Ok, so my beloved '89 wagovan has been having some issues.

First, it wouldn't start. I noticed all the wires to the distributor were melted, had the distributor replaced by my mechanic.

The next day, I noticed it was bogging out after being idle/stopped and wouldn't accelerate. This problem persisted, but there was no CEL. Soon I took it on the highway and found that when I accelerate over 60, the RPMs jump up from 3,000 to 4,000 and the engine bogs. The car was also using a lot more gas than usual. Still no CEL.

I finally decide to check the CEL light just in case and it throws a 4, crank angle sensor. I read that with no CEL on, the code means nothing, so I took apart the dash to see if it was burnt out, only to find there was NO BULB in the slot for CEL. I threw the bulb from the seatbelt light in there and of course, the CEL came on.

I replaced the distributor again.

Next day, after driving about 20 minutes, the CEL comes back on and now the car won't accelerate over 1,000 RPM. Still throwing the code for crank angle sensor.

Any ideas? I can't keep putting distributors in this thing.

 

my guess is something is wrong in the wiring

 

In the wiring to the ECU?

 

yes - make sure that the orange and white wires for the crank sensor are in the correct locations on the distributor connector and that the wires have continuity to the ECU - you didn't say which engine you have but here are the diagrams for the wire locations for both the MPFI and DPFI engines - 7-wire connector for the AWD wagon and 5-wire connector for the 2WD wagon

 

Alright, I checked the wires, and they look ok. I tested the ohms and they were the same on the distributor and the ECU side of the wires. So, I figured it must be the ECU, and replaced it with another one. Now the CEL is back on and I am still getting the same code and in limp mode and won't go over 5mph. Any other ideas? It is the 1.5 engine, automatic. I am really at a loss here. Maybe I am not checking the wiring properly?

 

try switching locations of the orange and white crank sensor wires at the distributor and see if that fixes it

 

i had this problem in my car
and the fix was the 02 sensor wiring and the sensor itself
fixing the 02 sensor fixed the code 4 crank problem
id take a look there
the bad gas millage is a big give away on it being the o2 sensor

first id change just the sensor and if problem isnt fixed then replace the wiring for that sensor
and then move on from there

good luck

 

Alright, still trying to figure this out... I changed the O2 sensor with a new one, still having the light and 4 code come on after 3 miles.

So I finally switched the orange and white wires, and it seemed to work, but it's idling funny, and doing some weird jumping between 2,000 and 3,000 RPMs, and then the CEL came on again after 11 miles and it showing the 8 (TDC) and 4 (crank angle) codes.

Any other suggestions??

 

I could not get this issue fixed and decided to sell the car, in case anyone is interested. Car is in Chicago.