Newbie to Forum AND 300C...

cwhite2005 · 10-13-2012, 11:20 PM

As stated, I am new to the entire Mopar life. I have only had this 300C for 3 days.
So far I am impressed with the performance, comfort, and appearance.
When I first drove my 300C...It was amazing. I went back the next day to get it and there were several groups of interested parties.
I obviously won the battle. Having that many interested people at the same time kinda made me rush on my decision because I really felt I was getting a great deal on the car.
With that said, I drove off the lot with a grin..ear to ear!
Now unfortunately today while driving the check engine light came on giving me the P0406 code. EGR valve I believe. I was pretty upset when that happened but I did by the car "as is no warranty". I will call the dealer Monday and see if they will do or at least meet me half way to get it fixed.
Everything else on my car works great. Quite a lot to get use to....I drove a Cavalier Z24 for the last 12 years and its pretty hard to compare the two completely different cars!

I look forward to searching this forum and learning the "knowledge" from all you Mopar enthusiasts!!

I do want to ask one question.....I am not mechanically inclined in any way. I can do the basics but that's about it. I need to find a service/repair manual for this car.....and this is why....
Do these cars seriously have 16 spark plugs? 2 for each cylinder? Seriously? 5.7 Hemi?

Thanks all!
Chad

**badgx** · 10-14-2012, 05:06 AM

Welcome to 3CF from London UK

Yep 16 spark plugs, I changed them myself and its relatively easy to do

cwhite2005 · 10-14-2012, 08:04 AM

I have noticed a very slight stutter when I first push the throttle.
What type of maintenence would you recommend I start with first?
Right now my car has and Air raid cold air intake. The filter was filthy and I cleaned that.
I imagine I should at least check the plugs and go from there. I have read that it is useless to spend money on high end spark plugs... Is this true still? Stick with Champion?
What other things could/should I do?
I will definitely be running some seafoam through it.
Is cleaning the throttle body a good idea? Is that relatively easy?
Any and all suggestions and advice is very much appreciated..
Thanks

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cwhite2005 · 10-14-2012, 10:50 PM

I have spent some time reading on here and found the "throttle calibration" trick. I will give this a try and see if it helps the problem I am having.
I do want to ask one thing....
I came from a 4 cylinder 4 speed automatic car for 12 years.
My "C" is a 5 speed automatic obviously. When you are in town, what gear do you prefer to drive in? I have to seriously get use to the power these cars have compared to what I was driving the last 12 years...That's for sure!
Thoughts?

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**MADDOG** · 10-15-2012, 08:08 AM

Welcome to the forum.

Clean the throttle body. It's best just to remove it and take some carb cleaner and a soft rag to it. A nylon bristle brush may be needed to get to some of the tougher stuff.

Replace the EGR valve.

To avoid

16 plugs, stick with the stock specification to avoid misfire issues. How many miles on the car? You may not need to do this yet. The stutter/stall is usually associated with the EGR and a dirty TB.

I use AutoStick and drive in second and third around town.

You can find the service manual online, usually on eBay, on a CD in a .pdf format for a very reasonable price. It comes in VERY handy!

cwhite2005 · 10-15-2012, 08:16 AM

My car just hit 120,000 miles this weekend.
I will do as you suggest with the throttle body. I just got the car so I was thinking to change the plugs so I know when they were done.
I have the P0406 code.. And you think if I just replace the EGR that should fix my problem?
I have no problem doing that whatsoever! I hate unwanted lights on a dash!
Thanks for the suggestions.
If you have anything else.. Please let me know because as I said.. This is my first MOPAR in my 37 year life.
Thanks again!
Chad

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cwhite2005 · 10-15-2012, 08:21 AM

I ordered the service manual last night... That's a no brainer for me since my knowledge of these cars is pretty much nill...
Do you happen to know the right plugs for these cars? I know I can wait for the service manual but I was just curious..
I have read some very heated debate discussions about that topic!
Autolite platinum or champion platinum? Both copper plugs. $2.99 and $1.99 respectively. Autolite has a rebate right now so they would actually be cheaper than the Champion... But as I said... Heated topics about this have confused my thoughts on factory Champion or upgrade to Autolite.

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**MADDOG** · 10-15-2012, 11:59 AM

Go with the factory Champion plugs and you'll be safe. At 120K miles, it's time to do it.

You can clear the code by disconnecting the Negative cable on the battery for 30 minutes or so. If it comes back, it's pretty definite you have a faulty component.

One way to avoid seriously gunking up the throttle body in the future is to install a catch can.

Info on the code:

P0406-EGR Position Sensor Circuit High
When Monitored: With the ignition on. Battery voltage greater than 10 volts.

Set Condition: EGR position sensor signal is greater than 4.89. One trip Fault.

Possible Causes
(K34) EGR POSITION SENSOR SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED TO (F856) 5-VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT
(K34) EGR POSITION SENSOR SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED TO BATTERY VOLTAGE
(K34) EGR POSITION SENSOR SIGNAL CIRCUIT OPEN
(K900) SENSOR GROUND CIRCUIT OPEN
EGR SOLENOID ASSEMBLY
PCM

most likely cause: EGR assembly

cwhite2005 · 10-15-2012, 12:54 PM

Ok... I will do as you say but I want to make it known that last night when I parked the car... The check engine light was on. Left this morning and it was off. I have driven nearly 30 miles and it has not come back on.
I will probably wait and see if it comes on and stays on for awhile before replacing anything... Agree?

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mjvsrt · 10-18-2012, 11:14 PM

If you are lucky for a quick fix, you could do two other things to help besides cleaning out the throttle body. Put some concentated gas cleaner in the tank. I use Gumout or Sea Foam, it's a little more expensive but good. Also check your air filter and change the oil if you haven't. I use the Mobile 1 5/20 all synthetic. It may take a couple tanks of cleaner? A professional can remove the injectors and clean and put new screens in. Not sure if Chrysler has the same injectors but that worked on a V-8 I had in a boat one time. Engine light can also mean emissions problem i think. Good luck