92 voyager wont run

1992 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER
200,000 MILES • 6 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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JOYFULJOE
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92 voyager 3.3 mfi. no spark. My voyager has been having an intermittant issue with stalling and no start. sometimes can go for day/weeks with no issue then while driving for no reason engine dies. if throttle is feathered will seem to try to keep running but rarely will. after shut down will sometimes restart imed or not for several minutes to more than an hr. will then run well or will run for only a few minutes. at times after restart, if throttle is depressed and engine reved has reved and then shut down or run well. last week ran for 5 minutes then started to cut out running very rough********, cut out restarted, run the same long enough to get off road and then died. tried restart several times no start. allowed to sit for an hour ran very well. got home and no start at all. seems to be no spark at this time. what are the correct voltages at coil pack connector? also when checking fuel pressure at rail seems to be much lower than at other times( only shoots up about 3 inches for a second and then no press. in past sent jet much higher and for longer duration.
Jan 2, 2011 at 7:54 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Since you have a coil pack, you must have the 3.3L V-6. Check for 12 volts on the dark green / orange wire in the connector, but it will only be there for one second after turning on the ignition switch, then again during cranking. If it doesn't come back during engine cranking, suspect the crankshaft position sensor or camshaft position sensor. Loss of pulses from either one should be detected by the engine computer which will set a diagnostic fault code in memory. Cycle the ignition switch from "off" to "run" 3 times within 5 seconds, then count the flashes of the Check Engine light to read the codes. There is a short pause between the first and second digit of each code, and a longer pause between each two-digit code. Ignore code 12 and 55.

caradiodoc
Jan 2, 2011 at 11:03 PM
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JOYFULJOE
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there are no engine codes at this time
Jan 2, 2011 at 11:10 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Most codes will erase automatically after 50 engine starts if the problem doesn't act up again during that time.

I can't remember which year the relay type changed. '91 models had relays bolted to the inner fender, and '95 models have them plugged into the under-hood fuse box. Even though they cause very little trouble, you might try switching the automatic shutdown (ASD) relay with one of the other ones. On most models it sends voltage to the ignition coil and the fuel pump. Some models use a separate fuel pump relay. Since you're missing fuel pressure and spark when it doesn't start, it's not likely you have two bad relays acting up at the same time.

caradiodoc
Jan 2, 2011 at 11:37 PM
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JOYFULJOE
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no under hood fuse box , which color wires go into/out of asd?
Jan 2, 2011 at 11:41 PM
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CARADIODOC
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16 gauge red / white is the 12 volts coming in. This wire is common to both relays, (see next paragraph).

16 gauge dark green / orange is the switched 12 volts going to the coil pack, injectors, oxygen sensor heaters, and alternator field. There is indeed a separate fuel pump relay.

14 gauge dark blue wires feed the coils of both relays. They come from a terminal on the ignition switch and would be a good point to monitor with a test light or voltmeter. The ignition switches have caused a lot of problems from burned contacts and overheated connector pins / melted connectors but the circuit most affected has to do with the power windows, radio, and heater fan. People who use the heater fan on the highest speed very often have the most trouble with ignition switches. Usually the engine computer isn't affected.

20 gauge dark blue / yellow is the ground wire for both relay coils. It is grounded by the engine computer at pin 51 when the computer sees pulses from the cam and crank sensors.

16 gauge dark green / black is the switched 12 volts for the fuel pump relay.

You should have 4 relays on a metal bracket on the left inner fender. Starting from the front, they are the fuel pump relay, a mounting bolt, the starter relay, ASD relay, radiator fan relay, then the rear mounting bolt.

caradiodoc

Jan 3, 2011 at 12:24 AM
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JOYFULJOE
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cool i will get on that tmw . also what is the wiring on the ign sw. mine is an le version with front wheel drive
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:59 AM
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CARADIODOC
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One sign of a failing ignition switch is the factory cassette player will sound like it is reversing when you roll down the power windows and both of them get to the bottom stop at the same time. Without going into all the theory about back EMF and current draw in motors, that will drag system voltage down a little. (You'll see the dome lights dim just a fuzz). If the ignition switch contacts are burned, it may be enough to make the radio think you turned the ignition switch off, so it disengages the cassette pinch rollers and head. When you release the power window switches, system voltage comes back up and the radio engages again and resumes playing. It just sounds like it was reversing.

That's all on a different circuit though than the engine computer so I don't think that's your running problem. If you want to check it, there are four torx screws to remove from under the steering column. Three hold the top and bottom covers snapped together and one holds them to the column. The electrical connector is on the left side of the switch. Pull it out, then look for any terminals that are dark and check the plastic parts for signs of melting. When a terminal is overheated, there will almost always be a second one too. The switch should be replaced, then the burned terminals can be cut out of the plug and replaced individually. The copper wires will be hard too from overheating and almost impossible to solder to. I like to cut off about four inches of those wires, splice on new pieces of the same diameter, (use heat-shrink tubing on the splices), then install new crimp-style terminals, but solder them too for the best possible connection. Plug in the connector, then plug in each of the new terminals one at a time. Squeeze them a little to make tighter contact if necessary.

If you need to replace the switch, there is a real easy procedure to removing the lock cylinder so it can be used in the new switch.

caradiodoc
Jan 3, 2011 at 1:30 AM
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JOYFULJOE
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don't have any of those issues.
Jan 3, 2011 at 1:39 AM
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JOYFULJOE
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i have voltage while cranking at coil pack and no spark. is there anything other than the coil pac that would cause this? the times when it shut down it did seem as if there was poor spark or not firing all cylenders.
Jan 4, 2011 at 8:32 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Dandy. If you have 12 volts on the dark green / orange wire at the coil pack and injectors, the camshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor are working. That leaves the Engine Computer or the coil pack. The coil pack is much more likely to be the problem but it's rare for all three coils to fail at the same time.

caradiodoc
Jan 5, 2011 at 4:22 AM
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FRANKIEJ9792
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I had the same problem with this vehicle, what I did was replace all the relays and with this year and model they made a shut down relay for them so when the engine gets got it shuts down til cool enough to start back up.
Aug 12, 2015 at 6:46 AM
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