Explorer Sport Trac P0320 engine stalling

[HollywoodFMX]

so I had an issue with my engine stalling when coming to abrupt stops or hitting hard enough road bumps. I would have to put it in neutral (because I was still rolling) and start it, it would fire right back up. My check engine light would con and it was a P0320 code. I couldn’t find MY specific issues for my vehicle so I did some investigating in the areas the P0320 code sent me (Crankshaft position sensor). I could see from laying under the truck that the engine side of the crankshaft pulley was shiney from something rubbing on it and I could also see some plastic pieces broken above it. I wiggled the only wire harness going above it and found it to short out (sparking from grounding out on the pulley). This wire harness, that is supposed to be protected away from rubbing the pulley by using a plastic rail guard, had been rubbing against the crankshaft pulley and into the alternator power wire. So every time I hit a bump or came to a hard enough stop, the wire would bounce down into the crankshaft pulley and ground out, killing the engine. I remove the air filter intake tube, the alternator, the crankshaft position sensor, and pulled the harness down as far as I could to see the damaged wire. The wire is frayed and now missing 1/3 of its connection where it rubbed through, and all of us “technicians” know replacing the complete wire or harness is the proper answer (no argument there). However, for the average joe or bottom dollar guy at home, listen up. Making the connection Timon whole again is the objective here, so that means you can’t just put electrical tape on the remaining wires and call it a save. Think of it like this; if you have a hose that runs liquid through it and the hose is then pinched, then the amount of fluid flowing through is now less. Same thing with the flow of electricity through the frayed wire. If there is now less wiring in a strand of wires, then the electrical current has now less room to flow. Yes the current is still flowing and yes you may never notice a difference, but your vehicle does. Depending on how much of the wires are now gone, the wiring can get warm or hot from the resistance,and the object on the other end of the wiring may not the proper voltage now. So for that average joe or broke guy, see if you can fill the gap of missing wire with solder or PROPERLY replace the section of wiring that is damaged. After repairing/replacing the wiring, the final objective here would be to make sure this does not happen again, so maybe zip tie the harness to keep away from the pulley. I hope this info helps those that are having the same issues and those that are lost...