I have an 02 and an 03 max both 3.5's. No problems to report on the 03. The 02 will turn over but won't start. I have swapped the cam sensors and they work fine. Checked the fuel rail for presence of gas. Swapped batteries. Tried bumping it with starter fluid and it wouldn't catch. Disconnected the MAF and opened the throttle body, more starting fluid, same result. Spark plugs are sparking. There was a p0345 and a p1800. Last owner had both cam sensors replaced and the car was still stalling and not starting up.

 

If you gave it a snort of starting fluid, and nothing......spark plugs aren't sparking. No doubt about it.

 

If the crankshaft sensor that senses the flywheel teeth is bad, you won't get a spark and so the engine won't start.

 

I will check the other 2 frontside plugs. I grounded the one closest to the battery and pretty sure I saw a spark.

 

I swapped the good cam sensors out of my 03, and it still won't start. The 03 runs fine with the 02 sensors no codes. So I can rule that out. I was hoping it was going to only need cam sensors.

 

Dennis said crankshaft sensor. This is a known problem as are the camshaft sensors. Check it out.

Cheers,
Glenn

 

Most common problems are no fuel, no spark, and bad crankshaft sensor.

 

So I swapped the crankshaft sensor with a good one off my car. No luck there. Tried swapping the vias because the code is coming up for that. No luck. Disconnected the fuel line from rail and cranked it. Pumped about a cup of gas out in a few seconds. Checked all 3 frontside plugs and they all sparked. One of the plugs had a stronger gas smell than the other 2. May have a blown head gasket.

It almost starts. The engine rumbles and the exhaust whooshes, but it just won't catch. Starting fluid has no effect on it.

 

Hmmmm.......if it is sparking, and you sprayed it with starting fuel, it should have started.....PERIOD. The only thing that might keep that from happening is not sparking at the right time in sequence of valve events. Timing chain isn't the problem. It would start and run even I it didn't have a head gasket, so the head gasket isn't the problem either. Its back to sparking. Tell me, how did you check to see if it's sparking? What was the sequence of the troubleshooting?

 

I removed the coil and plug then grounded all 3 fronts against the engine one by one and cranked it over. Saw sparks immediately.

I tried jamming the butterfly valve open and sprayed starter fluid inside. Made a small explosion noise when I keyed it!

 

Also forgot to mention I tried using a temporary ground to check for grounding issue. I tried 5-6 different locations around the engine and tranny. No difference

 

Is the red security light in with the clock on solid? Maybe the car is immobilized.

 

+1 on this one.

 

Security light blinks until you turn the key then it goes off. I can compare against my car later to see if it does the same. It's not dry cranking though, sounds like it's not getting enough gas. Last owner said it was stalling and hard to start. Now won't start at all. I can't figure out why starting fluid has no effect if it has spark? Prob gonna take the air intake manifold off next and check the injectors.

 

Your first post said you swapped the cam sensors and the 03 started. Did you try starting the 02 using the 03 sensors?

If you are getting the P0345 code, this will de-energize the ECU relay, which supplies power to the ECU on pin 110. Maybe the cam sensor itself is good, but you could have a wire harness problem. P0345 is the bank 2 sensor towards the radiator.

There are 3 wires on the cam sensor:
red/green stripe - has 12 volts from the ECU relay.
black wire - ground to chassis.
solid red - signal output to pin 85 of the ECU.

See if you have 12 volts on the red/green stripe wire on BOTH cam sensors.
Check that you have continuity on the black wire to the chassis or negative terminal of the battery.
Check that you have continuity on the solid red wire from the sensor to ECU pin 85.

 

Another thought - Swap the MAF with the the other car.

 

I swapped both cam sensors and the crank sensor with my car and it runs just fine with the sensors from the dead car. The maf I just removed and it made no diff. I will try swapping it out tomorrow.
Also going to check the wiring to the cam sensors.

The security light in my car does the same thing so I don't think that's the prob