She was hesitating when taking off from a stop and finally threw a check engine light. Took it in and got the code read as a P0203 - injector #3. This was right after a gas fill so thought we maybe had some bad gas. Added some lucas oil injector cleaner and then later some HEET water remover with injector cleaner. Got the CE a couple more time in the day or so after added, but then it went out and I've gone over a week and a couple hundred miles with the car running smoothly. Tonight out of the blue car dies while driving down the street, check engine light on, can smell the carbon smell of bad combustion. Takes me a bit to get her started again, and now she is driving again with a little bit of hesitation, but not terrible. Had the codes read again and there are now two - the 0203 and now a 0344. The 0344 says it could be caused by a cylinder misfire so I'm thinking bad injector cylinder 3 caused a misfire and caused the 0203. I am no expert :-)

So what is my next move. Husband is somewhat handy with cars. If I can give him some direction, he can usually execute. Which injector is the #3? And how should we check it? Am I on track thinking the 0203 caused the 0344. That was an unpleasant car-dying episode.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

P0344-camshaft position sensor intermittent

 

That's right. My slip says one cause of this can be a cylinder misfire. Could that be caused by the bad injector? Or alternatively could it have been caused by the puddle I drove through shortly before?

 

the cam sensor is for the whole engine not just one cyl.

 

I realize that. I just thought since one of my printouts said the cause of the 0344 could be a cylinder misfire, maybe a bad injector could cause that misfire. Or maybe the slip doesn't know what it's talking about. :-)

Been away for a while. Car had been mostly behaving, just a little hesitation here or there when accelerating from a stop. The last 2 days, notsomuch.

Had the car die on me again - same exact scenario, accelerating from a slow, but not stop. Just died. Wouldn't restart immediately, but restarted after about 30 seconds.

Now still sometimes hesitating when accelerating from a stop, but also has several times bucked when accelerating a a slightly higher speed, maybe 20-25 or so. bucks as long as I try to accelerate. Solution seems to be to let off gas and it takes off when I accelerate again the car takes off with regular power. It seems to drive fine above speeds of about 30. Problem is sporadic. Sometimes it is fine, even when accelerating from a stop. Idles smoothly. I've got another CE that hasn't yet cleared, I suppose I should get that checked but I'm guessing it might be the same two numbers.

Any thoughts? There is a powertrain warranty on this car (3500 miles left), but the dealer is kind of far away. I believe we are planning to take it there anyway (rather than to our local dealer, since if it was a covered item the local dealer would charge us $100 for the diagnosis and we'd still have to bring it to the place we purchased it for warranty service). So I'm kind of trying to determined if it could be a covered item, and also since I can't do anything until Monday, obsessing over it, in an inquisitive figure-it-out kind of way. :-)

On an unrelated note (can't imagine how this could be connected to the others) this same car a week or so ago had the AC spew forth all it's freon. In a crazy, big white cloud sort of way. So I'm gonna have to get that looked at as well. I'm sure a leak that big would be visible to the naked eye, but you can't see much of anything in the Pacifica engine compartment.

 

Used the digital display to check the codes (that is quite handy!). I now also have a 0340, in addition to the 0344 and 0203.

Question? If the CE light goes out, do the codes clear, or would they stay there indefinitely until cleared by a reader at the dealer? In other words could the other two codes be carryovers from before, or did they necessarily all get thrown at the same time today?

Read on another forum that the 0340 could cause erratic 0203? Confusing? But it also seems unlikely I had multiple unrelated failures at the same time.

 

as I stated again the one cam sensor is for the whole engine it will not and can not cause a single cyl misfire and or a single fuel injector to case an issue.
When u turn the **** to open the door does it open the whole door or just 1/6 of it?

 

I've obviously irritated you, to cause you to be so condescending. For whatever I did or said, I apologize. I'm really not an idiot, even if I'm not a car expert. I'm an engineer in an unrelated field and usually a pretty good problem solver.

If anyone else has any insight, or answers to my other questions, please feel free to respond.

 

if your an engineer then this should not be an issue understanding this.
All systems are pretty much the same when it comes down to physics
a cam shaft is a SOLID peace of metal with lobes on it making a service of vales go up and down when its turned At the end of that shaft is a sensor a magnetic pick up sensor i might add when the slots for the shaft move past this sensor the magnetic filed is broken and the computer will pick that up then off the software in the computer it knows right where any valve is placed at any given point in time.

The 203 code is a fuel injector issue


replace the cam sensor and replace that fuel injector and u should be good to go.

What may sound harsh is basically 15 years of having to repeat myself to other techs and other people when they come ask you a question u tell them what they need to know and then they go ask some one else the same thing then come back and ask again.

do you like having some one at your work question you about your knowledge about a subject that u know what u know in?

 

Hey just wondered about your warranty. I purchased my '05 from a Chrysler dealer 3 hours away, but the "short term" warranty was portable. My local dealer did several hundred dollars work under warranty for some suspension issues. You might not have to take it back where you purchased it.

I have dealt with a cam position sensor issue on a GM vehicle. It caused very intermittent problems like you describe - failure to start etc. All well after replacement however.