QuestionHi Roland
You did a wonderful job with my previous question.. and I want you to know that you were correct. I had someone check my car and it was exactly what you said it was... thanks again.
Now, I have a new question...
The fan that controls the air conditioner & and heater only blows on the highest setting... and when it is on it is really loud. When it is on the high setting both the heat and the a/c works, but if I put it on any other setting it doesn't blow anything at all.. it is completly silent. Can you advise me of the possible problems and a estimate for repair?
Thanks
Sophia
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Followup To
Question -
Hi Roland
I have a 2000 Chrysler Cirrus and I noticed the other day the car would start ok, and run, but it won't change gears.. Also, the speadomider isn't working.. do you think this is a searious transmission problem, or maybe a transmission fluid issue?
Answer -
Hi Sophia,
The trans behavior and the the speedometer not reading are both part of the same problem. The trans has changed its function to "limp-in" mode (operates in only 2nd gear) which is designed to allow you to drive the car but to prevent any damage to the trans while you go get it serviced. The reason it has done that is more than likely because the output speed sensor on the trans has either a poor electrical connection to its plug or the sensor itself has stopped working. And of course that would also cause the speedo to stop working.
So you don't have a big problem. If you want to check out the wiring plug yourself, open the hood and examine the driver's side end of the engine/transmission unit, looking particularly at the side of it that faces the front of the car. You will see a vertical shaft with a lever to which a cable is attached (this will move when the shifter in the cabin is changed to a different gear). Just to the outside of that shaft (toward the left side of the car, where left means the driver' side) you will see a small device screwed into the side of the transmission that has an electrical plug on its end. This device is very near to the very end of the trans. That is the output speed sensor. Check its plug by pushing it firmly onto the end of the sensor, and also examing the wires to verify that none of them are damaged. If that looks alright then drive the car and see if the trans will shift or if the speedo works. If not, then you can unplug the plug on the end of the sensor and look to verify that the contacts are clean. If they look clean, then probably the sensor has failed. If they look corroded try to clean them with some solvent and drive the car again. If it still doesn'f fix the problem, you can get a replacement at a Chrysler dealer parts department. Then just use a proper size wrench to unscrew the old one and install the new one. Make sure that the weather seal is taken off the old sensor and reused on the new sensor. The sensor should be tightened to 20 foot-lbs, which is a fairly tight torque (similar to that for a spark plug).
That should fix the problem. If you don't want to do it yourself the labor time to replace the output speed sensor is no more than 15 minutes.
That is my analysis of the situation. You can also have the memory of the transmission controller read out to see if it too has observed a problem with the output sensor. But that involves another labor charge. I think that the two things gone wrong are both driven by that sensor makes me almost certain that it is the problem.
Roland
AnswerHi Sophia,
I am glad to learn that the trans problem was solved.
On the blower motor, there is a part called the blower motor resistor block that has the function of providing several different voltages so the blower turns at the various speeds you can select. When the the resistor block suffers an electrical failure it will behave exactly how you describe it. So you need a blower motor resistor block which you can either get at the parts department of a Chrysler dealer or from a wreck in a do-it-yourself yard.
The block is located on the underside of the heater/AC unit at the right side end of that unit. The resistors are actually positioned in an air duct that has air from the blower flowing past it when the blower is on. The air serves to dissipate the heat from the resistors. To get to the block you need to remove the lower right underpanel silencer duct. Then you should see the outside of the blower motor (you can turn on the blower to help you find it by its sound). There is a wire from the motor that goes to the resistor block. So follow that wire to the block and remove the plug at the block. Then you will see that there are 2 screws holding the block in place which if you remove will allow the block to drop down and out of the air duct in which it is mounted. Then replace it with the new one and reverse the steps. That should give you all the different blower speeds again.
