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2011 compass no start

13K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  bguy 
#1 ·
Wife just called to say the Jeep winds over but no start. The engine light and the throttle light are on. I'm at work and she's getting a ride home.
First thing to look for?
 
#3 ·
Ummm, no ignition (spark) would cause a vehicle not to start, and there are many others.

The Drive-by-Wire electronic throttle caution light coming on might be a big clue. Something malfunctions with that, its not hard to imagine it wouldn't allow the engine to start.

I've gotten the light and simply turning the ignition off and turning it on again cleared the problem. I don't know if your wife just made one attempt at starting and never turned the key all the way off before doing another attempt. Its worth a try. But first to look into is the electronic throttle.

Do you know how to do the key dance to get codes to spit out on the odometer? I think in 2011 Chrysler cars still had the feature, FCA removed the feature in later vehicles. Do a youtube search for the Chrysler Key Dance so you can get the OBDII codes, that is the first place to start and if there are codes for the electronic throttle, then you know its your problem.
 
#5 ·
. . . . Wife just called to say the Jeep winds over but no start. . . .
When you first turn the ignition switch to ON / RUN you should hear the electrical fuel pump power up for about 1 - 2 seconds. Does this happen? You may have to station someone outside and near the rear of the vehicle to detect. If NO fuel pump sound there is an electrical problem with the fuel pump load and / or control circuit.

Engage the starter for a few seconds and then release the ignition switch to ON / RUN. You should hear the electric fuel pump continue to run for 1 - 2 seconds and then power down. If you do not hear the power down, then it is possible that the crankshaft position sensor is not sending the proper signal to the PCM (powertrain control module) that the crankshaft is rotating. The PCM needs to know that the crankshaft is rotating before powering up the electric fuel pump.

. . . .The engine light and the throttle light are on. I'm at work and she's getting a ride home. . . . .
After a few quick checks time to try and pinpoint the reason for the NO START condition. Connect a scan tool to the OBD II port and retrieve codes. That will give a direction for diagnosis.
 
#6 ·
This is 2.4 CVT 4D 4WD.
Has over half tank of fuel.
I can hear the pump running ( it doesn't cut out while the key is on ).
My Innova 3100 says there are no DTCs although the Engine light stays on after the throttle warning light goes out.
I doesn't crank really fast like the timing belt was off so I believe the compression should be good at 75000 KM.

And I can understand why the mileage would be lacking. Man that thing is hard to push even on level ground!
 
#7 ·
The 2.4L WGE has a timing chain, not belt.
The fuel pump and pressure can be fine, but if the injectors aren't opening because of no signal, then gas still isn't getting to the cylinders. You can try a shot of solvent into the throttle body to test for this. If there is good spark and timing is OK, it should fire briefly.
Spark plug tips may tell a story if they're wet or fouled?
The ck eng light may stay on until it starts up. I wouldn't pay too much attention to this if no codes are present.
AWD can be hard to push if you are fighting against the clutches, especially if the front wheels are turned.
 
#8 ·
Pulled a plug.
Dry.
Deep tan. Kind of a Moab orangey tan. I felt it to be a serviceable plug.
So I pulled the inlet tube from the air cleaner housing and put a drop of raw fuel in the tube. The throttle body is down by the motor mount/ under the manifold so the fuel went into the air cleaner end, maybe a 1/4 oz.
No hint of running with and without the accelerator depressed ( I realize there's no physical link ).
Final thing I did was to pull a coil off ( 2nd from the right, #3? ), put a new out of the box plug in the wire and grounded it on the hoisting loop. No spark.
Whatever the issue is the computer doesn't think it needs spark.
 
#9 ·
Does your Innova show the presence of a crank/cam position sensor signal while cranking?
 
#10 ·
I was looking for blown fuse (none).
I can't find a relay bank?
IC From the booklet I don't think the Innova will read while cranking. I must admit I've never used it's full potential. I'll give her a go tonight.
I don't want the dealer to find something stupid like a blown relay or bad connector. It's most of my day I have to take off work plus 130km round trip to get the car carrier and drop it off. Wife made an appointment for 1:00 tomorrow.
 
#11 ·
Most fuse and mechanical relay duties have been taken over by solid-state drivers in the TIPM.
If a short circuit occurs in the wiring or the component, the TIPM will shutdown power to that circuit for protection. It will set a fault code for either open or short circuits.
Can the Innova read TIPM fault codes?
 
#12 ·
I think it reads P codes/ emissions stuff but nothing like open or shorted circuits. More like no input from O2 sensor type thing.
I've been thinking about the throttle body location. It's pretty low on the front of the car. Have you had hands on one of these?
 
#16 ·
Battery lug trick didn't work.
She's at the dealer now. I told him to call if it needs parts. Service writer said there's a wire that comes over the wheelwell that they are familiar with.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Well it appears I was on the right track looking for a relay bank. There is/are relay(s) behind the LH wheelwell somewhere under the fuse bank. I'd expected it to be nearby. The tech removed the wheel and inner fender liner and found a relay with one terminal corroded completely off. So he "fixed" the wire and installed a new relay and put back all the covers and things I'd left off.
Carrier rental $80.00
Repairs $170.00
Gas $30.00
3/4 day off work .......

Tag this one a solved. This is a common issue.
 
#18 ·
Well, thanks for letting us know what it was. It may help someone in the future with the same problem. Do they use a lot of salt on the roads where you are? I'm just wondering what caused the corrosion on a 6 year old vehicle.
 
#19 ·
I believe that this same electrical problem can also happen to the related architecture of the Caliber and Patriot. The 2007 Caliber that I drive has not exhibited a problem in this area yet, but I do want to take a look at it soon for peace-of-mind.
 
#20 ·
while this is very late, if u can, put a dab of die electric grease on relay terminals. may prevent corrosion. used this trick on bad turn signal on 200, it worked so I could return replacement turn signal. I did also disassemble old TS & grease contacts in there. cost of small tube dielectric was less than $4. as I recall, replacement TS was about $35.
 
#21 ·
Back to this.
Saturday Jeep no start. Winds over well, hear pump, smell fuel. Tried a plug, no spark. Great, I know where the relays are now. Nope, doesn't seem to be the problem. In fact I did a little switchaoroo with the relays and it started and shut off. Nothing since. I've had the covers off the distribution block and the wires and connectors look fine. Nice and greasy with no green.
Question. If I jumper the 2 large terminals (by pass the relay), would that be nuts?
 
#22 ·
I would double-check the dealer wiring repair. This is what seemed to have fixed it the first time?
It might be helpful to see if the cam/crank signals were present while cranking. These may not set a fault code.
Smelling gas might be another problem. You shouldn't smell gas under the hood or around the vehicle.
 
#23 ·
I expect the smell of fuel was from the repeated key on off starting attempts. On the end of it I cranked it with WOT to see if it was flooded.
The look of the wiring repair gave me no reason to suspect trouble. It's a neat job with shrink wrap. I'll have to check for continuity. I thought about a jumper wire to try and determine if it was the signal wire, which is the one repaired. A red one with a dark stripe, could be blue but I took it for black.
Interestingly enough my FIL suggested cam sensor as well. My only thought is that they don't usually fail completely without displaying symptoms other than hard starting.
 
#24 ·
And now for my report of today's session.
I pulled and checked every fuse and relay that I thought could influence the ignition or has wording related to auto shut down. Everything checked out as good and all the terminals and blades in the power center looked fine.
The next step was to pull the wheel and go back to the relay bank to look at the previous repair.I had good continuity for the repaired wire but it seems the terminal was stretched abroad some. On the top of the relay block there's a kind of white guide plate that seems intended to keep the relays in place and guide them correctly in upon install. It almost looks removable. Point being the the tech appears to have trimmed it to get the old terminal out. Not sure if that may be the issue but I put a precision screwdriver in and closed up the terminal. It's now running but I told my DW not to go out of town.
Finally the new issue is a miss. I'm hoping it's just a drop of water in an injector and the alcohol I added will take care of it. After a test drive about 10 or 12 kliks it didn't clear up. I put my reader on and it gives a P2097.
So now to devise a permanent repair for the relay terminal and deal with this new issue if it doesn't clear up in a couple days.
 
#25 ·
One final update ( for now );
Wed evening I cleared the code P2097. My DW used the car to go to work Thursday. When she came home I was informed that the CEL was flashing. I told her not to drive it anymore. Friday I worked late and didn't have any stomach to tackle it at 10PM when I arrived home. I did take the time to check codes and the P2097 is now replaced by P0304. Yesterday I went to Canadian Tire and picked up 2 pk of Champion copper plug (#318) and installed. At 112,000 km I estimated that the plugs were still the factory originals. They looked quite good although worn but no cracks or reason to think it was a plug issue. Anybody familiar with these engines knows that the #4 coil needs to be unplugged from the harness to get at the plug, so I took a good look at this one. The connector was fine but the plug end had an issue. The coil spring looked out of place. I removed the boot and the upper end of the spring was pulled off to the side away from the contact. I know I caused this the other evening when trying to ground the plug to check for spark.
So all in all it runs fine now. I left the CEL on just to see if it clears itself. This repair only cost $18.00 CDN plug a bit of aggravation.
 
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