Chrysler Repair: 95 3.5L no start, side exhaust manifold, 1995 chrysler concorde

Question
Hi Roland,
I have 1995 Chrysler Concorde that floods sometimes and won't start.  I happened twice with me recently including today.  It's -10 degrees today.  The car has a 3.5 engine.  I'm getting a fault code of 12, 77, 55.  I pulled the number 1 plug and it's very wet with fuel.  Any ideas what's causing this?  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Dave,
The codes are not relevant to your no start, unfortunately. 12 means battery disconnected recently, 77 means an issue with the cruise control activation circuit, and 55 means "end of fault code readout".
With no sensor codes or other possible code causes, I recommend that you look at the egr valve to see whether it might be stuck ajar, which leans out the mixture too much so it won't catch or idle.
It is located on the rear end of the cylinder head, near the right rear corner of the engine. It has a vacuum hose attached to its top. The exhaust gas is supplied to it by a small diameter exhaust pipe that branches off of the right side exhaust manifold (about the middle of that manifold) and runs around to the rear of the engine where it goes into the egr valve. So look for that small pipe and follow it back to where you will find the valve.
It has a round vacuum actuated top and flange between that and the valve body proper. Inside that flange you will see a rod, which is the valve stem, with a circumferential slot into which the tip of a screwdriver can be inserted. You can them move the stem back and forth, against spring-action which tries to close it. It should close to a full stop and move freely. If not, spray some WD-40 on the valve stem where it enters the body and then work the stem some more to loosen the action. Then see if it will start.
If that doesn't do it, then remove a spark plug cap and insert an insulated handle screwdriver into it. Then hold the screwdriver/cap combo with its shaft 1/4" from the cylinder head while a helper cranks the starter. Watch to see whether you get a spark jumping across the gap.
Let me know the results of all this if it still won't start.
Roland