1999 3.4 in a 2003 Alero

[crankycowboy]

Hey guys...first post. Glad I found the site. I have a 2003 Alero with 3.4 engine. My daughter blew the HG. The heads were too damaged to surface grind so for the price, I decided to get a used engine from a junk yard. I found a 1999 with 70k miles on it. I checked the compression on all cylinders (good), checked oil etc...and all the obvious other checks I could do in the yard. I pulled the engine and brought it home. While installing, I noticed a few slight differences between the older engine and the newer one I was pulling out. Mostly minor things (like how the EGR mounts to the intake, the alernator mount, the fuel injectors were different..I was planning on using the harness and hardware that came with the older engine; however, it wouldn't mate up with the main harness etc). I just pulled the intake and swapped fuel rail and injectors and all was good. However, one problem is that the cam position sensor connector was also different. Though they would interchange mounting wise, they looked pretty different and the connector was different with different colored wires. I opted to use the sensor that came with the older engine and though the harness would "plug together (sort of), I had some concern since wire colors were different. In any case, I got it all installed. It had a little trouble starting. I noticed I could start it, but had to pump the gas...after it starts, it runs smooth as long as I keep my foot on the gas and don't let the RPMs drop below 1k. I can take it for a drive, and all is smooth except for when I let off the gas (and the slight need for gas peddle when starting). My CEL came on almost immediately and I have 3 codes. P0341 which is related to the cam position sensor....so I'm confused at what I should do here. I also have P0443 and P0449 which seem to be maybe vacuum related, or maybe associated with slightly different components that the PCM is having trouble calibrating to? Any suggestions would be great. Also does someone have wiring diagrams for the two versions of cam position sensors so I can verify it is connected properly? Thanks!

[xXManwhoreXx]

The cps is most like your idle and starting issues... As for the wiring i have no clue.. I would fix the cps before worrying about either of those codes because neither cause drivability issues.

[crankycowboy]

Thanks for the quick reply manwhore. I may have another clue which could help. I just noticed the the "ERLS" fuse was blown. I replaced it and it blew again. From what I'm reading...this controls oxy sensors, evap purge solenoid, and evap vent solenoid and egr......I would assume this is a large contributor to idle issues. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[a.graham52]

your crank shaft sensor wires are effed up. view:

2003

1999



this could also be the cause of your blowing fuse. you have a short to ground. if it was me i would take the CORRECT connector for the sensor your using and splice it onto the cars harness making the right connections. make sure you use heat-shrink connectors to seal out moisture.

simply put... match the colors