Helping neighbor with 1996 Dodge Intrepid. Car quit suddenly while on highway. Obviously not it won't start.
Replaced the following: (Auto wrecker lets us return parts for up to 30 days) (We pulled the parts ourselves) Cam position sensor Crankshaft position sensor Coil Power train module computer
We did the above after following all the diagnostics in the Chilton's manual. BTW, the wires to both sensors (cam & crankshaft) have the correct signal voltage (9± volts) with ignition on. No spark coming to plugs.
Any and all help diagnosing this would be greatly appreciated.
If I'm not mistaken, the 1996 Intrepid had On-Board Diagnostics II. I'd suggest sticking a code scanner in there as a starting point instead of just taking a "shotgun" approach to all the ignition parts.
Also, if no spark, what does the input voltage to the coil look like as you crank the engine? You see where this is going -- start at the most immediate problem (no spark) and work your way "upstream."
I'm not greatly familiar with that model but apparently they had something called an Automatic Shutdown Relay that can affect spark as well as electrical aspects fuel delivery. Just one thought as you go down the troubleshooting tree in the service manual.
Let us know what you discover!
--Joe PS. What exactly were the symptoms of the failure -- normal running until it just fell over dead, or were there noises, etc.? Do you know the cam is turning? Yes, "timing belt" is among my initial hypotheses... I wish they'd put a clear window in the timing cover!
Thanks for your reply Joe, Yes, we did put a code reader on it and got the message "No Codes". The car stopped dead in its tracks while at highway speed. No noises whatsoever. We will check to see if the cam is turning by looking at the tappets.
As far as diagnosis, here is where we are: Subscribed to Alldata and am able to download wiring diagrams etc. ABSOLUTELY NO DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES ARE SHOWN!!! This surprises me because I also subscribe to a Toyota and a Chev Silverado. Hundreds of logically ordered diagnostics.
We did pick up a Chiltons manual for this model. It does have a procedure which has you 1) check for spark; 2)check the voltage to the cam sensor; 3) Crank sensor; 4) Resistance of the plug wires; 5) resistance of the coils; and then mentions the ASD (automatic shutdown relay). Since all (7) the relays are identical, we simply swapped the 'low fan relay', AC relay, etc. etc. and had no results.
Upon further studying Alldata I noticed that the ASD is not only supplied by a signal from the computer but also supplied by ground. Will check for lack of ground and signal. I do have a 'pinout' diagram of the relay so I can probably jump around it and see if we can generate spark.
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