OBD-II Code
P0323
Severity
Not yet reviewed
Nobody on our side has assessed this code yet, so we are not going to guess at how serious it is.
Can you drive it
We cannot say
Treat it as unknown until a shop reads it with live data. If the check-engine light is FLASHING, stop driving as soon as it is safe to — that means an active misfire, whatever the code.
Indicative cost (USD)
$80–$650
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P0323 means the Ignition/Distributor Engine Speed Input Circuit is signaling intermittently — the PCM is losing the pickup-coil reference pulse from inside the distributor (or from an externally mounted pickup on some platforms) just long enough to drop spark and fuel, but the signal returns before the engine stalls.
How a shop works this
Work from evidence to part, not the other way round. A code names a circuit or a symptom; it does not name the part that failed.
Note every code that is set, not just this one.
Codes that appear together usually narrow the cause faster than any one of them read alone.
Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under.
Cold or warm, idle or load, road speed and engine speed. A fault that only appears cold is a different fault from one that only appears under load, even with the same code on the scanner.
Confirm the fault is current rather than history.
Clear the code and see whether it returns under those same conditions. A code that does not come back may have been logged during a repair, a flat battery, or a bad connection that has since been disturbed.
Then follow the diagnostic notes further down this page, in the order they are written.
They are written in the order a shop works this code, cheapest checks first. Where they name a component, inspect its wiring and connector before replacing it.
If the code comes back after a repair, the underlying fault is still there. That is the point to bring in a scanner with live data and freeze-frame, or a shop that has one.
Common symptoms
- Check engine light
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0323 means the Ignition/Distributor Engine Speed Input Circuit is signaling intermittently — the PCM is losing the pickup-coil reference pulse from…
P0323 means the Ignition/Distributor Engine Speed Input Circuit is signaling intermittently — the PCM is losing the pickup-coil reference pulse from inside the distributor (or from an externally mounted pickup on some platforms) just long enough to drop spark and fuel, but the signal returns before the engine stalls.
Cheapest-first ladder
- scan live data while wiggling the distributor harness with the engine running and watch RPM for momentary drops to zero or huge spikes — a healthy distributor pickup-coil VR signal cranks at 0.5 to 1.5 V AC peak-to-peak and rises to 5 to 12 V AC at 2,000 RPM, while a Hall-effect pickup produces a clean 0 to 5 V square wave with rising/falling edges sharper than 1 microsecond.
- Backprobe the pickup signal wire at the PCM connector with a scope: dropouts, jagged edges, or a ground offset above 0.2 V are the smoking gun.
- Resistance-check the pickup coil itself — most VR pickups read 500 to 1,500 ohms between the two signal pins; open or shorted is dead.
- Inspect the distributor cap for carbon tracking inside, the rotor tip for corrosion, and the pickup wiring where it exits the distributor (heat cycles crack the insulation at the strain-relief grommet).
- Expensive misdiagnosis caveat: on GM Vortec 4.3/5.0/5.7 trucks the OptiSpark and later HEI/CMFI distributors are notorious for the optical-pickup or magnetic-pickup module failing intermittently — shops replace the entire $250-$500 distributor when reseating the 3-wire pickup connector and cleaning the corrosion at the cap pins clears the code; always pop the cap and inspect the pickup harness pigtail before condemning the distributor assembly.
Vehicle-specific patterns1996-2002 GM Vortec 4.3/5.0/5.7L (Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, S-10) with the distributor-based ignition is the most common P0323 vehicle in the field…
- 1996-2002GM Vortec 4.3/5.0/5.7L (Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, S-10) with the distributor-based ignition is the most common P0323 vehicle in the field — the OptiSpark on LT1 cars and the conventional distributor on Vortec trucks both fail at the optical or magnetic pickup, and water intrusion through the distributor vent is a known killer.
- 1997-2003Ford 4.6/5.4L Modular V8 (F-150, Expedition, Crown Vic) with the early distributor-fed systems throws P0323 from cracked PIP sensor wiring inside the distributor housing.
- 1995-2004Toyota 2RZ-FE / 3RZ-FE 4-cylinder (Tacoma, T100, 4Runner) and the 5VZ-FE V6 with distributor ignition throws P0323 from internal pickup-coil shorts and from corroded distributor cap terminals, especially on coastal trucks.
- 1996-2001Jeep 4.0L inline-6 with the distributor-mounted CMP throws P0323 from a worn distributor shaft bushing letting the pickup gap drift out of spec.
Estimated repair$80 to $650.
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