John/Horace

Scan for codes for an idea what’s going on. Contact cleaner for dirty electrical connections is really good, it’s designed for motors and dirty relay contacts, but will sometimes damage paint and plastic. So be careful. Plugs run in the combustion chamber and are designed for hi heat all the time, if still codes after repairs investigate more. Plugs in 2.4 don’t last long but are cheap. Repairs should be cheaper than new motor you thought at first. Harness is made up of several different sections or splices. They can be bought from dealer, or even auto part recyclers.

Starter fluid not starting it, so probably spark related. Fuel pump issues more common in warm weather, and on warm restarts. Temperature increases internal clearance in pump which drops fuel pressure out of acceptable range.

There is a lot of things that had to be unplugged during the job. I would go over as many plug connectors as possible; try to pull them apart to make sure they are clicked together properly. You said steering angle singular had an attempted reprogram. I thought there is a right and left sensor. Need a pretty decent and up to date scanner to calibrate this. Almost a dealer job really. There is often a gyro angle sensor as well for stability control. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to disturb the safety sensors on newer cars. I recently had a friend (who is a very recently retired mechanic) decide to replace his outer tie rods on his 4 yr old Rav4. He was very careful but he still ended up disturbed steering sensors. Dealer gave him big lecture on how he shouldn’t be working on his own car and reprogrammed it for $150ish. He did the math and fully intends to keep getting the lectures... because he is still saving significant money anyway. Heater core labor would have been crazy.

TIPM module possibly. Especially if crank position sensor was replaced and nothing changed. http://www.dodgeproblems.com/tipm/

Glad you got it going, interesting. Starter could have been shorted by the arcing and heat damage. Knocking could be related to bad coil or injector harness stuff etc. Electrical arcing damage related. Always scan for codes first and go from there. Make sure any repairs are solder and heat shrink; no electrical tape repairs. Tape drys out and you can have issues later.

Always scan for codes first before throwing parts at a car. Like already mentioned plugs are technically still not due yet. Could be map sensor or 02 sensor etc and not plug related.

Did they actually hook up a compress tester and diagnose valve or cam shaft on intake side? Its about an hours labor to do this test. Was the car maintained with oil changes etc, just curious. Tough time for this kind of thing.

I think Jasper have the best warranty for crate rebuild trannies. But if castings ok and your buddy is a tranny guy, torque converter, pump and even fluid body mech electrical replacement probably cheaper. Low mileage tranny still in wrecked vehicle is ok from auto recyclers, but only in those circumstances. They have to supply vin to sell parts up here; reduces used crap parts being sold.

Try running straight super for a few tanks after clearing codes. Ethanol winter gas is not great for some vehicles. Might be interesting if codes stop.

CPS crank position sensor have been know to fail with out a code sometimes. Cause cylinder misfire codes. Fairly cheap wear item, oem is one to use on critical ignition items like this. Only $30 ish dollars. In 2011 there was issues I thought with cylinder heads on some 3.6 engines on the pick up. Makes you wonder.

Yes, absolutely. Good observation. Can be topped up inside a heated shop with refrig and leak fixed. I believe in extreme cold a/c is disabled to protect it, but it really helps remove humidity in winter a lot of the time. If you have auto climate, leave the windshield defrost button lit up on dash, don’t turn it off.

Glad you got it done. With out car running you have full manual steering ability. Even on electric assist power steering cars (starting circa 2007ish) you can muscle car to side of road. Although it takes a little effort you can in fact turn steering on Journey without engine running as well. And skip the gym visit for the day. Spray the terminals with the CRC corrrosion spray other posters mentioned. Avoid another no start. Always grab battery terminal with glove after tightening and try and move it. If you can move it; needs more tightening.

I would still change the $30 cps sensor after you fix big electrical problem.

You could have more than one problem. ECU doesn’t run main power feed as far as I know. Battery could be gone again if alternator weak. There is a large fuse for alternator output as well. Push button start has a fuse in passenger kick panel, it blows easily. Check if no start after power is back.

My daughter in laws 2012 with the 2.4 engine did the same thing recently. CPS crank position sensor can do random no starts and make a running vehicle stall Not expensive or hard to change. Doesn’t always store a code when signal lost. Use the oem part it’s close to aftermarket price and this is a critical part.

You could try cleaning remote terminals under hood first. Be careful to not arc out positive with a metal tool against any other metal surface. If you then put it on charger and get it close to 12 volts, you might be able to jump start off another battery. The push button start needs close to 12 volts to engage circuit to start car. That’s why it won’t start. However cleaning the terminals right at battery will likely be needed long term. There is no way to access battery from under hood , taking wheel off and fender liner out is only way. Checking alternator also great idea.

Crank position sensor strong possibility. Not expensive and a wear item.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/37890/the-car-companies-are-already-gearing-up-to-fight-massachusetts-right-to-repair-law

No coincidence it’s holding up some pretty high end cars. Decent idea never the less.I have no affiliation with this company.

How many miles? Which engine ? WAG would be crank position sensor. Doesn’t always set a code, fairly cheap wear item. Scan for codes even if no dash light, first.

I’m assuming cylinder 6 misfire. Compression on cylinder would be useful info. Leak down and pressure. Lower intake manifold has seals, could be bad on cyclinder 6. They are sold individually and as a set. New coil could be a dud, low probability, but possible.

https://jalopnik.com/these-awesome-jack-stands-will-transform-the-way-you-wo-1680463970 Cure for claustrophobia under vehicle.

Engine glycol temp and oil out of normal range codes. More info like mileage on vehicle, any recent work completed would be helpful. Any recent dead battery or over heating incidents? Literally hundreds of things can cause no start. Scooby gang forgot to buy gas?

Even loose clamp or gasket at joint not installed right. Extra air coming in somewhere. Lower intake seal etc.

Remove the intake air tube attatched to air filter. Inspect it really closely for small cracks where the pleats are. The cracks open up when the engine moves and allows extra air, creates misfires, I’ve seen this on Hyundai cars before, it’s a possibility. Bad coil doest move around, it’s the same code coming back after clearing to same cyclinder.