Fuel Injector Resistance Tests (1996-2000 3.3L V6 Chrysler, Dodge, And Plymouth Minivan)

On the 1991–2000 3.3L V6 minivans, three of the fuel injectors are tucked under the intake plenum —which might make you think testing them requires removing the intake manifold plenum. But not so.

Let me tell you right up front —you don't need to remove the intake manifold plenum to resistance test the fuel injectors.

In this tutorial, I'll walk you through how to resistance test the injectors to see if one's fried and causing a cylinder misfire or rough idle.

APPLIES TO: This tutorial applies to the following vehicles:

• 3.3L V6 Chrysler Town & Country: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000.
• 3.3L V6 Chrysler Voyager: 2000.
• 3.3L V6 Dodge Caravan: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000.
• 3.3L V6 Dodge Grand Caravan: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000.
• 3.3L V6 Plymouth Voyager: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000.
• 3.3L V6 Plymouth Grand Voyager: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000.

Symptoms Of A Bad Fuel Injector

Fuel injectors usually fail in one of two ways:

• Electrical problems (open or shorted windings): If the injector's internal coil breaks or shorts out, that injector's done —it won't spray any fuel into its cylinder.
• Flow restriction (clogs): When an injector gets clogged, it might still spray, but not enough —or not in the right pattern— and that failure to properly atomize the fuel leads to performance issues.

You might also run into issues with the wiring harness, damaged connectors, or even a faulty PCM driver circuit that's not sending the injector a proper signal.

Here are some of the most common signs you're dealing with a failing injector:

• Rough idle: The engine may shake or feel unstable at idle.
• Misfire: Acceleration might feel jerky or sluggish. A dead injector means one cylinder isn't firing at all.
• Misfire codes: The PCM may throw one or more of these:
  • P0300: Random misfire across multiple cylinders.
  • P0301–P0306: Misfire detected in cylinders 1 through 6.
• Drop in power: When a cylinder isn't getting fuel, you'll notice a hit in performance and fuel economy.
• Stored codes: Along with misfire codes, you might also see lean condition codes like P0171 (OBD-II) if fuel delivery is uneven.

14 Pin Fuel Injector Wiring Harness Connector Pinout

To check the resistance of the fuel injectors, we're going to take our measurements from the 14-pin fuel injector wiring harness connector —specifically, the one with the male spade terminals.

Here are the terminal pin IDs you'll need to test the fuel injectors:

• Terminal 1:
  • Dark green with orange stripe (DK GRN/ORG) wire.
  • 12 Volt power supply.
• Terminal 3:
  • White with dark blue (WHT/DK BLU) wire.
  • Injector #1.
• Terminal 4:
  • Tan (TAN) or tan with white stripe (TAN/WHT) wire.
  • Injector #2.
• Terminal 5:
  • Yellow with white stripe (YEL/WHT) wire.
  • Injector #3.
• Terminal 6:
  • Light blue with brown stripe (LT BLU/BRN) wire.
  • Injector #4.
• Terminal 12:
  • Grey (GRY).
  • Injector #5.
• Terminal 13:
  • Brown with dark blue stripe (BRN/DK BLU) wire.
  • Injector #6.

TEST 1: Checking Fuel Injector Resistance

Inside every fuel injector is a tiny coil of wire. When the injector gets 12 Volts and a Ground signal, that coil energizes and opens the injector —letting fuel spray straight into the intake port.

But over time, the coil can fail. It might short out or break internally, leaving the circuit open. When that happens, the injector stops firing, and that cylinder gets zero fuel.

The good news is, you can check each injector's coil with a simple resistance test using a multimeter.

If you don't have a multimeter or need to upgrade yours? This is the one I use and recommend: Tekpower TP8268 AC/DC Auto/Manual Range Digital Multimeter (at: amazon.com).

NOTE: Make sure the engine is cold before starting this test. Fuel injector resistance specs are based on room temperature —but whatever the ambient temp is where will be fine too.

Let's get going:

1. 1

   Disconnect the 14-pin fuel injector wiring harness connector.
   
   NOTE: All resistance tests are performed at the harness connector, which contains the male spade terminals.

2. 2

   Set your multimeter to Ohms (Ω) mode.

3. 3

   To test injector #1, probe terminals 1 and 3 with your multimeter leads.
   
   NOTE: Use the connector pinout chart to confirm wire colors and terminal positions: 14-Pin Fuel Injector Wiring Harness Connector Pinout.

4. 4

   To test injector #2, probe terminals 1 and 4.

5. 5

   To test injector #3, probe terminals 1 and 5.

6. 6

   To test injector #4, probe terminals 1 and 6.

7. 7

   To test injector #5, probe terminals 1 and 12.

8. 8

   To test injector #6, probe terminals 1 and 13.

9. 9

   Your multimeter should read between 10 and 16 Ohms for each injector.

Now let's break down what those results tell you:

CASE 1: All injectors fall between 10-16 Ohms —That's a good sign.

This test result means the internal coils aren't shorted (0 Ohms resistance) and not open (infinite resistance).

Your next step is not to remove the fuel injector and check its spray pattern. Go to:

• How To Check Fuel Injector Spray (1991-2010 3.3L V6 Chrysler, Dodge, And Plymouth Minivan).

CASE 2: One or more injectors read outside the 10-16 Ohm range —That injector has failed the test.

It's either on its way out or already causing problems. Replace it.

CASE 3: One or more injectors show an open-circuit (OL) —That means the internal coil is open and the injector's completely dead.

Replacing the fuel injector will solve the cylinder misfire issue.

More 3.3L V6 Chrysler, Dodge, And Plymouth Minivan Tutorials

I've written several more tutorials for the V6 Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth minivans that you might find helpful. You can browse them all in this index:

• 3.3L V6 Chrysler, Dodge, And Plymouth Minivan Index Of Articles.