I replaced the Crankshaft Position Sensor on my roommate's vehicle the other day. Old part on the bottom, new part on top (now installed, obviously).

Somehow it's been running (but roughly) for the past 2+ years or so, with all three wires to the CKPS missing molten/dryrotted insulation and intermittently shorting out.

I really don't know how his vehicle ran as long as it did with such a faulty part, like that's the sensor that tells the spark plugs when to fire and the fuel injectors when to spray..

Now it's running pretty smooth again, still a couple minor hiccups here and there, but nothing like it was.