2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

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Yem1
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2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by Yem1 » Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:47 am

Hello ALL.
HELP!!!
The van just suddenly started jerking & the engine sound changed to a rough noise.
I also noticed black smoke coming out of the exhaust system.
Can you please tell me what this code means & what replacement part I might need to get.
Thanking you all in advance.

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carriedi
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Re: 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by carriedi » Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:21 am

looks like a vacuum reading problem from your code. Do you have a code reader or did you have someone scan it for you? You're going to need to have some tools to look at this. A vacuum gauge and some type of scanner to look at the MAP sensor readings. Your computer is seeing that the vacuum (MAP voltage) is not showing that your engine produced enough to run your engine correctly after it started up. A vacuum leak, not enough vacuum from the engine, bad reading to the computer...

Check you MAP sensor reading with the key on and the engine not running. Vacuum gauge should read zero. Start the engine. what does your vacuum gauge read? What did you MAP sensor show for a change? (voltage and vacuum reading) Do the gauge and the sensor agree? If they show the same reading (pretty closely) then you need to look at something mechanical. If the gauge shows something very different from the sensor, look at wiring or a sensor.

things you might look for are:
wiring problems such as harness shorting from chaffing
bad MAP sensor
possibly plugged port for MAP sensor
mechanical problems like a broken valve spring

Other than the engine running rough is there any kind of noise going on?
and there are no other codes right?
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tobycatt95
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Re: 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by tobycatt95 » Wed Jun 10, 2015 7:04 pm

The site said to post this question under a previous question... so here we go! We have a 2002 Town & Country LXI 3.8. I'll try to give you the short story! We drove it to supper Saturday, then on the way home it began to chug & shake... like misfiring. Stopped driving, got a dolley & towed it home. My hubby pulled the codes & it gave P0204. Injector 4 issue. We started by testing the olms of injectors, all were 12 - 13 olms (I think) or normal! (( My hubby had plans tonight so it is just me to word this message - may sound girly - sorry ;-)) We got to looking online & found some folks that had melted injector harnesses. Looked at that & wholaa! The heat guard mesh looked fine, but underneath all the wires had lost their coating & were bare, about 1.5" from the main "big" plug, down about 6 inches or so. The wires were nice & coppery, but I am sure they were able to touch & that's not good. We figured this must be the issue! My dad rewired the harness, it is all put back together & taped up. We plan to stick a split heater hose or something around the bundle so it doesn't happen again... but ... we are still having issues. The thing is still chugging. Thought maybe we fouled a plug, so we replaced the #4.. it looked fine, wasn't wet or terribly black.. but for 10 bucks, just replaced it. The others seem to have spark. We started checking, removing them one at a time to see any change in motor. There is none. He checked the olms of the front 3 wires spark plug wires & #2 was 8.5, #4 & #6 were 5.2, 5.3. Don't know if that is helpful.. We took a screwdriver and touched it to each of the front injectors, laid our ear on the end, & the spark noise in #4 injector was much weaker. So we thought maybe the injector was clogged or partially blocked... as we were not getting any codes at this time. So we replaced the #4 injector. Now the "tick" noise is nice & loud like the rest, but van is still chugging. Sounds like a very sick hot rod! So I hopped online again & started looking. We are thinking about trying to rent one of those noid light testers, if our autozone has one... but we seem to be getting spark & stuff.. Maybe the wiring harness is still the issue? My dad used to rebuild cars & my hubby too! So they kind of know what they are doing. My dad for sure! I am confident that the wires are all done correctly. So we don't know know what else to try. We are now pulling a P0204 code again. Hubby will try to switch them out & run codes again to see if the code changes with the switch. But should we try anything else? The computer might be bad? Maybe? Could all that wire exposed cause a permanent "mess up" in there? Could it be the catalytic converter? Maybe it fouled? (but wouldn't it put a code up?) The map sensor? Would that put a code up? All the others with melted wiring harnesses fixed them up & had running vans, so we were hopeful. But murphy is always around when we have a "project"... It's never the easy fix for us...lol. Just wondering if we are heading in the right direction & what else you folks would try. My hubby has no idea I am posting here, but he is so busy & if I can give him some possible solutions to check, it would sure help!! The van runs rough at idle & at acceleration... is a little slower to accelerate. Doesn't quit or stall, just chu chugs! And when it hits about 40mph it really starts to shake & vibrate. Has to be something with that #4 injector to keep pulling that code after we clear it out, right? Ok,,,, Thanks so much for any advice or insight!

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carriedi
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Re: 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by carriedi » Wed Jun 10, 2015 9:49 pm

you may have a shorted injector driver in the pcm.

The brown/white wire is the power from the ASD relay to the injectors. the brown/tan wire is the ground from the PCM for injector #4

DISCONNECT THE HARNESS CONNECTORS AT THE PCM. measure the resistance between ground and the brown/tan wire at fuel injector #4 harness connector. If the resistance is less than 100k?ohms, repair the short to ground in the brown/tan wire between the pcm and the injector #4.

If the resistance between ground and the brown/tan wire is 100k/ohms or more you may have a defective pcm.

It is possible that the worn wires may have damaged the pcm driver. A damaged injector driver could also damage the fuel injector.

you don't need to use a noid to see if the pcm is sending the correct circuit signals. You can use a regular incandescent test light. Unplug the injector connector of the injector you want to test. #4 since that is the code you have. Put a needle or pin into each of the two wire harness contacts and use your test light between the two pins. When you start the engine the test light should flash, (blink) for each injector pulse. (one side is going to be power while the ASD relay is on. the other side is grounded by the computer to fire the injector) You could just test the harness connector for power on one side while the engine is running and test the other terminal for intermittently grounding. A logic probe would work good for that. this way you don't have to test both sides at the same time. Less chance of touching the two sides together. A noid light is just a test light that has very short leads.

Is the tool you used to get codes a scanner of is it just a code reader? because a scanner might let you look at the data stream for more information about what the engine is responding to.
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tobycatt95
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Re: 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by tobycatt95 » Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:21 am

We will try that tonight and post the results... will try to get back tonight, but may be tomorrow if it gets super late! Thanks for the terrific description! You guys that take time to try & answer / help us folks are AWESOME! Really appreciate it! I do believe it is just a code reader that he is using. Here comes the girly talk again... It is a hand held rectangle box that plugs into the dash, inside the van, under the steering column. I will have to ask hubby for sure, but I think it is just a code reader.

tobycatt95
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Re: 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by tobycatt95 » Thu Jun 11, 2015 9:19 pm

Ok, we measured the resistance on that brown/tan wire, like you said - way less than 100k/olms! We were also told to check the injector #4 harness connection with a test light. The brown/white wire side should keep the test light on once the van is running. The brown/tan wire side should pulse. The brown/tan wire was dead. Didn't turn that test light on at all. (we were using a test light with ground) So we are sort of doubly assured that we have a short to ground - not a computer issue. Does that sound correct? We are going to pull the harness off tomorrow night & try to track down the problem area. Hopefully we can find it! If not, we will have to run a new wire from one end to the other, I assume. That will require my dad again... he is the master solder guy! I can't thank you enough for your help! Wiring is not a strong suit around here - my hubby can do it, but doesn't always have the patience. And well, myself, I don't understand a thing about it. So your explanation of what to do was perfect for me! Thank you! Will keep posting as we sort through this mess. Maybe this will help the next poor wife who is trying to fumble through with her hubby... lol! I am sure hopeful that it is just a wire issue & not the computer!! Much cheaper!! Cheers to my helpers here! You guys rock!!!

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carriedi
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Re: 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by carriedi » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:03 am

your test light should be clipped to the positive battery terminal or to the power coming from the brown and white wire. this way the test light will light up when you touch the tip to ground. This way you can see if the brown/tan wire is sending the ground signal to the injector. (with the injector unplugged, testing the terminal in the injector harness) If you have the test light clipped to ground it will only respond to positive voltage. Checking the brown/tan wire you want to check for ground so you have to be hooked up to power. Then with the engine running you can see if the computer is sending a ground signal to turn on the test light. If the test light blink then the computer is turning the injector driver on and off.
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tobycatt95
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Re: 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by tobycatt95 » Fri Jun 12, 2015 3:06 pm

Ok, I will make sure that he had the test light hooked up as you said. I sure do like the detail, helps me learn the "why" of it all! Thanks! Hubby should be home from work soon, so we will double check that before tearing into the wiring harness again! I sure hope he was doing everything correctly. I would rather have the wire issue than the computer issue! But that's just me being cheap...lol. Thanks again. Will post when we have more news!

tobycatt95
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Re: 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY OBD2 CODE P1297

Unread post by tobycatt95 » Fri Jun 12, 2015 4:06 pm

Ok, when we hook our test light up to positive & test the brown/tan ground wire on injector #4 harness, while van is running, the test light stays on constantly. No blinking. We tested the ground on the #6 injector harness plug too, and it flashes/blinks. So we have some kind of issue ... is it still a short to ground? Glad you clarified that above - how to test the ground. I think hubby was just staying connected to the negative before to test both. Thanks!!

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