[matthewdutcher]

I have a 05 Chrysler Sebring Touring 2.7 L 4D sedan. The car will not start. It as a new battery fully charged. I have removed the starter and had it tested
and it is fine. When I try to start the
car all you hear is the relay click.
After you try to start all of the gears appear to be selected (a box
appears around all of the gear indicators).
The indicator remains this way every time you turn the ley into the on position
even if not trying to start the car. If
I pull the battery terminal and wait a few minutes that the reconnect the gear
indicator goes back to normal until you actually try to start the car again.

I have searched all over for any recommendations and have
been unable to find any explanation of the behavior. Any help would be greatly appricated.

 

[mrneuro]

Maybe you should try and pull the codes when that happens? http://www.allpar.com/fix/computer-codes.html

EDIT: and just to cover the obvious, your shifter is in Park or Neutral, correct?
EDIT2: another idea is to switch the ASD relay with a similar non-critical relay to make sure it's not that.
EDIT3: did some searching on web and sounds like a symptom of either a bad transmission range sensor (TRS = modern equivalent of park/neutral safety switch), a gear selector in need of adjustment (try rowing through the gears a few times to see if it helps) or other electrical/wiring issue related to the TRS.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Welcome to Allpar. If all the PRND3L boxes are lit, that means that the TCM doesn't know what gear is selected. Since the transaxle needs to be in Park or Neutral in order to crank, the starter won't be allowed to crank.
The TRS is pretty robust on these and I would more suspect a connector/wiring issue. Don't replace any parts just yet, always diagnose first.
If you are going to pursue this repair, you best start by checking all fuses and clean battery terminals, fault codes (probably P0706-'Ck shifter signal' is present) and a good service manual with wiring diagrams to plot out a plan of attack and know wire colors and know where everything is and goes to.
Try a cluster self test (hold in the trip reset button, roll the key to on and then release the reset button) and write down any codes that may appear in the odometer window. Hopefully this will include TCM codes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHSQgC5_vPA
You probably don't have a DRB III or transmission simulator tool mentioned in this diagnostic procedure below, but as long as you can confirm the circuits involved you don't need these dealer tools to find your answer. Just rule out the 'Possible Causes' list in the beginning one-by-one. Since it does this consistently, it should be relatively easy to find the culprit.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18480958/52/P0706-CHECK-SHIFTER-SIGNAL

 

[matthewdutcher]

Here is an update. I
have pulled all the relays and tested them and all are working. I tried to pull
the error codes but no errors are reported.
Also note that if I pull the battery for a minute and reconnect the “all
gear” status resets to normal. Then if I
put the key into the on position, but do not attempt to start the car, and
shift the gears they gear indicator works as expected. Only after I try to start the car does the “all
gears selected” status occur. When I ran
the cluster self test it reported the CT9492 (no sure what that is) then “no
dtc” (which I assume means no diagnostic trouble codes) and then it ran through
its checks and did not report any other codes.

 

[Jerry Simcik]

First off, I am a (2000) Sebring Convertible owner - the convertible and sedan are very nearly identical.

Okay, I have a feeling the gear range thing may be a non-issue. These cars light up the boxes around all the gear indicators during their startup. It's part of the cluster's self-check sequence. Does it stay lit up permanently, or does it go away after a few minutes?

Are you hearing a single click from the starter relay, or does it repeat?

If the car is not in park or neutral, the starter will not even click. Turning the key will do nothing.

If the relay is activating, I would start looking at the power sources to the starter.

These cars have a weird two-screw grounding post on the driver's side inner fender. The top one can be tight against the bottom one, but the bottom one not tight against the chassis. If this is the case, the accessories will work, but the car will not run or start. I would remove the top nut on the negative battery post, then the top cable, then check the tightness of the lower nut. When it is good and tight, reassemble the cable and upper nut.

 

[matthewdutcher]

Thanks for the info. I will take a look at the grounding post. As for the
gear indicator after I try to start the car the boxes stay lit. Even when
I turn the car off and come back later and turn the car back on the boxes are
all lit. The condition is only cleared when I disconnect the battery for
a min then reconnect it.

Also when I try to start the car the starter relay is clicking.

 

[Jerry Simcik]

To clarify, is it clicking once when you first engage the key, then not clicking again? Or is clicking over and over and over again as you hold it?

 

[chuzz]

Could it be a faulty key chip or does this model even have the chip? I don't know, obviously, I'm just trying to help.

 

[Jerry Simcik]

That is possible. They changed the way the Sentry Key system worked over time - not sure if he has the never version or not...

On the older versions, the car would start, even with the wrong key, but it would only run for 15 seconds, then it would die. It would not allow you to shift out of park either. The newer versions won't start at all.

In either case, there should be a red circular idiot light in the dash that is illuminated and flashing. If that's not the case, it's most likely not the issue.

How did the ground post connection look?

 

[1993NewYorker]

After reading this it sounds like you are not getting the main heavy current to the starter. The main heavy line to the starter should be hot all the time. Since you took the starter out and the starter and relay worked fine you have eliminated that part of the puzzle. Now once you put starter back in car and hook up main heavy line to starter, take a volt meter to that terminal and make sure there is voltage, or you can use a test lamp. if you have voltage with the starter hooked up, then while still on the heavy line checking it which goes directly to the battery, have someone try to start the car. when you hear the relay click if the voltage goes out or the test bulb goes out it means you don't have good enough contact thru your heavy connections to supply enough current to spin your starter. You either have a bad ground or a bad connection in the hot line due to being loose, corroided, etc.

in realality you should be able to hook up an auxilury battery to the neg to ground on the frame or engine with jumper cables and touch the hot on the starter to get it to spin. this will show you that it is you main connections.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.