QuestionQUESTION: Hi Roland,
My 2001 Chryslet Town and Country is giving me grief. The heater console stays on when the ignition is turned off. As a result it drains the battery. After I replaced the battery, the CD player and Changer does not work and the LED lights flash back and forth. After I replaced the battery, the heater/ac console started working normally. Just recently, it began again and will stay on when the ignition switch is in the off position. Any ideas, self diagnostics I can try?
Thanks
ANSWER: Hi Josh,
I believe the problem is in the ignition switch not cutting off power to a pink/white wire on pin 3 of its plug when you turn it to the off position. I would remove the panel under the dash that contains the hood release handle (remove several screws), then remove the shroud that is under the steering column proper (3 screws) and then you will have access to the switch. Then probe through the insulation of the pink/white wire and check to see if the 12V goes away when it is in the off position, and of course you should see 12V in the run or start position of the key on that wire.
Let me know and I can tell you how to remove switch for inspecition/replacement.
There is a possibility that the problem is in the body control module which actually mediates that power source, but let us hope that is not the case.
The radio may be due to a blown fuse, either #5 or #14 so check those for that or a crack in the interior wire.
Also on the flashing LED's, which ones are you speaking about?
Roland
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---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Roland,
Thanks for the quick reply. I have contemplated as to if the problem was the ingnition switch but wasn't sure. Before I dive into dismantling things, I wanted to give you better detail of the sequence of events I am currently facing...With the ignition and the heater on and the blower on hi, I turn the ingnition off. The heater Blower stops blowing and everything turns off. Except for the digital climate control numbers which indicate the temperature in the driver's side, passenger, and rear control temp. Also, as soon as the ingnition is turned of, the rear control temperature indicates that the air conditioner is turned on(with the snowflake symbol). This change leads me to hesitate on the ingnition switch. Is there a relay that is bad? Any self diagnostic sequence I can do to try and reset it?
ANSWER: Hi Josh,
The pink/white wire at the ignition switch is also accessible at the body control module which located is under the dash mounted on the firewall near the brake pedal. It has 5 plugs in a row, vertically, one 6-pin at the top and below that four 34-pin plugs. The 34-pin plug just below the 6-pin plug is where you will find the pink/white on pin #5. You could put a fine straight pin in the socket where the wire goes into the plug and attach you meter to that to check for the grounding or not grounding.
Roland
The blower motor relay control is done by the front control module part of the intergrated power module which is the main electrical box under the hood. That is independent of the HVAC power supply issue. My point is that there is power to the HVAC control when there shouldn't be and that is related to the ignition switch as I described. The rear auto temp control is powered exactly the same way as the main control so it is not surprising to me that it is also 'on'. There is no diagnosis I can suggest other than to look at the ignition switch. If there is something other than the switch it has to be in body computer proper and that is not inexpensive. If you had access to a shop-level diagnostic readout box, DRB-III is the name of the Chrysler unit, you might be able to use it to diagnose the situation with repect to the body control module's function. But as I see the wiring diagrams a simple voltmeter reading will tell us if my theory is correct. It is not hard to get to the ignition switch compared to becoming involved with a dealership!
Roland
PS Thanks for the rating and nomination.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Roland,
OK so I had some issues with my voltmeter, so I just said screw it and went ahead and replaced the ignition switch. After jumping the battery and letting it run for a half an hour, it had plenty of battery power to do a few tests. The heater console problem still exists. The heater did not shut off with the ignition as well as the rest of the issues I have mentioned before. any other suggestions? I'm at a loss
AnswerAs I described earlier, before giving up the theory of the power not being cut off due to a false grounding of pin 5 of the top 34-pin plug at the body controller I would test that. If you can get a continuity tester or any sort of ohm meter to test is or is not that pin grounded then we can go on from there. But to do so on the theory that it isn't grounded is a waste of effort. You will need some sort of a meter either way.
Roland
PS: You might also notice whether you can run the rear wipers even though the ignition switch is off as that too is powered from the same wire coming from the body controller. If so that would be indicative that the body controller thinks the ignition is in the run when you really have it off. But it doesn't prove which is the cause: a false grounding of the pink/white wire, or a failure in the body controller proper. So the bottom line is still what is going on at pin 5.
PPS: Another possibility is to go to a dealer and have them readout the body computer for the presence of a fault message. I have the body manual but without a readout I can't do anything useful.
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