QuestionQUESTION: I got these codes upon trying to start my car today. The motor was turning over but not firing up. But it was turning over abnormaly. It was turning really quick then it would slow down & the lights would dim then it would start turning quickly again with no start. I know I don't have a charging system problem. But anyway I finally got the car to fire up, but died a few seconds later. Then I tried again but now it seems like whatever was wrong with the car made my starter go out (I just replaced the starter). What could have made these codes come up & what could have made my starter go out prematurely?
ANSWER: Hi Marvin,
Neither of those codes would cause the sort of behavior you are experiencing. The 0443 was to do with gas vapor purge valve solenoid circuit and the 1691 says the coolant temp sensor gauge voltage is low.
I wonder if you might have a timing belt problem which is causing there to be an out of alignment timing with resulting interference between the valve train and the pistons. Take the timing belt cover off on either cylinder bank (at least opem it enought to see the belt) and see if anything looks abnormal.
Also, try to turn the engine over by means of the bolt on the crankshaft pulley would be another way to see if the engine might have locked up rather than the starter failing. If the engine is free to rotate clockwise when viewed from the front then I guess the starter is bad. You could then address the purge solenoid as a possible cause for a poor mixture of fuel to air. Let me know which engine you have and I can give you some ideas about how to check that out. But first do the more basic tasts I described above.
Roland
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QUESTION: My apologies I meant to say the other code was a 1391 not a 1691. I have a 3.5L
ANSWER: The 1391 means an intermittent loss of the cam or crank sensor signal. That would cause a no start. You could check the signals by measuring the voltage at the pcm plug between the common signal ground wire on pin 43 and the cam signal wire on pin 33, and then the same between 43 and 32 for the crank sensor. You would turn the ignition to 'run', but instead of using the starter motor, turn the engine by hand. The voltage between the signal wire and the ground wire should vary between 5 and 0.3V several times per revolution if the sensor signal is present. You will have to probe through the insulation with fine pins to make contact with the conductor inside each wire. If you find that one or the other isn't producing a signal, check nonetheless for connectivity between the plug at the sensor and the plug pins at the pcm.
Roland
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QUESTION: I reset the codes by disconnecting the negative terminal & the 0443 & 1391 codes disappeared. So I believe all I have now is the starter issue. The starter went from working great to non-functional in a blink of an eye. But I do want to address what you were talking about earlier about the timing. I just did a timing belt & water pump replacement because of problems I was having with my cam sensor that I have asked you about before. But the car still won't fire up with that sensor connected & I know I did the job right.
AnswerOn the starter: check fuse G and also the p/n position of the gear shift lever may need to be moved slightly either way. Does the relay click? Can you get it to work by jumping to the solenoid switch at the motor itself?
On the codes, they will erase as you noticed, but they won't reset unless the engine cranks over a few times so as to be detected, so they may not be gone. So see what happens once you have the starter working again.
Roland
