P0116 and P0344

jacobmccleery

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2020
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4
Location
Miami, OK
So I was driving home from work yesterday and I pulled away from a stop sign when my Jeep kind of hesitated to accelerate. Immediately a light that looks like a lightning bolt with reversed parentheses around it came on (throttle?) and my temperature gauge dropped down to cold. (Also my check engine light was on which isn’t uncommon, it usually has a p0406 code because of my lack of a muffler).

My first instinct was to pull over and make sure I had antifreeze and oil, both were full. So I went ahead and drove home. Once I got on the highway I noticed that it wasn’t shifting into top gear. I was doing 65mph at about 3200 rpm, which is not normal. Once I was almost home I realized that the temp gauge was back in the middle, but when I let off the gas it would go down to 1/4 (between cold and normal).

On my way to work today I stopped at Napa and had them read the engine light codes, it showed p0344 and p0116 which is the camshaft position sensor and the engine coolant temperature sensor. Why would I have both of these? It doesn’t seem like these would be related to each other to me. The throttle control light coming on just baffles me even more. I appreciate any help
 
Without a wiring diagram it would be very hard to know how chrysler wired these things.

If it was me, I would probably clear the codes and see if they come right back.
If they do:
The easiest place to start might be to look for grounds in the engine compartment. Check for green nastys. If you don't see anything obvious, give the wires a gentle tug at the grounding bolt. Sometimes they are broken there but the insulation hides the break.
Then you have to start looking at the wiring harnesses for wear. Try not to jiggle anything too much at first. You also need to check inside the connectors for good contact.

Beyond that you need good service information and wiring diagrams, possibly diagnostic tools beyond a multi-meter.

If someone immediately wants to start replacing parts like the PCM or TIPM, you need them to explain how they know that is the problem.



Don
 
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P0344 Possible Causes
  • Defective Camshaft Position Sensor
  • Faulty or corroded Camshaft Position Sensor wiring or connections
  • Defective Crankshaft Position Sensor
  • Rough running/misfiring Engine
  • Stretched Timing Chain or Timing Belt
  • Jumped Timing Chain or Belt
  • Metallic and/or rattling engine noises.
P0116 Possible Causes
  • Defective Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor
  • Rusty and/or corroded Engine Coolant
  • Faulty or corroded Engine Coolant Temperature wiring or connections

Based on your description, I would say the camshaft position sensor is most likely failing.

I believe in the factory service manual there is a procedure to test the CPS with a multimeter and determine whether it is bad or not, so that is 100% where I would start.

If the CPS is faulty, make 100% certain to replace it with an OE Mopar sensor, as aftermarket brands will give you trouble.

As for the P0116 code, it sounds like your engine coolant temperature sensor may be bad, the wiring, or the coolant really needs to be changed.

Take your radiator cap off, inspect the coolant. What does it look like? Is the radiator completely full? Inspect the wiring going to the coolant temp sensor and see what it looks like as well.

If you don't feel comfortable doing any of this, take it to a mechanic.
 
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Like said above a bad ground can cause alot of problems. First thing I did on my Jeep was to run a 12ga wire from the neg battery terminal to the alternator case.