QuestionHi, I have a 96 Chrysler LHS. It had trouble starting and it has progressively gotten to where it won't start. Weather seems to have something to do with it. Cold or rainy mornings means I can count on trying to start it for at least an hour. The key test produced a code of 66-PCM did not receive messages from the CCD bus, and the diognostic thing the guy put on it produced a code of P1698- No CCD/J1850 Message From TCM/PCM. I have been researching this and am wondering, is it the PCM or the CCD that is the problem. Can you help me?
AnswerHi Amy,
The 66 code could actually mean that there is a problem with the CCD bus, or with the PCM or the TCM. I think that to pursue this intelligently you have to get the car into the hands of a sharp tune-up mechanic who has a Chrysler DRB III reader and who knows how to use it. Otherwise you end up throwing money at it by buying modules on the hope that it will solve the problem.
But I have an alternative suggestion for why you are having a hard time starting the vehicle in the cold and rain. It could be a gas/air mixture ratio problem. The one item that can cause this and not set a code is the exhaust gas recirculation valve. Here is an answer I sent to another LHS owner in the summer who was also having a starting problem:
" 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. But chances are good it will only be a sticky stem."
I am not suggesting that the codes are unimportant, but I am not certain that they relate to a starting problem. I don't believe if there were a problem with the TCM (transmission control module) that it would cause a starting problem. That would rather produce an issue in the driving once the car was started and underway.
So I would at least take a look at the egr before over- reacting to the code.
Please let me know what develops with your efforts.
Roland
