QuestionHello and thank you for answering my question in advanced. I have a 1994 Chrysler, LeBaron, LHS, 6 Valve car. I have a problem were the car run hot it will steam when parked during rainy days. Also the engine area just under the spark plugs is hot. The engine seems to jump around when running. When going done the highway there are times the car starts shaking especially when accelerating. If you could please offer a few answers that would be most helpful. Thanks!
AnswerI assume that you meant (when you said that didn't work) that you couldn't get the check engine light to flash out any fault codes? Did you try it a second time, and did you wait (after leaving in "on") for the light to go off (which it will do in about 4 seconds, and then the flashing should begin)?
The only thing I can suggest for the jumping around and shaking is that one or more of the three engine mounts (which are made of rubber) is worn out. Have a friend operate the car while you look at the engine while it is idling in neutral. Have him shift it into drive, and then into reverse and observe how much the engine moves; also try revving it in neutral. If it seems to rock quite a bit then you should change the mount that would cause such a motion. On the hot aspects, I can't interpret what that means; if you aren't losing coolant and the engine temp gauge stays mid scale then I wouldn't worry about that.
Roland
Hello Justin,
I have a few questions and some suggestions. Does the temperature gauge on the dash read near or at the H level regularly or does it stay at or below 3/4 of full scale?
Are you loosing any engine coolant on a regular basis? Any unusual smoking (blue or white in color from the exhaust?
Also, please let me know for clarity: is the car an LHS sedan or is it a LeBaron Sedan, as these are different cars which might be helpful for me to know?
One useful diagnostic technique, to find out what is the problem, is to take advantage of a self-test of the engine controller which has the ability to recognize some malfunctions (faults) and report them to you (as two digit code numbers).
The most useful thing to do would be to try to get the fault codes that are likely 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 the position of the key when the engine is running). 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 the 3.0L engine and we can look up the possibilities of what is wrong based upon what fault codes you show.
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 will need to get specific info for what exactly might be the diagnostic tests or parts to replace to complete the repair. That is where I may be able to help you.
Roland
