Chrysler Repair: 96 2.5 V-6 firing (spark) problems, throttle position sensor, chrysler sebring

Question
Hey there I have a 1996 chrysler sebring 2.5 v6 , went to work it started and was running fine , when they started the car to come get me it would crank but not turn over. thought it was a fuel problem at first cause it was sounding like it was out of gas. went ahead and checked the fuel filter it was bad so i changed it. still wouldn't turn over.thought maybe it wasn't firing checked the number 1 plug and it was showing no fire at all.there was what looked like a small crack in the distributor cap so i changed that still not working the plugs and wires look fine ,do you now what it might be .. crank sensor or maybe the distributor itself ? and how could i know for sure so i am not spending a bunch more money on unneeded parts.

Answer
Hi Shauna,
Sorry to be slow getting back to you. The "comment" that you left a couple of days ago was not brought to my attenetion automatically by the site. So you replaced the crank sensor which was appropriate for the 11 code. The 12 code just means the battery supply to the PCM was disconnected sometime in the past, which if not the case might suggest that one of the battery cable clamps is loose. The 42 is about the autoshutdown relay, but that would be a "no start" sort of issue which may be moot now that the crank sensor was replaced.
The 23, 24 codes are about the throttle position sensor which is a potentiometer located on the throttle body, specifically on the external axis of the throttle butterfly valve. It appears that either the harness/plug is not making connections or that the sensor is flakey. It's plug has 3 wires:brown/red, green/yellow, and black/green. If you want to test it put an ohmeter between the middle pin of the socket and either outside pin and open and close the throttle valve too observe whether the resistance changes smoothly without and discontinuities. If that appears to be o.k. then look at the wires that run to the plug for any sign of damage.
I am not sure why you got 42 twice. You might want to recheck that. And you can erase all the old codes by disconneting the battery for a few minutes. You will then get only codes 12 and 55, and then you can start and drive it and look for any new codes subsequently.
Thanks for the kind evaluation.
Roland.





Hi Shauna,
Fortunately there is on-board a self-diagnostic capability. It is in the form of two-digit fault codes stored in the memory of the engine controller. To get the numbers:
Turn the ignition key "on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing this within 5 seconds or less of elapsed time. Then watch the check engine light which will be "on" to begin to flash, pause, flash, pause, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause, then repeat to verify that you have numbers accurately. Then group the numbers in pairs in the order that they appeared, thus forming the two-digit fault codes. The last code is always 55 (last sets of flashes are 5 in each) which means 'end of readout'. You can get a code translator at www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html
or write back with the numbers and I can interpret what they mean and how to correct the fault. It is good that you asked because this capability is very useful in avoiding throwing parts at a problem. A new distributor is very expensive so you don't want to buy that on a hope.
Roland