QuestionI'm having the same problem as Rich from 9/9/05 Subject: Chrysler Sebring Conv.Electrical Short. But I have a 1999 Cirrus LXI with the same problems.When ever my car gets real hot on summer days, the wipers, instrument panel, power door locks, windshield wipers, interior lights don't work and the a/c blows hot air. I tried the suggestions you gave him, but to no avail. I tried having AllExperts forward a message to him, which they did, to find out if he ever found out what the problem was, but I never got an answer from him. Did you? It happened tonight after I drove for awhile, stopped for a bite to eat, got back into the car everything stopped. Can you help. I'm thinking it's in the engine compartement.Otherwise the car is great mechanically.
AnswerHi Charlie,
Having all those systems go out at once argues for either a common power supply or a common ground being disconnected.
I checked all the power supply fuses and found none which is common to all systems. On the other hand there is a ground wire from the body computer that if loose at the ground point or open at the computer plug pin would cause this sort of multiple failure. I would look inside the cabin: behind the trim covering just in front of the driver-side door opening (the area known as the kick panel), fairly near the floor, where you will find a bolt that secures many black wires that are the ground leads from a variety of circuits. Check to see if that bolt is loose or corrosion exists on any of the grommets that connect the wires to the bolt. Then look for the white plug at the body computer (underside of the fuse box in the cabin) and check that there is no corrosion or water in the plug/socket interconnection, particularly around the black wire at pin 3.
That is my first suggestion. It has to be a problem with a part of the system which serves many different circuits such as the body computer or its ground wire.
As far as the engine compartment heat up is concerned, you may have a failure of a major supply wire to the power distribution center under the hood that is caused by a cracked wire/connection which is failing when its temperature rises, thus shutting down power to a number of fuses. You could take a voltmeter and check all the fuses in the center WHEN the system is malfunctioning to see if you can locate any fuses that are not carrying 12V from the battery. Just put you meter between the - post of the battery and either pin of each of the fuses in the box to verify that they all show 12V. If some are dead, that would be the explanation of your problem.
Please let me know what you find.
Roland
Roland
