QuestionI tried what you had written and the car still is not starting the egr seemed to be fairly free and not stuck open or closed. I pulled one of the plugs and checked the spark it seems to be ok. Do you have any other sugestions.
Thank You, Peter
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Followup To
Question -
I have a 1999 Chrysler Cirrus w/122000 miles on it. The other day i parked the car after comming home from work and went to start it 2 days later the car would not start. I checked for spark and have that, I looked in the oil fill when the car was being cranked over and i could see the cammshaft turning, I sprayed starting fluid to see if it would fire over and it did not. You can here the fuelpump when you turn the key do you have any idea what would cause this any help would be very much apreiciated.
Answer -
Hi Peter,
For the time being let us assume that you have spark and fuel pressure reaching the injectors. That really only leaves fuel mixture as the suspected problem. There is on common reason for such a no start: a stuck ajar exhaust gas recirculation valve. (I doubt it is a fuel pump problem; the momentary operation is normal and part of the safety system). But if your egr valve is getting sticky such as to remain ajar when the engine is shut off it will then dilute the mixture the next time you try and start it. This can be intermittant at the start of the problem. The first thing I would do is check the mechanical function of the egr valve which which on the 2.5L V-6 is located along a pipe that runs from the left exhaust manifold (on the side of the engine facing the front of the car) to the intake manifold area (where the incoming air in the large rubber tube enters the throttle). That valve is metal and has a round fitting with a vacuum hose attached, mounted on the top of the valve, and the round part is attached to the main body of the valve by a sort of saddle. Inside the open saddle you will see a metal rod (with a slot) that connects the round top fitting to to the valve body. That rod is a stem on the valve and it is supposed to go in and out in response to the engine vacuum which varies with RPM and throttle opening (gas pedal position). Take a spray can of WD-40 or other penetrating lubricant and spray the stem where it enters the valve body and then use a regular screwdriver blade tip inserted in the slot to lever the valve in and out to try and free up its motion. Also check all the rubber vacuum hoses associated with the valve and a nearby vacuum solenoid valve. If the valve seems to open (against the action of a spring) and close firmly by the spring action when using the screwdriver blade to facilitate the motion, then you should be able to now start the engine. You can, once it is idling, check that the valve stem moves when you rev the engine from idle to 2500 rpm and back to idle. If it still won't start, then removing and cleaning the interior of the valve, or buying a new one if it seems too crudy and corroded inside, is the next step to getting the engine to start.
AnswerHi Peter,
One other thing to check is whether the timing marks on the cam shafts pulleys are aligned with the marks on the rear sprocket covers when the engine is at TDC. I just got a question from another owner of that engine, that wouldn't start also, whose timing belt was worn enough to have slipped a sproket tooth or two but the cam shaft still turned. So if your belt may be worn out, this is a possible reason for a no start. Just remove the two round covers on the cylinder banks at the front of the engine and turn the crank with a wrench until you can check the timing marks.
Roland
Hi Peter,
About the only other measurement to try is the battery voltage when cranking which should be at least 8V. Other than that, try listening for the sounds of clicking to come from the injectors while the engine is cranking. I assume that you get spark for a full 5 seconds of cranking which is another relevant observation. Let me know if any of those fail.
To cut thru the uncertainty, a readout for fault codes stored in the engine controller memory would be good to do, but that would require the purchase or loan of a code reader. Pre-98 you could get fault codes using the ignition key but that won't work on your '99. So you might want to invest in an OBD-II reader unless you can get the car to a shop with a reader at no significant cost. If you get any fault codes let me know what they are. You can get a code list from www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html
Roland
