QuestionQUESTION: I SHUT THE CAR OFF AND TRYED TO START AND IT JUST CRANKED AND DIDNT START.I TOWED TO MY HOUSE AND THOUGHT THERE WAS A FUEL PROB I PULLED OFF THE AIR FILTER TO SPRAY SOME STARTER FLUID.BEFORE SPRAYING I PULLED SOME FUSES TO MAKE SURE THEY WERE GOOD.THEY WERE ,PUT THEM BACK THEM TOLD MY HELPER TO TURN THE KEY AND HE HAD NOTHING.NOW MY DIRECTIONALS POWER WIN AND MY IGNITION HAS NO POWER.BUT I HAVE LIGHTS POWER LOCKS AND A HORN.I WAS THINKING OF A ANTI THEFT I MIGHT HAVE TRIPPED WHEN PULLING FUSES BUT NOT SURE AND I CANT FIGURE IT OUT!! PLEASE HELP!!THANKS MATT
ANSWER: Hi Matt,
You may have alarmed the anti-theft system by cutting off the power when you removed fuses. The manual for the Sebring Coupe is not very descriptive of that system. However, if the starter is not working that may indeed be due to the anti-theft starter relay not being energized so the circuit that operates the actual starter relay is prevented from actuating the starter motor. You might try locking and unlocking each front door to see if that clears the system. If not, then the possibilities that are listed for no starter motor related to the anti-theft system are:
malfunction of the switch in the ignition key lock that senses whether the key is in the lock cylinder
malfunction of the theft alarm starter relay
malfunction of a connector
malfunction of a wiring harness
malfunction of engine control unit.
Here is a procedure for checking the system:
Turn the ignition key to the ON position and then use the power-window switch to fully open the window on the driver's side.
Turn the ignition key to the Lock position and then remove the key from the ignition.
Open only the driver's door and close all the other doors, including the hood and the trunk lid.
Lock the driver's door with the key or the key-less locking method.
All door will then be locked, and the Security Light withing the cluster will illuminate. Check that the illumination stops in about 20 seconds.
After about 2 second after the security light switched off, reach through the window of the driver's door, pull up on the lock lever to unlock the door and then open the door.
Check that when the door is opened, the horn starts sounding and headlights flash on and off
To stop the alarm, insert the key into the door's key cylinder or trunk lid key cylinder and turn the key.
The theft alarm starter relay is in a group of three relays in a panel under the dash at the very far left end. The upper left one is that relay, the upper right one is the power window relay, and the lower left one is the theft alarm horn relay.
I wish I could tell you more, but the manual is really skimpy on this system.
Roland
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QUESTION: thanks alot i dont kno how i did it but now i have power.now i have to figure out why im not getting spark. i got tired and quit today but im going at it again tomorrow. any info on spark prob?? thanks again matt
AnswerHi Matt,
I believe the most likely cause is a faulty cam or crank position sensor as those are needed for spark and fuel injection timing. You may be able to get fault codes to readout on you odometer window: turn the ignition key "on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less. See if the mileage changes to read any 4-digit fault codes. If not, then you will need to borrow a code reader, maybe from an Autozone Parts store or a friend to get a firm number as to what the engine controller has seem as the cause of the no spark. That is the most economical way to deal with the problem of a no spark. The test plug is under the dash near the steering column. The crank sensor is 0320 and the cam is 0340.
Roland
