Chrysler Repair: 2004 2.4L DOHC cranks but wont start after a short trip, camshaft position sensor, throttle position sensor

Question
QUESTION:
My step daughter was driving her car and it suddenly stopped. At first it was not displaying any error codes when I would set the parking brake and cycle the ignition 3 times. I didn't hear the fuel pump click when the ignition was turned on and I did check the fuses and they were all good do I replaced the fuel pump, however now I can hear the fuel pump run but it still will not start. I checked the error codes again and this time I had an error code of P0108 which is the map sensor. I replaced that too and it still does not start. I did check for spark and all plugs will fire and the plugs were replaced too. Now I am just guessing and I replaced the crankshaft position sensor since it was the cheapest sensor. Now it wanted to start but it didn't. I then checked the error codes and I had a throttle position sensor code listed P0123. I replaced that and it started. So my step daughter was going to go to our house and about two miles from her house the car died again. And again it will not start. I pushed her to the gas station and we put a little gas in the car since it was low but now out. then it did not start again. A couple of minutes later it started up again only to die a mile down the road. I pushed her the rest of the way to my house and double checked all of the electrical connections. So before I replace the camshaft position sensor could I cause a problem like this? Any help would be appreciated.

Brian Skurkis

ANSWER: Hi Brian,
Which engine is in the car?
I would not replace the cam sensor without there being a code for that, P0340. It could cause such a die out, if it is followed by a normal start after the engine cools. That is how the cam and crank sensors behave when they are starting to fail, but usually they would also set a fault code. If you have a voltmeter along when it fails and a socket and handle to turn the engine over by hand when it won't start (by means of the bolt on the crankshaft pulley), you could turn the ignition 'on', and with a couple of straight pins piercing thru the insulation on the tan/yellow and black/light sensor wires observe for whether the voltage changes from 5 to 0.3V several times for each revolution of the crankshaft. That would verify whether the cam sensor is working at the time that it won't start. The same can be done at the crank sensor (measure between the gray/black and black/light blue wires). If either sensor doesn't show the pulsing then that would indicate a need for replacement.
Roland

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: It's a 2.4L DOHC engine. I replaced the Crankshaft, throttle position and MAP sensors. However I still get the error code of P0108 even after the MAP sensor was replaced. When the engine starts it runs like normal. However it will stop running about 1 to 2 miles down the road. I have also changed out the fuel pump and the spark plugs too. It does have spark but it does not want to start most of the time when you crank the engine. So I am trying to figure out why it won't start even though I do have compression, fuel and ignition.

Brian Skurkis

Answer
Hi Brian,
If the 0108 code persists, even after you disconnect the battery which should erase all 'stale' codes except 1684 which says the battery was disconnected recently, and you drive it and it stalls, then you need to inspect the wiring between the MAP sensor and the PCM. Do you have a volt-ohm meter? I would begin by disconnecting both the MAP plug and PCM plug and checking that the wires are continuous between the two plugs, and also check that there is no short circuits between the three wires. The wire connections are:
dark green/red: pin 1 of MAP to pin 23 of pcm
violet/white        3          29
black/light blue    2          27

The 0108 doesn't specifically say the MAP sensor is bad, it says the voltage on the signal wire is too high which could be due to the sensor itself, OR a short circuit or an open in its wiring.
Roland
PS The symptom also could be a failing cam/crank sensor or a faulty temp sensor, so check out as I earlier described. There is a typo where it says between the 'tan/yellow and the black/light', it should read black/light blue. The resistance across the terminals of the coolant temp sensor should drop as the engine warms up: cold should be around 10k ohms, then should drop to under 1k ohms when the engine is up to temp. If it didn't do that, then the mixture is too rich when the engine is warm.