I have a 1996 Plymouth Voyager 2.4L Automatic tranny with 106,000 miles on it. Driving the van back from getting new tires, it stalled about a couple of blocks from the house and wouldn't restart. It would turn over, but wouldn't run. I did the ignition on/off test to check the codes and nothing showed up. I pushed the thing home (thankful that it was downhill all the way) and started looking at it the next day. The van did start but ran extremely rough and the check engine light came on...it didn't show up when the van first conked out the day prior.

I plugged in my OBDII reader and the only code that came up was P0351. Checked out the ignition coil and discovered I wasn't getting any spark for cylinders 1 and 4 (I did this by disconnecting the plug wires and sticking a screwdriver in the end of the wire). There is good spark on cylinders 2 and 3. The resistance checks on the coil and spark plug wires are good, at least they match what the Haynes manual says they should be. Replaced the coil with a good spare that I inherited and got the same results of no spark on cylinders 1 & 4. I pulled the plugs on 1 and 4 and they were wet with gas and the smell of gas coming from those two cylinders almost knocked me over so I know the fuel system is working. I left the plugs out all afternoon to allow the gas to dissipate.

I next checked the crankshaft and camshaft position sensors (I have a tester to check out if the Hall Effect sensors are putting out a signal) and they tested good, but I wasn't sure if they're providing the signals at the right time. I pulled the upper timing belt cover and rotated the engine. The camshaft timing marks line up, so I'm assuming that the signals are getting to the right place at the right time. This assumtion also comes from the fact that cyls 2 and 3 ARE firing.

I followed the procedures in the Haynes manual and disconnected the PCM. I did a resistance check on the wiring between the coil and the PCM. The resistance of the wires are good and they're not shorted to anything else. The other thing I noticed is that with the key turned to on, I can hear a high pitched whine coming from the PCM. (I'm an Electronics Tech in the Navy and in 16 years of working with electronics the only time I should hear a high pitched whine coming from my gear is if it's a radar, power amplifier, or high voltage power supply.)

There was a similar problem once before with this van, except then it wouldn't start at all. The PCM was replaced under the 8yr/80,000mi federal emissions warranty. Unfortunately the 12mo/12,000mi warranty on the replacement PCM has expired. I've already ordered another PCM. Is there any special programming that has to be done to it or can I just put it in and go on my way? Thanks in advance for any responses and sorry this post is so long.

Tim

Well, I installed the new PCM today. The van is running just fine.

Was there any special programming required? Did you get the PCM from the dealer or a junkyard? Was it just "plug & play".

Was there any special programming required? Did you get the PCM from the dealer or a junkyard? Was it just "plug & play".

Uh wow, talk about digging up a post from the past. I just happened to log in to my Yahoo mail and there was a notification about a response to this post.

To answer your question though. According to the dealership there was special programming they had to do. But when I took the PCM home and plugged it in to my van it started right up and the mileage on the odometer was the same. I never took it back to the dealer.