01 PT with cam/crank code problems

[dcrider81]

took off from redlight, it then began to hesitate. It would not take gas, pulled off the side of the road, cut it off. Tried to re-crank it would not. Left to get a car trailer, got back within an hour, the car cranked. Pulled up to the trailer to make sure ramps were straight, it died, and it wouldnt crank back. Got it back to the house, it cranked and came off the trailer. Codes were showing crank sensor. Put a crank sensor in it. Cranked up, and idled fine. Test drove in the the neighborhood, seemed fine granny driving it. I laid into it one time, and it spit back a couple of times and continued to go. Came to a stop, it died. Cranked back up, turned around, idling down the hill, it died again. Cranked back up, drove it, seemd to be fine. Still had the check engine light, so I disconnected the battery for about ten minutes. Cranked the car, light is off, drove seemed fine, went for a two mile test. Pulled back in and died. Cranked again and drove through the neighborhood, it got real rough idle, surging, it died and would not crank back. Codes then showed cam and crank sensor. I put a cam sensor in it, now it will not crank at all.

Scanner shows sensors ok, then it will say intermittent loss and/or out of sync. Starting fluid through the intake will make it crank and run, but really rough with constant injection of the starter fluid. Shows the fuel pump relay is working, it has fuel, the schrader (sp?) valve shows pressure while cranking.

Please help, I have no idea!

[quicksilverdon]

Check the wiring from the cam and crank sensors - Crewzin had a problem with wiring and his died.

[dcrider81]

Anything in particular?

[Travis2k7]

Originally Posted by dcrider81

Scanner shows sensors ok, then it will say intermittent loss and/or out of sync.

Timing belt about to fail? There have been reports of stretched belts giving problems like you describe.

Unfortunately it's not a cheap fix.

[CREWZIN]

It's hard to believe haw many people have joined this forum in the last couple weeks and have picked up a 2001-02 cruiser with high mileage and sure enough a major problem pops up.

Like Travis just said, could very well be the timing belt slipping and or broke. One of the few signs of slipping is the multiple Crank and Cam sensor fault codes. Rough idle and won't stay running also.

How many miles are on your PT?

[dcrider81]

I pulled the top of the belt cover back, the belt looked fine to me. It has about 88k on it. Is there anything in particular to look for with the wiring?

[CREWZIN]

It was QuicksilverDon that mentioned about the wiring on my PT. The Cam sensor wires go from the sensor around back of the engine over to the other side of the car. The $.02 clip that holds the wiring harness broke off and let the harness drop down to where it was hitting a moving part of the halfshaft. It burnt through the harness and as soon as the wires burnt, the PT came to a screeching halt while doing 80mph at 11pm in the middle of Route 95 in South Carolina. Thank the lord for cell phones and road service.


The next day I was towed to Chrysler.

[Travis2k7]

Originally Posted by dcrider81

I pulled the top of the belt cover back, the belt looked fine to me. It has about 88k on it. Is there anything in particular to look for with the wiring?

It may very well be fine, but at 88k you are approaching the end of its life.

The book says 120k but it's more like 80-100k.

Keep an eye on it.

[dcrider81]

So the only guess is timing belt?

[CREWZIN]

There have been people that used parts stores cam and crank sensors that didn't work properly. Once they bought the new sensors from Chrysler everything was fine.

Your asking for guesses and we've tried to help. What you should do is have the computer hooked up to a scanner that can hopefully pinpoint your problem. We are guessing on what your describing. Sometimes it's not that simple.