Chrysler 300

A friend has a 2001 Chrysler 300 that keeps dying on him on the freeway.
He's been towed four times for the same problem, and the 5 star dealer it
gets towed to can't seem to figure it out! He's got 120,000 miles on it,
but he takes good care of this car. He was cruising along at 70 mph or so,
and car suddenly died without warning immediately - power steering response
gone, motor shut down, and he just drifts over to the side of the road. The
first two times he was able to wait 15 minutes and it restarted like nothing
was wrong. They replaced the egr valve after the third time when it
wouldn't restart and thought that would fix it, but it died a fourth time.
Now they're replacing the fuel pump. Anyone ever hear of this problem?

 

I had problems like this on my 97 Intrepid (3.5 engine) just last week.
Turned out to be an ECM module which was failing. Started with the car
hesitating, progressed to engine losing power - RPM down to zero, no power
steering. I managed to limp it almost home - with probably 20 restarts, then
had it towed to my mechanic. If it is the ECM its hard to diagnose, because
without a working ECM you don't get the codes. It could also be something
like the cam sensor, though if it fails you ought to go into limp mode.

James Linn

 

I too had some of the same symptoms with my PT 2001

they changed the PCM Module and so far so good.....about a year

h

 

Why is a "5-star" dealer using shotgun repair tactics?!?

Most likely its a sensor (cam or crank) failing, and they SHOULD be able
to pick that up with a code scanner. Could also be an engine control
module problem, but thats far less likely. Find a competent mechanic
that can read error codes!

 

If the cam sensor fails, the engine STOPS. Same for the crank sensor.
There is absolutely no way to "limp" without a cam and crank sensor.

 

in deference to a 5* (whatever) the dealer I took mine to, ALSO FOUND NO
CODES........
we drove around with the computer hooked up to the car, I got to take it
home for a day and use the PT as I would anyway, he moved a few "circuit
breakers" ( I forgot the actual names) and marked which ones.....everything
was working.....still no codes. after a week or so it died AGAIN and was
towed at the dealer expense, and still no codes..........

dealer called DCM and they sent out a part same day and since then all is
ok!

h

 

Yes and no...

Had a 99 Intrepid 2.7 in a few weeks ago where the engine would
die out intermittantly. The owner was always able to get it
restarted after a couple of attempts.
There were multiple cam sensor codes stored, and in the process
of trouble shooting, I unplugged the cam sensorwith the engine
running, the engine immediately died, but with the cam sensor
unplugged, I was always able to get the engine to restart after
one, two or three attempts.
With the cam sensor gone, the PCM *probably* does like other
brand vehicle systems; it will fire the coil packs in a
predetermined sequence, depending on where the cylinders are will
determine whether or not the ignition is sequenced correctly.

If the crank sensor goes out, then yes, there is no limp in
mode...

 

Interesting, and odd. I say odd because cam timing should only be
absolutely necessary to get the injectors to squirt at the right time on
a waste-spark system like the pre-98 LH cars, since the spark pattern is
the same on every crank rotation. The fuel injectors could revert to
"batch fire" or fire in pairs. Heck, even completely mis-timed injection
events will still allow an engine to run pretty well, since the fuel
just sits at the intake valve and "waits" to get sucked in and burned.
That said, my wife's 93 LH car WILL NOT run with the cam sensor unplugged!

Because then there's absolutely no reference for fuel or spark timing.

 

Maybe they upgraded the software/firmware to provide this limited operating
capability in the newer vehicles?

 

I've never seen a case where a first generation LH (same for a
3.3 in any chassis) car would run once the cam signal was lost,
apparently with the new body style, Chrysler saw fit to build in
a little redundancy.

 

Well let me expand on my experience.

The root cause problem was a bad PCM - someone used a high pressure hose in
the engine bay and water infiltrated the the PCM box(as evidenced by water
spots inside).

When first brought into the shop, after limping in, I was told the cam
sensor was bad. But after it was replaced it was determined the PCM was
bad - attempts made to use wd40 to get the moisture out failed. Not sure
whether a dying PCM could kill a sensor or just cause intermittement firing.

In the end since I only had the car for a week since I bought it, the dealer
paid for the repairs -though made me wait to the end of the month to pay me
after I fronted the money.

James Linn

 

crank sensor /fuel pump???

 

My 89 was doing the same. I had to replace the pickup coil in the
distributer.
Fred.