For crank / no-starts, most commonly you're also missing injector pulses and the fuel pump, so don't waste a lot of valuable time in the ignition system. The first thing to do is read the diagnostic fault codes. Next, we want to know if the automatic shutdown, (ASD) relay is working. The easiest way to see if the circuit is working is to measure the voltage on the dark green / orange wire at the coil pack or any injector. I prefer to use a test light so I can see it from inside the truck.
You should see the 12 volts appear for one second when you turn on the ignition switch, then it will go back to 0 volts. That proves the the ASD relay is okay and the Engine Computer has control of it. You should also hear the hum of the fuel pump for that one second. What is important is if that 12 volts comes back during cranking. Most commonly for crank / no-starts, it will not, then you will have no injector pulses and no spark. About five percent of the time the 12 volts will come back during cranking. In that case you have a fuel supply or an ignition problem, but not both.
When the ASD relay doesn't turn back on during cranking, the two common suspects are the crankshaft position sensor and the camshaft position sensor. If one of those failed, you might have a diagnostic fault code to tell you which circuit to diagnose, but the absence of a fault code doesn't mean the sensors are working properly.
If you haven't read the fault codes yet, that should be the first step in the diagnosis, and that must be done before the battery is disconnected or run dead. Doing so will erase the codes, then that valuable information will be lost.
You can go here to see the code definitions:
https://www.2carpros.com/trouble_codes/obd2
or tell me the code numbers and I can interpret them for you.
Chrysler made reading the fault codes yourself real easy. Cycle the ignition switch from "off" to run" three times within five seconds without cranking the engine, leave it in "run", then watch the code numbers appear in the odometer display.
This drawing shows the location of the crankshaft position sensor. It is as would be seen from the front passenger seat. The camshaft position sensor is inside the distributor.
Image (Click to make bigger)
Sunday, December 13th, 2020 AT 9:59 AM
(Merged)