QuestionQUESTION: i code read this car and it reads 1-2-5-5 can you tell me what that means?
ANSWER: Hi Daniel,
Code 12 means sometime in the past 50-100 key on-off cycles that the battery was disconnected from the engine control computer. If that is not the case then there may be a loose connection, otherwise it is not important. The 55 means simply "end of readont"
Roland
thanks alot, my car was running fine yesterday and then after being parked for a couple hours i started it again to go somewhere and it all of the sudden started running really bad like it's hesitating and was surging and then began to overheat. any suggestions?
You might want to check out the egr valve, but the overheating makes me wonder about the possibility of a head gasket leak. When you start the engine now, do you get a lot of white smoke coming out of the tail pipe? When you thought it was overheating, did it get hot enough to overflow coolant from the pressure bottle? Does the oil look normal? Any of those would suggest a head gasket leak.
The egr valve sticking slightly ajar will cause it to run lean but not generally to overheat.
I would take a look at the exhaust gas recirculation valve which is located behind the engine near the air intake throttle valve. It is mounted in a pipe that runs between passenger side exhaust manifold and the air intake manifold. The valve is mounted horizontally and has a valve stem between its round vacuum actuator top and the body of the valve attached to the pipe, inside the flange that connects the two parts. The stem has a slot into which you can insert the tip of a flat-bladed screwdriver so as to lever the stem back and forth against spring action which should move freely and close tightly. If the stem seems to be sticky so that stem doesn't close all the way by spring action, then you can try spraying some penetrating solvent like WD-40 on the valve stem to freeup its motion.
If the valve is sticking slightly ajar it will make for a rough idle and poor acceleration such as you describe because the mixture is too dilute. It is one of the most common causes of this symptom. So see if you can find the valve and check/lubricate the stem. To check it in motion you can rev the engine from idle to 2500 rpm and back to idle and watch to see if the valve stem moves freely in both directions to the extreme open and closed positions. It may be that the interior of the valve is cruddy so that might require that it be unbolted from the pipe where it it attached and cleaned.
Roland
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: i got a code 1-2-2-4-5-5 and someone told me it was the throttle position sensor so i replaced it. a friend came over yesterday and tried to reset the computer and now the car wont start at all it just cranks but doesnt seem to be getting spark. any suggestions? thanks
ANSWER: Hi Daniel,
Did you check the egr valve?
The 24 is about the TPS but changing it out shouldn't have caused the loss of spark. Are you sure you had spark before you changed it out, are you sure you don't have spark now?
Take a spark plug and put it on the end of one of the regular spark plug wires and hold the threads of the plug on the engine head while a helper cranks it over so as to see whether spark jumps across the gap of the plug. Of just take a screwdriver with a plastic handle, insert the tip into the spark plug insulated cap, hold the two together with the shaft of the screwdriver 1/4" from the cylinder head and see if a spark jumps while a helper cranks it.
What exactly did the friend do to reset the computer? All that can be done is to disconnect the battery for a few minutes which erases all the codes except the 12.
I suggest that you readout the codes again, because you may have an 11 code instead of a 2, and a 13 code instead of a 4 for example.
So let me know what you observe about the spark, the reset that was done, and a new readout.
Roland
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QUESTION: i checked the spark and it is very intermittent and there is no new readout. any suggestions? my Uncle said maybe the cam sensor?
AnswerHappy New Year, Daniel!
May I ask for your help?
I need your vote of confidence.
I'm in a close race to be recognized as 'Volunteer of the Month' at Allexperts
Purely symbolic, but it means alot to me.
Please click on "Thank/rate the expert" button below/left
It will take you to a page which asks "Would you like to nominate this expert...?"
Click on the "YES"
That's it.
Thanks for taking a moment to help a fellow Chrysler-owner.
Roland
PS:Do it now, the contest closes at 6pm central time.
Hi Daniel,
"Intermittent" is a matter of degree if you are using the screwdriver technique. It only will spark once every revolution of the engine with your '95, at best.
If you are getting spark at all I would not think the cam or crank sensor is the issue.
Did you check the egr valve?
Also, check the primary coil resistances (should be about 0.6 ohms beteen the common pin of the 4 at the spark coil and the other three pins, each measured separately to that common pin). And the resistance between the secondary pairs of towers should be about 8,000 to 15,000 ohms. It could be that you coil pack is not good. But do check the egr as I described in case the issue is not spark but rather mixture.
Roland
