QuestionQUESTION: Hi again Roland! Well, I think I may have discovered another possible cause for the stall issue on the 1996 Intrepid. I drove the car this morning with no problems, no stalls. Then on the way home, I was at a stop sign and switched the heater control from vent to defrost/floor. I heard a hissing sound and the car shut down. Sounds like a vacuum leak to me! I take it the heater controls are vacuum operated? Could that have contributed to the stall issue due to a drop in system vacuum? Could you please advise procedure to access heater controls? I'd love to get this fixed and get my 5th Ave back! Many, many thanks for your help! John PS: I used to dive in and figure out how these things came apart, but between not having lots of time to play with this and the simple fact things are engineered a bit more complicated than they were 30 years ago, your assistance has become quite invaluable!
ANSWER: Hi John,
The explanation you offer would be applicable to earlier year C-body vehicles ('93 and earlier) but not to '94-on LH body cars. The mode doors are purely electrically controlled rather than driven by vacuum. I do have the wiring diagrams but you need to tell me if you have the conventional controls or a digital readout on the panel. Listen again as what you may be hearing is an electrical actuator motor that moves a door. I don't expect that to stall the engine but let me know the type of control panel and anything else that is coincidental to selecting the mode for distributing the air. There us a bezek surround that can be gently pried off, then remove the screw on the control to release it from the console. Plugs are on the back side.
Roland
As usual, use the "thank/rate", etc.
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QUESTION: Hi Roland: OK, I was on a bogus track. Sorry. I heard that hissing sound and thought for sure I had struck paydirt with a vacuum leak. To answer your question on control types, this is a manually-operated three-knob control with two buttons to the right; A/C and rear defrost. I investigated further into the hissing sound and found that it was related to operation of either the A/C or the defrost controls. If either the A/C button is depressed, or the control set to either of the two defrost settings, I get a hissing sound from behind the glove box. Plus as I accelerated, the sound diminshed and when I decelerated, the sound returned, which to me was what should happen with vacuum. Thus it sure sounded like a vacuum leak. The sound must be coming from the evaporator when the compressor kicks in. I noted that even with the A/C button disengaged, when the control is placed into the defrost mode, it activates the compressor, for dehumidification purposes I assume. The strange thing is that the A/C is not charged, therefore there is little to no refrigerant in the system, but the A/C clutch is engaging now. I had originally unplugged the clutch because the system was not charged and the clutch was kicking in and out and at one point had been making noise, but someone plugged it back in and it is now engaging. Probably when she had the car inspected. The controls are working as they should. I checked operation on all settings, so I don't need that now. Which puts me back as square one. Although the issue does not seem as prevalent as it was before. Maybe all the cleaning helped, but didn't resolve the issue. That is why I asked if the EGR could still be hanging up occassionally, even though it seemed to work fine when I had it out. I just rechecked the computer for codes, and there are no codes now. So, beyond the AIS motor, EGR & related control, and cleaning the intake and throttle body, is there anywhere else you could advise to look? As always, many thanks for your patience in trying to help. Take care. John
AnswerHi John,
I will give it some further thought. I would think as regards the A/C compressor that if it was truly low on refrigerant that the pressure sensor would prevent the activation of the compressor? So maybe you aren't so low as you thought?
Roland
