[Cecilia]

Hello again Parked on grassy incline that leads up to my house so son could play basketball in the driveway. This is where I usually wash my car and have done it a hundred times before. Next day my car wouldn't stay started. Konked out 5 times in drive way. I had 1/2 tank of gas. Left it on flat area for a few hours. Was able to drive it but it was sputtering intermittantly sputtering stopped after 10 min of driving. Parked with a/c on while waiting for child in store at least 10 min. Fine. Put in fuel injector cleaner. Next day pretty much the same.
No driving it for two days. Hubby test drove it yesterday...still sputtering. All fluids are fine he checked first day. He changed the plugs now it won't stay started...like it isn't getting gas he wants to change the fuel filter but I would like some more ideas please.

I really think being on the hill is a clue.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Any raw fuel smell around the vehicle? You may be onto something with the roughness associated with being parked on an incline. If fuel is draining from the tank into the charcoal canister and then the vehicle is started, there may be too rich of a mixture being inhaled by the engine.
Look at the underhood vacuum line diagram and locate the fuel evaporative purge hose. Temporarily remove and plug this hose and plug the vacuum fitting as well. Then see if the roughness is goes away.
It may need a replacement charcoal canister if it has saturated with liquid gasoline. I doubt that they can be dried out.
There are supposed to be valves at the top of the tank to prevent liquid fuel from getting into the evaporative vapor lines, but overnight they may allow a limited amount of liquid fuel seepage to pass.
Were any of the old plug tips black with carbon fouling that would indicate a rich mixture?

 

[John Wood]

Was the vehicle parked with the front facing downhill?

 

[Cecilia]

It was facing up hill. Also, checking with husband about question member "imperialcrown" asked me.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Facing uphill shouldn't flood the canister(s) as they are mounted forward of the tank. Facing downhill might on a steep slope.
The problem may be inside the fuel tank?
How much fuel is in the tank when it acts up or doesn't it make a difference?

 

[Cecilia]

It had a little over 1/4 a tank. It doesn't "act up." This is a one time event that hasn't stopped. Happened on Thurs. Hubby changed plugs on Sun. I am not driving it b/c it won't stay started. I have had zero trouble before this.

Thank you.

 

[chuzz]

You need to have it scanned for computer codes and let us know what they are. No point in just guessing and shot gunning parts at it. That could get very expensive.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Any 'ck eng' light on? Will it stay running with your foot on the gas? I don't think that the fuel filter is the problem.

 

[Cecilia]

You are right, it wasn't the fuel filter. Husband took off oxygen sensor and it ran, after replacing it it still had some sputtering on the test drive. Poked around the vacuum hose/line (something like that) found a problem and he and a friend fixed that.

When our check engine light came on 4 years ago we were told to replace the oxygen sensor. Unfortunately, it is still on. Thanks so much for your answers and help.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Is it an oxygen sensor fault code still?
Some replacement Bosch 'universal' O2 sensors are not compatible in heater resistance specs for some vehicles and will keep the light on. Best to go with an OEM brand like Mopar, NGK or Denso. There is a front upstream (1/1) and rear downstream (1/2) O2 sensor. Each has there own 'P' code.
I hope that the sputter is gone as a misfire can damage an expensive catalytic converter and waste gas.

 

[Cecilia]

UPDATE....That I wish I didn't have to give . So car ran great Wednesday from 9-1pm. But started having the same stuttering. I didn't have the whole story about why my car started working after hubby fixed the oxygen sensor. It was still doing some stuttering and hubby said he "moved something" and it started running great. Turns out we now believe we have a bad Fuel Injector Wiring Harness. My husband did take a picture to the dodge dealership and they told us it was the fuel injector. wiring harness.
Apparently, these wires no longer have their rubber coating and the wires were exposed and touching.

I've attached a very short video here so you can see the part I am talking about. (don't know how to upload a pic)Dodge want over 300. for part. Any way to make sure this is the problem?

 

[chuzz]

Good grief! I'd say hubby found the problem. I'd go to a junkyard and pull the harness from a wrecked one if it were me, but then again, I'm rather cheap, er, I mean frugal. But that definitely looks like the root of the problem to me.

 

[georgef]

Cecilia,

Chrysler has a 10 pin connector harness repair kit part number 5017114AA.

The kit includes a new 10 pin connector, and terminals pre-crimped on 20 inches of wire.
It also comes with heat shrink, and some crimp connectors.

The repair kit has a MSRP of $50.90.

George

 

[Cecilia]

Thanks George. That would be great.

 

[Cecilia]

Sorry to say that the the fuel injector wiring harness we salvaged from another van did not work. We also put in a fuel pump/filter. Car does not turn over. We did borrow a code reader and this led us to believe it was the fuel pump. That and the car has 160,000 miles. We plan to test it again with the code reader.

Does anyone believe that those wires could have shorted something out? My husband did check all the fuses including the one to the fuel pump.

Thanks for any info.

 

[ImperialCrown]

By not turning over, you mean that it cranks with the starter but doesn't fire up?
What did the code reader show that led you to the fuel pump? There are relay fault codes, but no fuel pump fault codes.
Was the injector harness off the same year minivan?
Do you have fuel pressure and spark? Does a shot of carb/throttle body cleaner into the air intake cause it to fire up then stall?

 

[Cecilia]

I hope to have these answers by tomorrow. BTW~ it may seem like he is "winging it" but even though he isn't a mechanic he did put in an engine in his trailblazer this summer. And can fix most minor problems if he is pointed in the right direction. We really don't want to tow it to the shop and they can't figure it out and or have to have it towed back anyway to fix ourselves. I just want to get it fixed, sell and move on. We had such good luck with all our caravans before this one I wanted to keep it b/c it has child seats and I have a 3 year old.
Thanks for the advice. I'll check back in with answers tomorrow.

 

[Cecilia]

By not turning over, you mean that it cranks with the starter but doesn't fire up?
Yes, the starter works, engine turns doesn't fire at all.


What did the code reader show that led you to the fuel pump? ****Here are the codes and meaning from the book

123- TSP/PEDAL POSITION SENSOR "A"...HIGH INPUT

118- ENGINE COOLING TEMP CIRCUIT--HIGH INPUT (of course the engine wasn't on so probably meaningless)

1-193 FUEL RAIL PRESSURE SENSOR CIRCUIT--HIGH INPUT (the 1 before 193 indicates a malfunction as indicated from the book.
There are relay fault codes, but no fuel pump fault codes.

Was the injector harness off the same year minivan? ***** 2002 (ours is a 2003)

Do you have fuel pressure and spark? Not sure. How would we know?? Does not seem to be getting a spark.

Does a shot of carb/throttle body cleaner into the air intake cause it to fire up then stall? Did try this. No, it fired one or two pistons like it tried but didn't

Thanks again.

 

[ImperialCrown]

That 1-193 is probably P1193 - Inlet air temperature sensor circuit high.
http://www.myscantool.com/dtc/specific/chrysler.html
There are no fuel rail pressure sensors on these vehicles.
P0118, P0123 and P1193 all share the same ground and since all the signals are high, I would think that there is an open ground somewhere.
If it sputtered with a shot of cleaner to the air intake (taking the place of fuel), I would think that the engine is getting spark but isn't getting fuel.
I would trace the sensor grounds to the PCM and the PCM grounds to the body and the body to battery (-).
A larger public library may have a more specific wiring and service manual information to go by for this vehicle.

 

[Cecilia]

Thanks for the code and ground info. What about the above post from georgef any thoughts about this repair kit? (10 pin connector harness repair kit part number 5017114AA.)