Town and Country Rough Running, P2308 code, Coil? Wires? Plugs?

[djs789]

I have a 2006 Chrysler Town and Country 3.3l. The check engine light is on and I am getting P2308 error code. The Parts store print out says this is an erratic signal from the ignition coil secondary circuit.
The probable causes are:
1.Faulty spark plug or coil boot or 2.Failed ignition coil.
The van is running rough, Has a rough idle, Hesitation, Sputtering, Excessive engine vibration.
I replaced the spark plug wires a month ago. I replaced the coil and the spark plugs today.
The van is still running rough any suggestions?

[Garner]

The first thing to do is to confirm that you have the wires in the proper firing order & all tight and not arcing. Does your van have the three separate coil packs with two wires coming out of each one? If so, you should test for spark out of each coil. If one coil is not sparking you will need to test for proper power and ground. If that is OK, the "coil drivers" used to be located inside the computer. You can follow the wiring harness and make sure that the wires are in good shape. They used to lead to the drivers side inner fender on the 96 van that I had. The control module was mounted there and I didn't have a signal coming out of it. I changed the module and the car ran fine.
Hope that helps. Please let us know what you find.
Thanks, Garner

[djs789]

Update:
I checked for arcing at night. No arcing. I rechecked and set gaps on the new plugs I put in.

The p2308 code is an error in the ignition coil #3. Coil #3 fires cylinders 2 and 5.
Erased the code. Then I flopped sprk plug wires from another cylinder for the number 2 wire.
I get the same p2308 code come. I did the same with the 5 cylinder wire with the same results.
So I am pretty sure its not the wires, plugs, and coil (which is new).

I checked with a TEST LIGHT the control wires for all three of the coils with the engine running.
Pin #1 (brown/orange wire) control wire for coil #3 LIGHT GLOWS CONSTANT. I think this is wrong.
Pin #4 (dark blue/tan wire) control wire for coil #2 LIGHT FLASHES - I think this is normal.
Pin #3 (dark blue/dark green wire) control wire for coil #1 LIGHT FLASHES - I think this is normal.

Since the control wire glows the wire must not be bad or grounded. I think the pcm must be bad.
Probably a good bet the computer is bad and should be replaced?

I don't know. Is there anything else I should check? The pcm is expensive. What do you think?

Any suggestions on replaing the computer if you think I should?

[Garner]

To be honest, I don't have the wiring diagrams for your vehicle so I can only make an educated guess. May-be one of the other moderators have access to the information that you need?

What you said sounds correct. I would think that all three signal wires should flash. Assuming that is true then I would suspect the coil driver to be bad. I can't say that the PCM is bad though because I don't know if that is where your coil control module is. My van was a 1996. In ten years they may have changed to a separate module for the ignition? I followed the wires from my coil pack back to the PCM checking for damage along the way. I found all of the wires to be in good condition and I checked for a signal at the PCM connector. When I didn't have a signal there I got a "Used" PCM from a junkyard and tried it. My van ran good so I left it in there.

Something to remember when working on Chrysler products. If you unhook the battery or swap computers you should have have a scanner hooked up and a transmission "Quick Learn" done. This can save a lot of headaches and possible transmission damage.

Sorry I don't have better information for you.
Thanks for keeping us informed to your progress. Please let us know how you make out.
Garner

[djs789]

Update:
I traced the non-flashing back to the pcm. I may be wrong but I pulled the trigger and ordered a remanned computer.
This oufit out of florida sells them for one hundred and fifty bucks. Local autoparts store said its only a dealer part.
Anyway, I will let you know how it goes.

[Garner]

Thanks for the update. I hope that it works for you. $150.00 for a re-man sounds like a good deal. I’ll be watching for the outcome.

[Rupe]

Reading out on the web that this PCM may be covered under 8 year / 80,000 mile warranty. You might want to check with the dealer before buying anything.

[djs789]

Unfortunately Ive got over 100k miles. but thanks.

[djs789]

Update:
I traced a bad coil driver signal going into the coil all the way back to back to the pcm for coil#3. I determined the pcm had a bad coil driver for the #3 coil. I ordered the remanned computer from Auto Computer Exchange in FL.
I installed the new computer. It seems to work. The computer has a lifetime warranty so I think I am golden. Thanks for your help.

[Garner]

Thanks so much for telling us the end of the story! It's great to hear that we actually get to help someone. So many people ask for help and then never tell us what the fix was.

Did you have a "Quick Learn" done on the transmission? I would hate to find out that you fixed the miss and then lost a $2000.00 transmission over a small error. Most reputable transmission shops will do a quick learn for under fifty bucks. To me it is worth the money.

Just something that I'd like to throw out there for anyone reading along. This is what the "Good" mechanic does for a living. If you took your van to the garage, paid for a scan, paid to have plug wires put on, paid to replace the coils, paid to replace the spark plugs, & the van still ran the same and now your mechanic says that you need a computer... I'll bet you wouldn't be happy. So when you see that forty or fifty bucks for diagnosis time on the work order and he gets it right the first time you have actually saved money over the guy on the corner who doesn't have a diagnosis charge but seldom ever fixes your car the first time. So if your not the DIY type & looking for a mechanic this may be something to think about. For those of us doing it ourselves, we save the money on the labor and learn all kinds of new things in the process.

Thanks again for the interesting repair.
Garner