Crank No Start problem
 

My wife has an 08 Xr and two days ago on her way home she said when she started the car up it idled very rough (slight shaking). She drove it home, about 25 miles, but said the traction control kept turning on and off and it had a stabilitrak warning. The whole way home it felt like it had lost power and ran rough. When she got home and shut it off I went out and tried to start it up to see what the issue was and it would turn over but not start. I pulled the codes and it had a C0561 and two for the crankshaft sensor but I can't recall the code number. After researching for a few hours last night I decided to take a look at the throttle body, mass airflow sensor and rubber hose between the two. Cleaned everything really well and replaced the PCV valve and fuel purge solenoid while it was tore apart. Also cleaned all connectors and hard plastic hoses in the system. I'm hoping this will fix the stabilitrak and traction control problems but currently I have a bigger issue with the no start.

After putting it all back together and clearing the codes it will turn over but not start. Checked fuel level and it is good. Gauge is reading correctly when turning over. Spayed a shot of starter fluid to see if it was a fuel issue. Still no start. Had wife turn ignition on a few times and it sounds like fuel pump is turning on for a few seconds. Swapped relay for horn relay that was known good and still no start. Checked FP fuse and its good. Pulled a spark plug and checked for fire and spark plug had fire but honestly it looked really weak, orange arc. Now I'm stuck. By the way the CEL is on while trying to start but it isn't throwing a code. All other dash lights seem to be working. Sounds a little weak so I checked battery power under hood and it reads 12.6 volts.

Where should I go next?

C0561 traction control code

Code C0561 comes in two forms.

C0561-71 System disabled Information stored invalid serial data received
C0561-72 System disabled Information stored alive counter incorrect.

C codes are considered “chassis” code. This particular code is for GM and relates to the traction control system. The traction control system gets its data from the ABS system. When it detects one wheel spinning faster than the others, or one wheel locking up, it activates the traction control system. Depending on the generation of traction control, the system will activate the ABS brakes to reduces spinning, or, in later models can actually reduce engine power. Late model systems include yaw sensors and steering position sensors to detect the difference between the driver’s intention from the steering wheel and the actually direction the vehicle is moving.

In the case of this GM code, the electronic brake control module (EBCM) is what disables the traction control system or the vehicle stability enhancement system.

The code means the EBCM is receiving faulty data from other modules or is faulty itself
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I am in no way claiming that the above is your issue with that code.

I believe you probably need to start with the cam codes so please reread those and post them. The vehicle may not want to start if it has lost track of where one of the cams is in its rotation. Definitely not an expert on 2nd generation Vues, so I did own a 08 Vue XR up to about 125k. I remember that stabilitrak traction control light issue rearing its head at the time but not on my vehicle.

I have a faint memory of the service manager stating that there were a bad batch of camshafts that made it into GM vehicles across all different models that used this engine and that there was basically too much play that was causing problems with the cam sensor readings which would then trigger other issues down the line. But that is a faint memory and possibly completely false.

What does the voltage across the battery drop to when you hold the key to crank the engine? It may be fine at rest but not capable under load 2 provide enough charge to rotate the engine and supply sufficient current to the electronics to have spark generated properly.

What color is the spark? If it's not a nice blue/white and is more of an orange/yellow, you need to check your grounds or replace coil pack.

Thanks guys for your reaponces already.
Just to clarify, its an Outlook XR not a Vue. Voltage did drop to 10.6 volts when turning the key. Put on charge this morning.

As stated in original post, spark was orange color not bright blue. Can check again after battery is fully charged assuming this doesn't fix the issue.

Also, the code was the C0561-71. CEL is still lit but there are no codes on scanner.

Put my battery on the NOCO charter this morning and let it run its test and charge. Charged battery to 100% after a couple hours. Battery read 12.6 v at battery terminal with no load. Turned key over and meter dropped to around 11.4-11.6 volts but still no start. I checked the ground and positive terminals there at the battery and it looked good. Decided to pull fuse box under the hood and check connectors and pins there. Went ahead and checked all fuses to make sure they were all good and they were. Still same issue.

The plan is to pull coil packs and spark plugs when I get home and see what the spark looks like. Is it necessary to pull all 6 or can I simply check the front 3 to determine if that is the issue? Also, would one bad coil pack cause a no start or would it take multiple at one time to cause it?

What is meant by checking all ground connections? Beside the main ground at the battery where are all of the rest of them?

Thanks again for any help.

I have no idea where all the ground connections are on a Vue. I've never even looked under the hood of one as that vehicle has never held any appeal to me. Sorry about that. BUT, you can rest assure that there's more than one ground connection on that vehicle. You can check the spark on the front 3. If they all look good, then you'll need to check the rear 3, unfortunately. Did you try just cleaning the battery connections? Sometimes, they can look okay but still have a film on them that can cause a bad connection. Good luck with it, as I've stated, I don't really know anything about the Vues, so I'm bowing out on this one.

3.5 or 3.6 L V6? Sorry about the Vue reference s. Same engines.

3.6l v6

This morning I started over just to make sure I didn't miss something silly. Got under tank and listened for him of fuel pump. Its good. Sprayed a shot of starter fluid in brother hose while turning over just to make sure there isn't a fuel problem. No start. Pulled three front coils and two have nice blue sparks one is more orange. I'll check three rear in a bit.

Pulled the three rear coil packs and they seem to be exactly like the front two are bluer than the other but all three are firing.
I don't have a compression tester here but I did notice that when the wife was turning the engine over it sounds like it has a load on it. It doesn't turn over very fast like it would if the timing chain has popped. I also removed a spark plug and the fuel pump relay and turned over a time or two and noticed "stuff" coming out of the spark plug hole. Again this makes me believe that the engine has compression but of course I can't tell how much.
I've read a few post about a bad camshaft or crankshaft (can't remember which one) sensor could cause and engine not to start. If I have gas,fire, and compression would this fit my issues???

Thanks