QuestionQUESTION: First all thank you so much for being so helpful with answering all of our questions.
89 Dodge Spirit 111k
Car lunges forward while going around 20, 30 and 40mph. But not everytime. This lunging foward only happens when its cold. On warm days or if its warmed up it goes away. The lunging has gone away then came back. Pulled codes and they were 12, 13, 54, 15. Believe the problem is with the MAP sensor collecting moisture and freezing up as mentioned elsewhere on your site. This in turn produces 15 VSS and 13 HEP when car goes into limp mode.
ANSWER: Hi JJ,
You didn't mention which engine you have so I am going to guess a 3.0L because of the 54 code.
I can't conclude which of your codes is causing lunging. The 13 is certainly pointing to the MAP sensor, the 15 to the vehicle speed sensor, and the 54 to the camshaft position sensor (the high frequency sensor in the distributor). The speed sensor problem would cause a trans limp if this is a 3.0L with an electronic transaxle. So I guess I would look at all three as possible replacement items.
Roland
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QUESTION: Thanks for the info. Here's a little more. Hopefully this helps.
89 Dodge Spirit, 111,970 miles, engine 2.5, 4 cylinder.
Check Engine codes 12, 13, 54, 15
When the car hasn't warmed up or it's cold outside it can take about 3-5 seconds for the car to turn on when turning the ignition. RPM's are low, around 200, and car sounds like its going to stall. Pressing gas pedal, for about 30 sec, seems to help car's RPMs to go up after taking the foot off the pedal. The check engine light always turns on when this happens, not immediately after turning it on but a few seconds later. After car has warmed up and the lunging stops then turn car off and back on it starts up immediately with no low RPMs and no check engine light. Lunging is no longer present.
The lunging occurs more frequently when the outdoor temp is below freezing. Thanks again.
ANSWER: Hi JJ,
I would suggest that you consider replacing the hall effect sensor in the distributor (the likely cause of the 54) amd the MAP sensor (the likely cause of the 13). If the speedo/odo is not giving you a problem then ignore the 15 until it does.
The first thing to check, though, it the exhaust gas recirculation (egr) valve, located behind the engine at the passenger side. It has a round vacuum-operated top and a flange between that and the valve body proper. In the flange you will see a rod with a circumferential slot. That is the valve stem and if you put the tip of a screwdriver in the slot you can move the stem up and down noticing that internal spring-action tries to close it. If that action is sticky or the valve won't close tightly on its own accord then spray some WD-40 on the stem where it enters the valve body and work the stem up and down. Then see if that helps out with all your problems.
The 12 code is probably irrelevant so ignore that unless you haven't disconnected the battery recently.
Roland
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QUESTION: Roland, thank you for being so helpful! You're awesome.
I agree the 12 doesn't mean anything. Bought the car 23 Feb pulled the codes 24 Feb so the dealership probably disconnected the battery.
I keep forgetting to put down useful information. Car is 2.5, 4 cylinder, turbo.
Consulting Chilton's says that turbocharged engines do not utilize an EGR system. Do you concur? Apologize for the incessant questions, I'm more of a measure four times cut once individual.
The speedo/odo behaves fine. Of course the speedo reacts when the car is in limp mode. Car also goes into higher than second gear. If the speedo/odo stopped that would indicate 15 correct?
Thank you.
AnswerYes, turbo engines may not have the egr unless it was first sold in California (which is an unknown, no doubt). So the best thing to do is to look for it! Now that I know it is a turbo, the location of an egr would be at the driver's side corner of the backside of the engine, mounted on the intake manifold, and there would be a pipe from the exhaust manifold that runs over and up to it. The vacuum actuator is located above that. It is not supposed to operate when the engine is cold, but it could be sticking ajar nonetheless.
Yes, the distance sensor failing would cause a 15 code which would cause a malfunction of the speedo/odo. I don't think it would affect the engine performance.
What do you mean by 'car also goes into higher than second gear'? What transmission does it have? Is it malfunctioning?
What do you mean by 'limp mode'?
Again, how about focussing on correcting the 13 and 54 codes as well.
Please, no more surprises. Interestingly, the Dodge "Spirit" doesn't show up in the shop manuals until the '90 model year so exactly what was the set up on an '89 may be unclear.
