removed intake plenum to replace #1 plug - now car wont's start -1998 Sebring JXi 2.5
 

Just bought this convertible from a friend a few months ago ....

So I felt the 2.5 running a bit rough but no Check Engine light was on... read codes anyway and found a P0301 for the #1 cylinder....

so I took off the intake plenum and found #1 champion plug oil fouled....
while having it off, I decided to check the compression and injectors....
I took out the fuel pump relay and a 20 amp mini fuse next to it so I could do the test and did all 6 cylinders..

all 6 registered pinged at 60, 90, then 120 for each

I tested the 1,3,5 injectors only and each read 20 ohms on the meter set for 2000 and 200. I tried to get at 2,4,6 injectors and decided not to risk breaking them as I was unfamiliar to get that style of connector freed up easily. Well I could not get an exact listing for the injector specs, but seen up to 18 was in range.... not sure how good the free Harbour Freight meter reader really is or now wonder if i messed something up by pulling the relay earlier....

replaced the #1 plug and put the other .040 gaped old plugs in.

put everything back together with a new gasket and torqued things down.

When I tried to start it, it just turned over and I never felt any cylinders firing.
checked it over many times and found the rear right smaller hose was missed and I put it back on ...

still crank no start
battery now was getting weak and I seen the message "no bus"
well I charged it up and scanned the ODBII again and found 3 codes
p0301 , p0123, and p0121

well I cleared them and cranked again... no codes are reseting so I chucked it up as those 2 other codes were probably from when I was doing the compression test. And no more "no bus" messages.

Anyway, I checked over the area around the intake and everything seems to be back in its place...
Pulled the #2 plug and think it does have some fuel smell...
when I turn ignition on, i do hear the fuel pump turn on....

So it has gotten dark out and really have not go a chance to check spark yet....

But need to ask for any advice, hidden cut off safety switches or anything that someone can think of on this.

Thanks in advance
- Fake Grease Monkey

Seems like most problems with that engine come down to a problem with the distributor. Might also want to check the ASD (auto shut down) relay. I think it's one of three on the firewall in the engine compartment.

Thanks. I'll check more into the ASD relay. I really never had any starting issues prior to this though. Do you think that any of the steps I mentioned could have caused some disruption to cause the relay to go into a bad state?

Maybe cranking for the compression test, but who knows? You might have accidentally disconnected or shorted something. Relays fail like anything else when they get old.

ok thanks... i looked it over last night for a few minutes and seen a ASD fuse nothing else... one pic online had the relay as described, on firewall and one of 3 there. I did not located that on my car yet....
this is my second car and I'll probably get back to it on the weekend now and get a repair guide now.

update - but still no luck
 

So I finally got my Chilton guide book and found the ASD relay inside the box behind the main fuse panel near the positive cable. It was one of 4.

Since all 4 relays were the same, I took out both the ASD relay and high speed rad fan relay, probably mixed them up, but tried both combinations .... but still it was a crank no start.

During this time, there was a code for the high speed fan relay, but it has not reset itself.

FUEL
I wanted to check fuel, but the guide and others say that there is a connector on the fuel rail, but on mine there is not. It seems that maybe for mine that I would need some adapter line that goes between the metal supply line and the rubber line that snaps into it. I checked a few places but everyone only has the basic pressure gauges that are used on lines with those test ports.

I did take the rubber snap line off 3 times, and always fuel squirted out, SO I am assuming fuel is being sent.

SPARK
I checked spark by taking #4 plug out and touching it to the motor .... but no spark... and the plug was wet with fuel. I tried this with a few cranks....
once I thought I felt a tingling jolt in my arm, but on the next try, no spark and no jolts.


CODES
no new codes.... so all have cleared and really seem to nothing is setting now on the crank. My scanner does show some status info such as 9 degrees advanced (i think) and some readings from other areas too... I just did not write them down yesterday.

WHAT TO DO NEXT
So I guess I'd like to know the best way to test the fuel... is there an adapter kit that most people use on these lines... Chilton seems too vague on this model's application.

In testing spark, I guess I'd rather retest the plugs with the right test adapter too, rather than placing the plug on the engine.... guess I need to drop that 25 buck for the right kit. When I had the intake off, I don't think that there was anything connected to dist cap that I would have disconnected at all. Is it concerning to keep cranking knowing fuel seems to be present on plugs?


Any feedback would be appreciated.

Seems like most problems with that engine come down to a problem with the distributor.

dcotter, Is the distributor a common problem with the 2.5"s? They computer was reprogramed a few years ago and I am being told now that it is the same problem and I need to reflash the computer again.

The distributor is a very common problem with the 2.5

well, i solved this finally in Aug / Sept 2015.

Turned out to be the ignition coil. Seems that perhaps that when I had done the compression test, that I should have removed power from the ignition system there as I had all plugs out.

replaced with salvage yard parts and ran for a few hundred miles. I sold it as I was moving and had to get that car back on the road !