LHS Won’t start in Cold weather and Check engine light on.

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by jgcurt, Jan 7, 2005.

  1. jgcurt

    jgcurt Guest

    Hi we have a 1996 Chrysler LHS that has its check engine light on. We
    took it to a mechanic and had the codes read and were told that their
    were multiple misfires. The mechanic replaced the spark plugs, a fuel
    injector, fuel filter, and it still didn’t fix the problem. So he told
    us it was the intake manifold gasket and we replaced that. The check
    engine light is still coming on. After we replaced the intake manifold
    gasket it idled much better, but now we have recently developed
    another problem. Besides the check engine light which is driving us
    nuts, it won’t start in cold weather. It cranks over, but no start. If
    the weather is warm it starts and runs great. We have tried putting
    heat in the gastank thinking maybe we might have a gasline that was
    freezing up and w e went out and got one of heater magnets hoping that
    would fix the problem...But it still will not start in cold weather.
    Any ideas on what might be the source of our problem???Any help would
    be greatly appreciated.
     
    jgcurt, Jan 7, 2005
    #1
  2. jgcurt

    Bill D Guest

    What are the codes? If the check engine light is on, the computer is storing
    a diagnostic code.
     
    Bill D, Jan 7, 2005
    #2
  3. jgcurt

    Matt Whiting Guest

    He said it had multiple cylinder missfires set. I've been having
    trouble for years (yes, 4 years and about 70,000 miles) with my 96 GV
    occasionally stumbling after going down a hill and then starting up the
    other side, or after a fairly long curve. No codes were ever set and
    the dealer could never find anything wrong. This year it got worse and
    started missfiring badly at idle and often stalling completely. Then it
    would run fine for a few days to a few weeks and act up again. The only
    code that was routinely set was the multiple cylinder missfire code.

    The dealer changed the fuel filter, cleaned the throttle body, replaced
    the plugs and wires, replaced the coil pack (it arced badly when they
    spritzed it with a water bottle), etc. Then about a month ago it
    finally set a different code, lean reading on the upstream O2 sensor.
    They finally figured that had found it. Replaced the sensor and a day
    later it acted up again. I twice had it towed to the dealership only to
    have it start up and run fine as soon as they rolled it off the truck.

    I finally told the dealer to keep it and drive it until they could
    figure out what was really wrong. The did this with a pressure gauge
    attached to the fuel rail. It finally acted up for them and when it did
    the fuel pressure was low and erratic. They replaced the fuel pump and,
    knock on wood, it seems to have fixed the problem. Then again, I'm only
    on my second tank since getting it back so I'm not ready to declare
    victory, but it is looking good.

    I have no idea what would cause a fuel pump to get flakey so slowly over
    so long a time and work fine one minute and then not at all the next,
    but that is appearing to be what happened.

    I can't say that is the OP's problem, but it may be worth asking a good
    mechanic to put a pressure gauge on the fuel system and see what it
    reads when the car won't start.


    Matt
     
    Matt Whiting, Jan 7, 2005
    #3
  4. jgcurt

    mic canic Guest

    heat is a god start try appling it to the pcm and see what happens
    take a vac. reading and post the results and watch the needle to see if it is steady
     
    mic canic, Jan 7, 2005
    #4
  5. Well, part of your problem is an incompetent mechanic who's guessing
    instead of diagnosing. Find a competent, capable mechanic who knows what
    he's doing and will systematically diagnose the fault(s), and you'll be
    most of the way to a quick, efficient repair.

    DS
     
    Daniel J. Stern, Jan 7, 2005
    #5
  6. jgcurt

    damnnickname Guest

    well since the coolant temp sensor is the choke for this thing, I would
    make sure it is connected. You may have had the misfire codes fixed with
    the intake manifold repair but someone may have damaged the connector or
    left it disconnected, How do you finally get it started? And when it does
    start does the engine fan run all the time?, See what codes are in it now
    Glenn Beasley
    Chrysler tech
     
    damnnickname, Jan 7, 2005
    #6
  7. jgcurt

    Steve Guest

    That was before the manifold fix. Multiple misfires are common with the
    manifold, but a no-start when cold and a check engine light sounds more
    like a temperature sensor, throttle position sensor, or maybe MAP sensor
    to me. There should be a code for those- certainly for a MAP sensor that
    never returns to atmospheric pressure prior to cranking.
     
    Steve, Jan 7, 2005
    #7
  8. jgcurt

    J-a-b Guest

    I have a 1996 3.5L Chrysler LHS with 91,000 and from the sound of it I have
    almost the same problem.

    I have a ticking sound coming from the engine.
    The car has bad cold start, which has gotten worse after 5 bottles worth
    of fuel injector cleaner.

    The fuel filter was replaced.
    The spark plugs were replaced, I pulled them, and all of them look clean.
    The car is drivable when it warms up, except, it now takes longer for that
    to happen.

    It takes effort to start the car, it turns, but cuts out. After a couple
    of tries, 2 or 3, it runs for a few seconds with the fan running at the
    same time, and then cuts out. And after this, then, it actually runs. When
    it runs, warms up, the fan stops.

    The check engine light has been on the whole time since I got this car
    after an accident at 86,000. I ignored the light because the car was
    drivable and I got decent gas mileage.

    The ticking sound has become especially addible when I took the filter out
    to see if that was the problem. It sounds like a “quiet” diesel.

    I have enough engine oil when the car is warm, otherwise, it covers 2 out
    of 4 stars on the dip stick when it’s cold.

    A friend told me my timing was off. It seems like a misfire in conjunction
    with bad compression, from pure conjecture only though.

    I never had issues with the car after it warms up. The car is drivable,
    but I don’t know for how long.
     
    J-a-b, Jan 8, 2005
    #8
  9. jgcurt

    J-a-b Guest

    I have a 1996 3.5L Chrysler LHS with 91,000 and from the sound of it I have
    almost the same problem.

    I have a ticking sound coming from the engine.
    The car has bad cold start, which has gotten worse after 5 bottles worth
    of fuel injector cleaner.

    The fuel filter was replaced.
    The spark plugs were replaced, I pulled them, and all of them look clean.
    The car is drivable when it warms up, except, it now takes longer for that
    to happen.

    It takes effort to start the car, it turns, but cuts out. After a couple
    of tries, 2 or 3, it runs for a few seconds with the fan running at the
    same time, and then cuts out. And after this, then, it actually runs. When
    it runs, warms up, the fan stops.

    The check engine light has been on the whole time since I got this car
    after an accident at 86,000. I ignored the light because the car was
    drivable and I got decent gas mileage.

    The ticking sound has become especially addible when I took the filter out
    to see if that was the problem. It sounds like a “quiet” diesel.

    I have enough engine oil when the car is warm, otherwise, it covers 2 out
    of 4 stars on the dip stick when it’s cold.

    A friend told me my timing was off. It seems like a misfire in conjunction
    with bad compression, from pure conjecture only though.

    I never had issues with the car after it warms up. The car is drivable,
    but I don’t know for how long.
     
    J-a-b, Jan 8, 2005
    #9
  10. Ignoring the "Check Engine" light is a stupid thing to do. It very
    frequently means that you're increasing the extent of the damage, and the
    expense to fix it, as you blithely drive on.
    Under your "care", not very long.
     
    Daniel J. Stern, Jan 8, 2005
    #10
  11. jgcurt

    J-a-b Guest

    When it comes to the "check engine" light, all I was told, is that, it's
    nothing more than an emissions sensor. I know how to use tools, but, the
    only thing I know about cars is what I'm told. The car has various
    miscellaneous issues. The car was totaled at 86,000, so, the only thing
    that concerns me is what "the damage" is.

    Potentially this is could be a lack of compression issue, which could
    mean, a worm out engine.
     
    J-a-b, Jan 9, 2005
    #11
  12. jgcurt

    J-a-b Guest

    Hmm, I'm starting to think it's the intake manifold gasket, which the
    addition of fuel injector cleaner aggravated.

    I also noticed:

    With the hood closed, the belt makes a lot of noise, for some reason. This
    is fairly recent.

    One of the spark plug plastic plugs, looking straight at the front car,
    it's the closest left, the one not covered by the manifold (?): It's
    discolored, brown almost.
     
    J-a-b, Jan 10, 2005
    #12
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