Well, it finally happened to me. I have never been afraid to jump in my Cat and ripoff a 400 mile day. Now I'm not so confident. Last night I went out for a bite and she dies while backing out of the parking spot. When I started her in the garage she stalled. I thought I just hadn't kept the starter on long enough. The engine caught quickly the second time and off we went. There were a few stops before the diner and she started fine each time.
When she did die there was no CEL but the Sport light (s inside a cog) was flashing. I have a ScanGauge installed and immediately checked for codes. There were none. Still, from hanging out here and learning, I'm sure it was the CPS. The engine would crank strongly. I replaced the battery 2 months ago for an unrelated reason so I'm sure it wasn't that. I pushed the car back into the spot and checked under the hood for anything obvious. Not knowing which cable was the CPS I wiggled as many as I could. After 15 minutes I tried again and she fired right up. The Sport light was still flashing.
Not wanting to tempt fate and try a restart I headed for home. The transmission was in limp-home mode and engaged only 3rd & 4th gears. Highway performance was normal. Once back in my garage I shut her off and back on again. The engine started fine, this time with no flashing Sport light. I took a lap around the neighborhood and everything was back to normal. I'll have my local mechanic change it. I know it's an easy job but it's too cold for me to lay on an unheated garage's floor. I'm due for a car inspection and oil change. The sensor mounts next to the oil filter so while the car is up on the lift he can change it easily.
I hope my snap diagnosis is correct but I'll be renewing my AAA membership just in case. One more thing. As I checked old posts for CPS info I found a reference to the Fuel Cap Alarm being related to the CPS. I have been seeing the FCA intermittently for at least 6 months. I can't say for sure but if you get the Fuel Cap Alarm it could be a warning sign of a future CPS failure.
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...ing-light.html (99 Catera "Fuel Cap" warning light comes on)
UPDATE:
I wanted to put an ending to this story. I just finished an 900 mile weekend with my new Crankshaft Position Sensor and the engine never skipped a beat. It started every time. No stalling. No codes. Nothing. Thanks to the information here I was able to save myself the frustration of dealing with clueless service techs. I ordered the part, handed it to the service manager, they installed it, and that was that. I was a little nervous during the first 30 miles of test drives before the weekend trip but after that I stopped staring at the gauges. Except for the speeding ticket I got (81 in a 65 zone) it was an uneventful trip.
It just turned 68,000 miles this weekend. After rooting around the engine and tracing the CPS cable I don't think the sensor actually wears out. It's the cable itself that's the problem. It passes very close to the left hand exhaust pipe and the oil cooler lines. I think the heat damages the sheathing (either melts it or cracks it) and shorts the sensor leads. I forgot to ask for the old part so I don't know which. Even though the cable has heat shielding, the farther away from the those heat sources the better.
GM/ACDelco PN= 90494182
BOSCH PN= 0261210
Dealer cost for the cps is $77.00 Canadian + 2 hours labor @ $102/hr.
I copied this from another post. It sounds like you may have the same problem. Good luck!
97 Catera - suddenly wont start 
