catch 22 question

[thecrash91]

so before i took my car to the trans shop i noticed it suddenly had a hard time starting almost everytime. (sometimes itd start right up, but most of the time it took a while) after they swapped in the new tranny, they said i have a code for cam position sensor. now here is where it gets confusing.
Ive read online that a faulty starter can throw the CEL code for the sensor, but ive also read online that a faulty cam position sensor can cause hard starting. anyone have any suggestion as to which i should start with first? id assume the sensor, since its cheaper, but i may be wrong, since the hard starting showed up first. (about a week before CEL came on)

 

[powderider87]

Well how does the car drive once it does start? And when you turn the key it turns over and sounds normal just takes awhile to start?

 

[hornsfan10609]

Every once in a while lately my car won't crank on the first try. My TT has a volt meter on it and it drops to 10-11 volts while the car is cranking, battery is only 4 months old. I know it always starts easier if I let the key sit in the second position for just a second and let the injectors/fuel pump prime. Check out the wiring for the cam and crank sensors and make sure everything is plugged in tight. Since they are just magnets they don't typically fail but that's not to say they can't. The crank sensor was about 80 and the cam was like 110 last I checked, from the auto parts store.

 

[Tuners and Rods]

Cam and crank sensors do fail pretty regularly. Not an issue I've seen with these cars though. Whats your fuel pressure?

 

[hornsfan10609]

Yeah, I was being Protege specific.

 

[Tuners and Rods]

I'm just saying it does happen. Have you checked FP?

 

[thecrash91]

well i couldn't check anything because it was at the trans shop, before it was giving me hard starting, and the trans shop said the code popped up when they test drove the car after the install. well i went there, and the starter is making absolutely zero contact with the flywheel, so i think its safe to say that it is the starter. the car is now at my other mechanics shop to get that done.
thanks all for the suggestions though. hopefully the code doesnt pop back up (it wasnt on when i drove from trans shop to mechanic shop)