Skip to content
Language: EN
Download

P0320: Engine speed input (ignition or distributor): circuit fault

The ECU is not getting a proper engine speed signal. It is usually the crankshaft sensor, its wiring or the pickup inside the distributor.

Code P0320 at a glance
CodeP0320
SystemEngine and transmission
GroupP03xx, Ignition and misfires
TypeGeneric: it means the same on every make
Can you keep driving?Better not

What P0320 means

The ECU needs to know at every moment how fast the engine is turning and where it is in its cycle, so it can time injection and spark. That signal comes from the crankshaft sensor or, on older cars, a pickup inside the distributor. Here the signal is missing, dropping out or arriving with errors.

Most common causes

  • Engine speed sensor connector loose, corroded or oily
  • Sensor wiring chafed or broken
  • Faulty crankshaft sensor, often failing once hot
  • Toothed reluctor wheel dirty, damaged or covered in metal swarf
  • Faulty distributor pickup, on cars that have one
  • Faulty engine ECU, which is rare

Symptoms

  • Engine cuts out while driving, sometimes once warm
  • Engine cranks but will not start
  • Jerking and misfires
  • Rev counter jumps about or drops to zero
  • Engine warning light on

Can you drive with P0320?

Better not Best not to drive, or only if you really must: the engine can cut out suddenly and with it you lose power steering and some brake assistance. If you have to move it, keep to quiet roads.

How to check it

While cranking, the reader should show engine speed of a few hundred rpm; if it reads zero, the signal is missing. Note whether the car mostly cuts out when hot, as that is typical of a sensor on its way out.

How to read and clear P0320 with Final OBD

Plug an OBD2 scanner in under the steering wheel, switch the ignition on and open Final OBD. Under Faults you’ll see P0320 with this same explanation and whether it’s confirmed, pending or permanent.

With Free you read this code with its short description for nothing, and clear it if the engine stores it over standard OBD. With Pro you get the full explanation, how the car was running when it was logged (revs, temperature, load) and clearing in every control unit.

Clearing the code only turns the light off: if the cause is still there, it comes back. Clear it once it’s fixed, and not right before the ITV. It’s all in how to read and clear fault codes and in the ITV and OBD.

Similar codes

P0320 is a generic code, so it means the same on any make, for example on Abarth, Cupra, Jeep, Nissan, Seat, Škoda. See what Final OBD does on your car in makes and models.

What does code P0320 mean?

The ECU needs to know at every moment how fast the engine is turning and where it is in its cycle, so it can time injection and spark. That signal comes from the crankshaft sensor or, on older cars, a pickup inside the distributor. Here the signal is missing, dropping out or arriving with errors.

Can you drive with P0320?

Best not to drive, or only if you really must: the engine can cut out suddenly and with it you lose power steering and some brake assistance. If you have to move it, keep to quiet roads.

How do you clear P0320?

With an OBD2 scanner and an app like Final OBD, which clears it for free if it’s stored by the engine control unit. But clearing it only turns the light off: if the cause isn’t fixed, P0320 comes back.