QuestionQUESTION: when the dash shows no power to the gas gauge and the parking selector or the mileage does not light up the van will start up and run for 5 sec then die.then randomly given time or messin around with it it may work right one time,three times,or 25 times,as soon as I see there is power to the gas gauge i know it will start and stay running,we have tried swapping relays,not using the keyless entry and door locks but nothing seems to work,is there an exact part you know of that I can replace to fix this problem?
ANSWER: Hi Erik,
I think you may have a flaky section of your ignition switch. Next time this happens, and the engine starts/stalls gauges don't work, leave the ignition switch in the 'run' position and then measure for voltage (12V) at fuses #2 and #3 in the fuse box under the dash, check both sides of each fuse. If no voltage then try spraying the inside of the ignition switch (through any cracks/holes) using electronic circuit board cleaner with a straw applicator to try and get voltage going. If you can't, then a new ignition switch is needed. Let me know what you learn
Roland
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QUESTION: Thanks Roland I checked the fuses and everything seems to be getting power,I even swapped all the relays with eachother to no avail,I hit the dash and wiggled the key to no avail,only diffrence is under the hood next to the fusebox mounted to the side is a silver box with 2 clusters of wires plugged into it,twice I moved those wires with ignition on then suddenly the gas gauge came on and car would stay running,now it does nothing when I try this but I can hear a high pitched sound comming from the box this whole time over the last few weeks,what is this box? the brain? Should I replace it?Reading through posts it sounds like there has been similar problems has anyone found a solution?
AnswerHi Erik,
I don'k know about the sound and what it might mean. But that is the powertrain control module (pcm). The shift indicator and certainly the engine operation has a dependence upon the digital data pair of wires ('bus') that are found on pins 59 and 60 of one of those two plugs at the pcm. They are connected also to pins 3 and 34 at the body control module on the back side of the under dash fuse box (plugs are on the bottom the bcm so you could easily pull those for a continuity check), pin 9 and 10 of the cluster, and 43 and 4 at the trans controller on the right side inner fender. I would try validating the continuity of each of those 2 wires (given in the order listed) to be sure the connections between the listed pins of the plugs are all solid. Also shake the harness as you do the continuity and also measure each wire to be sure it isn't shorting to chassis ground (while shaking harness),
As for whether the pcm is bad, there should be a fault code in the 0600 series that would point to the possibility of a faulty pcm (obtained via a plug in code reader via the underdash port next to the steering column) or you could try a fault code readout using the ignition key (on-off-on-off-on and leave on, doing that in 5 seconds or less, then watch the check engine light to see if it flashes 5 times, followed by 3 times (then 5 and 5 for 'end of readout') which would be a code for pcm failure. That latter test may or may not work because '97 was a transitional year. But I would like to get a fault code for a failed pcm before buying a replacement either used or new.
I haven't heard of this being a common problem for '97 but it could be the cause of your no start.
Roland
