Expert: Roland Finston - 7/7/2009

Question
QUESTION: Can you please tell me what I can do to fix my 96 Town and country 3.3 van It does not have spark at all I replaced coil pack,wires,
crank sensor on tranny bell housing and still the same no spark.

ANSWER: Hi Alen,
Check fuse #17 in the power distribution box under the hood. Then do the fault code readout using the ignition key:"on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that is 5 seconds or less elapsed time. Then watch the check engine light which remains 'on' to begin to see it flash, pause, flash, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause. Then repeat to assure an accurate set of flash counts. Then combine the counts into pairs in the order of appearance to form the 2-digit fault codes. You will always end with a 55, the code for "end of readout". But before that will be relevant codes about your problem. a 54 code means the cam sensor is bad. An 11 code would be the crank sensor. Maybe before you do the codes it would be wise to disconnect the battery for a minute to erase all the 'stale' codes. Then try to start the engine again so the controller will note any 'fresh' codes. Then do the readout as described. Let me know if you get something new and relevant codes and we'll go from there.
Roland

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QUESTION: Only codes that I'm getting are 12 and 55 and the fuse 17 is working . when I test four wires plug that conects to the coil they all have power when I'm cranking

ANSWER: Three of those four wires are supposed to pulse as the engine rotates, but it may be too quick for your meter to notice. But if they aren't truly pulsing (maybe should show a little less volts on them than the dark green/orange which is supposed to have a steady 12v while you crank it, that would suggest that the powertrain controller is not getting a signal from the crank or cam sensor. Are you certain that the crank sensor's paper-covered tip was pressed against the hidden surface of the flex plate when you tightened the screw that holds it in place? How about the grounding of the spark coil pack? That is done be the base against the panel on which it mounts. Just in case, also check fuse #12 under the hood, and fuse-like device in position #1 below the four plugs located in the underdash fuse box.
Roland

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QUESTION: Ok this is what happened today I did manage to start it with the battery low if the battery is fully charged there is no spark if low it starts with the gas pedal all the way to the floor . RPM max on 1500 If I release pedal it goes off. Other strange thing is that coil start melting where the 1st and 4th wire plug in . I did get code on the scaner p1297

Answer
Hi Alen,
That code means the the MAP sensor which measures intake manifold vacuum, mounted on the side of the intake manifold, is not showing a significant reading between the engine idling value and the engine off value. It suggests that the sensor is bad or that there is something faulty in the wiring harness to the MAP sensor. So check to verify that it is mounted firmly to the manifold, and verify that its wire harness is not damaged to to the extent that you can follow the wires. The wire colors to the MAP are dark green/red, black/light blue, and violet white.
On the spark coil pack, I wonder why there should be melting unless there is an internal short in the coil pack that you bought.
Roland