Question1998 Intrepid, 2.7 litre, auto.trans, 100108 miles.
There are possibly two seperate problems here maybe, first is for about two months now it has had a long crank time to start, nothing extreme, just a little longer than it should crank to start. Second, and more worrisome, is an apparrent electrical problem. Approx. a week ago the check engine light came on for about a day, then it went out, the next day she said all of the warning lights came on and she lost power to the power windows and door locks, that lasted for several minutes then the lights went out and everything worked fine. She said that happened several times over three days. She said the car at no time ran poorly during any of these episodes. Yesterday the check engine light came back on and was steady for about 6 to 8 miles and then began to flash until she got home, approx. 10 miles, she said the car ran fine the whole time. So, I brought the car to work with me this morning, long crank time, longer than usual long crank but started and ran fine, check engine light still on, drove approx. 10 to 12 miles and light started flashing for about 2 or 3 miles then stayed solid again the rest of the trip approx. 5 miles. Now to what testing I have been able to do so far, I did a quick scan of visible wiring and connections, nothing out of place. I then hooked scanner up, ( Genysis ) and checked for codes, had a low fan relay circuit, high fan relay circuit and a.c. clutch relay circuit codes. Then went to datastream and all functions looked within acceptable ranges, I tried to connect for OBDII diagnostic checks but the scanner kept reading unable to communicate, check connection and key on. After several attempts there was no success. Have not had a chance to get back to yet, I guess my question is are there any common problems with connectors and or wiring that I can look into, or some other direction I should look.? A short background on myself, I work for an Ag. company maintaining a fleet of 47 trucks ranging from 3/4 ton to class 8, along with various other equipment, have been here for seven years. Prior to that I worked at a Ford dealership for 14 years mainly in the body repair department, and mechanical repair during down time.
Thank you for your time in reading this post. p.s. My first choice was to take it to the dealer as I don't like to work on cars if I can help it, but as it is my wifes car she seems to think that I should be able to fix it since I "work on this stuff all day". Anyway thanks for any insight you may have.
AnswerHello Linn,
Ug...The DREADED 2.7!!!!!!!!!!!
Not even a reliable boat anchor!!!
There are 58 TSB's listed for your car in the electrical section alone! None of them describes your problem.
Your electrical concern almost sounds like a problem
at the ignition switch. As you know, when the switch is
turned to 'crank' power is cut off to the accessories.
I would check to make sure the switch is returning to
a normal 'run' position after cranking, and then I
would check the ignition and accessory wires coming out of the switch.
I believe they are:
Dark blue/white
Dark green/red
and the accessory wires are:
Black / orange
black/white
That is where I would start with the electrical problem.
As far as your check engine light, Im sure you already
know that a flashing MIL is a serious problem, indicating a serious misfire.
Your communication problem with your scanner could also
be caused by a problem at the switch. I really think
you need to rule it out first.
Dodge also has a tsb out regarding an incorrect misfire
detection. The TSB# is 18-13-98
However, you will require your scan tool to correctly
diagnose the cause if the MIL, so you will need
to deal with the 'no communication' problem first.
TSB 18-13-98 involves re-programming the PCM. You will
have to take it to a dealer for that. But before
you take it in, make sure the engine is not actually mis firing.
