Starter replacement or check wiring diagrams needed

There are at least a dozen vacuum hose routing diagrams in the service manuals that cover all the various combinations of options. To be sure you are using the right one, it is printed on the emissions sticker under the hood. Start with that to see if it answers all your questions.

The online diagrams leave a lot to be desired, but I was able to find this one. It shows the engine wiring harness as it lays on the engine. Hopefully that is enough to help you find the sensors.

I do not have a picture of the starter. What are trying to do related to that?

Here is a page you can go to for the diagnostic fault code definitions:

https://www.2carpros.com/trouble_codes/obd2

Any code numbers in blue can be clicked on to get more information. You can also post the code numbers in your reply and I can interpret them for you.

The starter location is even more sad. This drawing simply shows how it is mounted. Chrysler has always put them on the driver's side of the engine. In all my years at the dealership in the 1990's, I never changed one of these, so I do not know how difficult it is to get to it.

The coolant reservoir should not even enter the story here. Its hose goes to a tap on the radiator right under the cap. That is not a vacuum hose so it will not be shown on the diagram under the hood.

"I am getting no power until after 2,500 rpm's"

Do you mean the engine runs, but it is sluggish up to that speed? If so, be aware the engine starts and runs on the crankshaft position sensor up to 2,500 rpm's, then the computer switches to watching the camshaft position sensor above 2,500 rpm's. A lot of people have reported fault codes setting for these sensors when using aftermarket brand sensors, and different codes set when replacing them with manufacturer's parts, so keep that in mind.

P0016 specifically means the computer sees a timing mismatch between the the crankshaft position sensor and the camshaft position sensor. That is most commonly caused by the new timing chain being off by one or two teeth, and that can explain why, even with good signals from both sensors, the engine runs differently below verses above 2,500 rpm's.

All the diagnostic steps include checking for the much less-common intermittent wiring and sensor problems. If a sensor's signal drops out intermittently during the period when it is not being used, that loss of signal will still be detected and set a code. This is where you can get the P0340 at times. The thing to do is watch how those sensors are listed on a scanner. I have a Chrysler DRB3 for all of my vehicles. That lists each sensor as "Present" or "No" during cranking and while running. If you see one of them bouncing back and forth, suspect the sensor or loose connector terminals or a light film of corrosion between the mating terminals. If you only get the code P0016, but consistently, I would strongly suspect the timing chain is off a tooth. This is easier to do than you'd expect because it uses a spring-loaded tension-er that also fills with pressurized engine oil once the engine is running. If the crankshaft is not rotated in the normal forward direction by hand multiple times, when the pin is pulled on the tension-er to release its spring tension, it can walk the cam gear backward as it takes up the slack. It is not uncommon to hear of people starting and running the engine with the front end still disassembled to insure the timing is still correct. That beats having to take the whole front end apart again.

I made a boo boo related to the coolant recovery tank. I told you the hose connects to a port right under the radiator cap, but your car uses a different design. There is no radiator cap on the radiator. Your reservoir is part of the cooling system that builds up pressure, and the radiator cap is on that reservoir. I looked at a picture of the radiator, but I cannot tell if the hose still goes to it or if it goes to the engine. If that hose is hooked up right, you will see the level rise a couple of inches when the engine is hot and it will fall over a few hours as the engine cools down.

I have a better solution though than photos. Look for a pick-your-own-parts salvage yard and find a car like yours to look at. If you are anywhere between Ohio and southern Georgia, do a search for "Pull-A-Part" and see if they have a yard near you. They used to have twenty three yards, and I have been to sixteen of them. All are very clean and well-organized. Parts are inexpensive. Customers and employees have always been very friendly and helpful. You pay your buck, take your own tools, and you can spend all day there. They have added some yards around Texas and further west now too. You can do an inventory search on their web site too to see which yards have cars like yours. It can not tell you which engine and other optional equipment any one of them has, what the paint and fabric colors are, or which parts are defective, broken, or already gone. There are also other similar yards popping up all over. I was at one in St Louis ten years ago, but that one was a dump. Very dirty and muddy, and no organization to anything.

Yah; my genius and wisdom are legendary, or so I like to think. Keep the praise coming. My friend needs to visit a salvage yard soon and he is threatening to take me along. If I remember, I will look for a car like yours and burn what I see into my memory.

I have heard good things about PB Blaster, but my experience has been with Chrysler's "Rust Penetrant". Working on a really old and rusty TV antenna tripod on a roof some years ago, the Rust Penetrant got the bolts loose in twenty minutes, after WD-40 did not work from Friday afternoon to the next Monday, soaking all that time. Rust Penetrant sizzles, but when you are done, you must wash it off, otherwise it opens the way up for moisture to follow it in, then the parts get rusted together even tighter.

If you have to drill, try using a punch and hammer to drive the sensor deeper into the hole, just a little. That will break the rust bond, then you might be able to use the mounting ear to spin it and pull it out. Remove the mounting bolt first so the ear can bend and flex if it wants to.

I just went through a similar problem with my 1994 Grand Voyager daily driver, but this was with a corroded stainless steel nipple pressed into an aluminum housing. The nipple was for a cooling system hose, and it is not available separately. Have to buy a $1,000.00 assembly to get the nipple, but since the dealer I used to work for still likes me, they offered it to me for $680.00. Still too much for a rusty van I got for nothing.

Broke a piece of the assembly off from a van in the salvage yard, then found that nipple was real easy to slide out after heating the aluminum around it with a torch. That nipple slid into my engine very easily with just real light hammer taps while my friend heated that aluminum housing.

I was prepared to drill the old piece of nipple out, but when it came time to do that, there was just powder in the hole. That is what happens when the antifreeze is ignored for twenty years and all the additives have worn out!

As a side note, that van was crying two weeks ago. He could not understand why I left him tied to my trailer for two weeks. I left him on there while doing the work at my friend's shop, in his driveway. When it came time to take him home, I made a side stop at the local YMCA where I can use their wireless internet in the parking lot. (I had a major house fire four years ago, and do not have internet at home yet). On that short side trip to the "Y", I made two passes past one of our local salvage yards. The van assumed I was waiting for them to open so I could dump him off there and abandon him. He was sobbing so quietly. It was pitiful. Trailer was wet when I got home later.

Actually, ... It was raining that night. That is why the trailer was wet; at least that is what my friend is trying to convince me of.