QuestionPLEASE HELP me with following symptoms :
Chrysler Sedan 99
1. Steering wheel vibration at high speed (40-60 miles)
2. Car acceleration hesitation at high speed. Looks like some thing is getting choked or blocked. Acceleration stalls. This problem is happening 6/10..not always.
3. Sometime on pressing the gas, Spike in RPM but car does not accelerate... just stall at same speed. Dangerous
4. Had spark plug changed last week. Still no improvement.
AnswerHello Prashant,
Did the shop do anything other than change the spark plugs? or did you ask them to investigate other causes? There are a great number of possible reasons for what you describe. If the engine itself is operating normally (mechanically and electrically) then one might consider two possibilities for loss of power at high speed. One is a clogged fuel filter (usually located under the car in the gas lines from the tank to the engine, near the tank outlet) or that the honeycomb structure inside the catalytic converter is breaking down and impeding the flow of exhaust gases from the engine. The filter can be changed very inexpensively. A good muffler shop (NOT a franchise-type of place) has equipment to test for the possibility of the catalytic converter breaking down and therefor needing replacement. But I would not authorize having that done without proof that it was definitely the sole cause of the problem by means of a valid test. A new converter might cost in the range of $200-250.
There is still the question of the engine function, however. It may be possible for you to ask the engine controller whether it has observed any failures in the control systems that are stored as codes in its memory. The most useful thing to do would be to try to get the fault codes that may stored in the engine controller memory to readout. Try using the ignition key: turn it "on-off-on-off-on" and leave it "on" (doing this quickly, no longer than 5 seconds). By "on" I mean just the normal position when the engine is running, not the cranking position. The 'check engine'light will remain on when you leave the key in the "on" position with the engine still not running. But then watch the 'check engine' light to begin flashing, then pause, flashing, pause, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause and keep track of the numbers. Repeat the readout and verify the counts are correct. Then group them in pairs in the order that they came out, thus forming two digit numbers. You may notice that the pause is shorter between the digits of a given number, and longer between the numbers themselves. Then send me a 'follow-up' question telling me the results of your readout. By the way, 55 will be the last number (two groups of 5 flashes each) and that is the code for "end of readout".
I have the troubleshooting manual for several engines and we can look up the possibilities of what is wrong based upon what fault codes you show. When you write back tell me what engine and model of Chrysler you are driving.
There is also an essay on fault codes at the site:
http://www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html
which gives the meaning of the code numbers. But then you need to get specific info for what exactly might be the diagnostic tests or parts to replace to complete the repair. If this approach doesn't produce fault codes at all, not even a 55, then you will have to go to a good tune-up shop where they have a more sophisticated code reader in order see if there are any codes. You should be able to get a readout for under $50.
So those are some ideas for you to consider. Let me know what happens and how I might be of help.
Roland
