Car stalled driving down the road

Tiny
LONNIEB
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 CHRYSLER PACIFICA
  • 3.5L
  • 6 CYL
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 206,000 MILES
I have checked for spark at the coil pack on the three nearest to the firewall and all three have spark using the test light method from your video. I also can hear the fuel pump run and removed the fuel line at the fuel rail and gas sprays out when key turned on.
Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 4:30 PM

13 Replies

Tiny
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Did it stall out and not restart or is it starting and operating properly right now?

If it stalled out and is operating now, then you could have an issue with the crank sensor.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/symptoms-of-a-bad-crankshaft-sensor

These sensors are well known for failing when they get hot. Then when they cool off, they operate again.

However, if it is not starting now, then we need to check for spark at the plug. This means I would pull the plug out and reconnect it, then hold it against the block and make sure it is firing a bright blue spark.

Here is a guide that talks about the crank no start:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

You need three things, spark at the right time, fuel, and compression. We need to start with testing for spark at the plug and then we can go from there. Thanks
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 4:49 PM
Tiny
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I changed both crankshaft sensor and camshaft sensor. I put new plugs in and there was spark at the plug when laid on the valve cover attached to the coil pack.
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 4:59 PM
Tiny
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Also the OBD reader keep showing a camshaft sensor code.
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 5:05 PM
Tiny
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Okay. That is good additional info. Which was the actual code and is it still active? Thanks
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 5:11 PM
Tiny
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P0340 it’s not currently active.
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 5:13 PM
Tiny
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Okay. If the code is not currently active, what is the vehicle doing? Did it cut off on the highway as you stated and then it hasn't restarted? Does it just crank and not start?

Try cranking a number of times and then pull a couple plugs and see if they are wet or smell like fuel. It is the easiest way to ensure the injectors are firing.
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 5:46 PM
Tiny
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I did crank it and the plugs were wet when I removed a couple of them. The car has never started since it shut off on the road.
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 6:09 PM
Tiny
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Could it be something with the ECM?
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Sunday, February 16th, 2020 AT 6:18 AM
Tiny
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Would just one bad ignition coil cause this issue?
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Sunday, February 16th, 2020 AT 11:08 AM
Tiny
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It could be the ECM. However, we need to run through this test and see what it brings us too. I understand that you replaced the CMP and CKP but we could still have a wiring issue.

But first if you have spark on the plug and the plugs are wet we can assume they are firing and the injectors are firing.

When is the last time you changed the plugs? If you were cranking the engine for this issue and the plugs were getting soaked with fuel, they will not fire "enough" to start the engine. Before we go any further, I would change out the plugs just to be sure.

It wouldn't hurt to verify compression on all the cylinders while you are changing the plugs. I doubt this is the issue but clearly we should confirm the compression is good.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

To answer your question, one coil would not cause a no start as they are called coil on plug meaning it only fires one plug. If one was bad, you would have a misfire on just that cylinder.
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Monday, February 17th, 2020 AT 7:23 AM
Tiny
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Okay, I will have to check compression this coming weekend. The plugs were all changed that’s when I noticed some of the plugs were wet. We had previously tried to start before we change the plugs.
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Monday, February 17th, 2020 AT 7:27 AM
Tiny
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One other thing I thought of; is it possible that timing would be out of spec?
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Monday, February 17th, 2020 AT 7:30 AM
Tiny
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It could be the timing. This is part of testing the timing. If the compression readings are low we will need to inspect the timing but it should effect all cylinders if that is the case because you have a single timing belt.
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Monday, February 17th, 2020 AT 5:37 PM

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