QuestionHello Mr. Finston,
I have a Chryslet T&C 98 LXI that seems to have an electrical problem. Sometimes while driving, or on start, up the panel displays go haywire: the compass/mpg display (above the windshield) goes dark, various warning lights (like ABS, service engine soon, and even a turn signal light) turn on, and all the dials go to zero (0 mph, 0 on the tachometer, empty on the gas dial, c on the temp dial). Also the gear indicator stops indicating which gear you are in. After 5 minutes or so they start working again. The car continues to function normally. The "service engine soon" light has continued to stay on recently.
Another perhaps unrelated issue is that the cruise control does not work on the car. The indicator light comes on when I turn it on, but it does not engage when I press set.
If you have any suggestions for how to deal with these issues I will be greatly appreciative! Many thanks for your help.
AnswerHi Alexey,
When so many different functions are impacted simultaneously we need to look for a common fault that would cause them all to occur. The power supplies for all these circuits are undoubtedly on different circuits, so I would not start looking at fuses for loose fitting or mini cracks in their internal wires. Rather, I would look for the common ground point where all the circuit come together and connect to a screw that is attached to the body structure so as to proving a return current path to the - post of the battery via the body structure. The common ground point is to the left of the driver, on the side wall (cowl) and the wires in question will be black or black/light green.
So look up on that sidewall, maybe at the level below the dash, near the door opening to see if you can find a single point where alot of wires are coming and appear to be merely attached to the panel. Try to remove the screw and make sure the attaching point is shiney and that the wires are firmly attached to the body at that point.
Roland
