position before disconnecting or connecting ECU.
Crankshaft Position Sensor
Crankshaft position sensor is also known as an RPM sensor. Turn ignition off. Disconnect sensor, located below distributor.
Measure resistance between sensor terminals. Replace sensor if resistance is not 200-500 ohms."

From your description it sounds like you are using the multimeter correctly. At least, on mine when I set it to the 20KOhm range, if it displays a value like 14 that means 14KOhms.
Technically, I didn’t open the bag just in case I needed to return if it didn’t meet the minimum requirements.
lol. It’s funny, when I was younger, I figured out how to break into the honor bar in hotel rooms without getting zinged $87.59 for a can of soda and some M&Ms

LOL That's a good way to ensure you can return the part if the sensor itself is bad. However, my main concern is What resistance reading do you get when measuring the harness connector that connects to the Crankshaft Position Sensor?

XavierEduardo99 · Post by **XavierEduardo99** » 30 Aug 2026, 12:50

misha wrote: 30 Aug 2026, 12:14 You do realize that car have engine ecu and ignition ecu.
What port did you used for reading codes?

A2 is engine ecu.
A6 is ignition ecu.

Members allready answered about the sensor reading.

If the sensor itself have readings within range...try to re-seat engine & ignition ecu a few times.

I was aware of the difference between the ports. I scanned the codes using the A6 port and got the 214 code, and I’ve also tried a spare ECU with the same part number. However, the engine still takes a long time to start, and when it finally does, it runs very rough, almost as if only one cylinder is firing at a time until all of them come to life.

I’m not sure what could be causing this. That’s why my main concern is the resistance in the crankshaft position sensor wiring harness that goes to the ECU. Since the sensor itself appears to be within the expected resistance range mentioned here.

Post by **jreed** » 30 Aug 2026, 12:57

It sounds like you are trying to measure the resistance in the wiring harness and verify the harness itself is OK. One way to do that is to measure each wire one at a time in the harness from the pins inside the CPS sensor connector back to the ECU to make sure each wire individually is low resistance. I would expect to see something in the range of 1 to 10 Ohms for each wire.