Hello all,
I appreciate you taking a look and thank you in advance for any advice I receive.

I have a 2003 Xtype AWD with the 3.0. I just replaced the transmission and transfer case and now I have a no-crank condition. I put the finishing touches on the car and hooked up the new battery thinking it went pretty smoothly. When I turned the key on, all accessories turned on normally except for the sensors on top of the valve covers. They rattle when power is turned on. I proceeded to turn the key further to the start position and nothing happened. It doesn't try to do anything.

At this point I figure no big deal, I'll double check my work. Every single connector is plugged back in. The battery is brand new with a 12.6v charge on it. I pulled the grounds and cleaned them. I bench tested the starter - perfect. Even cleaned it's mounting/grounding surface which wasn't an issue anyway seeing as I can jump the starter through the relay box and it cranks the engine over just fine but it still won't start. I know the relay is good. After quadruple checking every thing I knew to possibly check on the car, I called a friend who is much smarter than I and he couldn't find anything wrong either after a couple hours of messing with it. I swapped the neutral safety switch off the old trans because that functioned fine and still can't start it. On top of that, the gear selector will not come out of park even with the brake depressed. It doesn't seem to be throwing a security code either.

What I'm wondering is if the ECU may have gone bad. I dropped the engine with the trans to make my life easier and disconnected the connector from the ECU to do so. I was grounded to the vehicle and felt no static shock or anything and it's plugged back in perfectly. The battery was out for all of this. It also may be the key giving up and not giving the car permission to start as the remote no longer functions. Everything else works perfectly fine. One final bit is at one time while trying to shift, I heard beeping coming from the ECU area when I moved the lever back about a quarter inch or so. It doesn't do that anymore.

I'm so lost. Any ideas?

 

Is the shift cable installed correctly so the neutral start switch is in the correct position?

 

Yes, I made sure of that as well

 

amr: If I understand correctly, your J-gate is locked in Park even though the ignition key is in the run position and the brake pedal is depressed. You likely know this is a safety interlock to prevent the transmission from accidentally slipping or being bumped out of Park.

For your car to be "stuck" in Park suggests the car "thinks" incorrectly that either the brake pedal is not depressed, or it can't "see" that the ignition key is in the run position.

Just spitballing, but if your X-Type can't "see" when the ignition key is turned to the run position, this may be a clue to your no-start problem.

 

I appreciate it. I did find out how to reprogram the key and it now works as far as locking and unlocking, trunk, etc. It still will not start. I am now down to the point of replacing the ECU but don't want to go through all that for nothing either. I don't even know if it will accept a used ECU based on what someone else told me.

 

I, too, am having what seems like the same problem. Battery died, replaced, now won't start. (See Thinking of Buying a 2002 X Type Won't Start). The sensors on top , I think variable camshaft timing....sensors. Power at relay 10, I didn't jump it yet. I also have no digits on the odometer, just dashes. Code 1638 showing, CAN communication problem. Please let me know if you resolve your problem, I think I have a similar one. Thanks.