QuestionQUESTION: 1998 CHRYSLER town & country, THIS HAPPENS ONCE A WEEK. THE CAR WILL START AND RUN FOR 2 SECONDS, I START IT AGAIN AND IT WILL RUN FOR ABOUT 1 SECOND, I START IT AGAIN AND AGAIN, EACH TIME IT RUNS FOR ABOUT 1 SECOND. AFTER 8 OR 9 STARTS THE CAR JUST SHUTS DOWN. ( I THINK THE FACTORY ALARM IS SHUTTING IT DOWN ). I CAN KEPT IT RUNNING IF I REV THE MOTOR UP, TURN THE KEY OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN AND AGAIN. THIS ALLOWS THE FUEL PUMP TO TURN ON FOR A SECOND, EACH TIME I TURN IT BACK ON.BUT OF COURSE I CANNOT DRIVE IT. AFTER 8 OR 9 TIMES OF TURNING IT OFF AND ON, THE CAR SHUTS DOWN.
ALSO, NONE OF THE GAGES WORK, THE SPEEDOMETER AND THE SHIFT INDICATOR LIGHTS ON THE LOWER PART OF THE DASH DO NOT COME ON. THE FUEL PUMP DOES NOT RUN WHILE THE CAR IS TRYING TO START.
THIS CAN HAPPEN ANY TIME. THE ENGINE CAN BE HOT, COLD, LUKE WARM, SITTING FOR ONE HOUR, SITTING ALL NIGHT LONG. AFTER IT WILL NOT START. YOU LET IT SIT FOR ABOUT THREE HOURS AND IT WILL BE FINE.
I USE THE CAR ALL DAY LONG, FIVE DAYS A WEEK AND IT ONLY HAPPENS ABOUT ONCE A WEEK.
I AM VERY GOOD WITH TOOLS AND I OWNED A CAR REPAIR SHOP YEARS AGO. I HAVE REPLACED THE POWER BAR THAT HOLDS ALL THE FUSSES AND RELAYS, ENGINE COMPUTER AND OTHER SMALL COMPUTER INSIDE THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS! WHAT IS WRONG?? VERN VINE
ANSWER: Hi Vern,
You are no doubt 'setting' the VTSS when you close the van (either by using the power door lock switch, the key lock, of the remove as you leave. The problem is that it is not disarming. You didn't mention how you typically un-lock the van, but it isn't doing the disarming. If it via the door key on the driver side, then I would suspect that the wire from the key lock to the body computer is 'open'. You could alternatively try the passenger side door lock to disarm the system by opening that lock first. One way to avoid this is never to activate the VTSS when you secure the van, so see that technique later in this response.
If the engine dies in about 3 seconds reliably that would implicate a theft system that is not disarmed. The theft system light on the dash is probably still 'on'.
Several owners have reported that if they removed the ignition off draw (iod) fuse for a few hours (or even as short as an hour) and then put it back in that the system would recover. I can't tell how universally applicable that approach is. That fuse is in the rear corner of the underhood power distribution box, #28
Another approach (which has worked on the earlier theft system, which had a separated module with a simple disarm grounding-type switch at each door), was to ground a pin at the theft module instead to which the switch is attached. When the theft systems were incorporated into the body computer the door switches instead had specific resistances which were to be grounded for the lock or the unlock action. In the case of the '98 the resistor for the 'lock' direction is 4020 ohms, while for the 'unlock' it is 665 ohms. The 'grounding' pin in question is #45 on the body control computer which is located on the rear side of the under dash fuse box (junction box). It has two plugs, with pins 1-40 and 41-80 and the wire is white/dark green. You would probably want to unmount the junction block so that you can access the plugs more conveniently.
Then after purchasing resistors of approximately those two ohmmage values (electronics store), I would put a pin through the insulation of that wire and then touch one end of the 4020 resistor to a nearby body ground metal surface and the other end to the pin. Then I would do the same with the 665 resistor. The theft light should then go out and the the engine should start and run.
There is no way to remove/defeat the theft system easily, so the trick from that point forward is to only secure the van using the push-buttons interior locks; never use the door key to lock it, or the power door locks or the remote key fob as any of those could activate the theft alarm. You can unlock the doors with a key, but try never to lock with the key.
The alternative is to trace the wires from the door locks to the pin 45 and find out where the break is and repair it. At least this is my theory of beating such a situation.
To get to the bcm you remove the lower steering wheel column cover and the knee blocker reinforcement. The bcm's two pluga are on the bottom of the assembly, so if you can locate pin 45 on one of the plugs you are set to do the resistor trick. Otherwise remove the bolts that hold the junction block to its mounting bracket. Don't disassemble the two blocks as they are interconnected electrically. This technique has to be tried with the iod installed and the battery connected of course.
Let me know which way you try, and how it goes.
On the instrument cluster issues, that is probably a cold solder joint on the digital data wires that bring the info to operate the gauges to the cluster, specifically where the pins at the plug socket for the wires are soldered to the circuit board of the cluster. Those are specifically pins 9 and 10 so if you would remove the cluster and touch those solder joints with a heated soldering pencil you may solve that problem. Another temporary solution that other owners report is that if they slap the top of the dash, above the cluster, it will often cause a reconnection to occur, but this is not an elegant 'fix'.
Roland
PS Please 'rate' my answer, and where you find the question about a nomination to be 'volunteer of the month' please consider a 'yes' answer if this response is helpful. Thanks
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QUESTION: HI,7/25/2010
THANKS FOR THE QUICK RESPONSE. I SIMULATED VIOLATING THE CAR ALARM. I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN. THE CAR STARTS AND THEN DIES. JUST LIKE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT GOES GOO GOO ON ME.
THERE ARE SOME BIG DIFFERENCES. THE SPEEDOMETER AND SHIFTER LIGHTS ON THE LOWER DASH ARE ON AND THE HORN SOUNDS. I WAS ALSO ABLE TO START THE CAR AFTER I UNLOCKED THE DOOR. I USUALLY HAVE TO WAIT 3 HOURS BEFORE I CAN START THE CAR.
I WAS WONDERING IF THE LOCKS COULD CAUSE A PROBLEM . SO, ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, WHEN THE CAR WAS NOT STARTING, I TRIED OPENING THE DRIVER DOOR. I UNLOCKED IT FROM INSIDE, OUTSIDE, WITH THE REMOTE, WITH THE KEY, WITHOUT THE KEY. EVERY WHICH WAY I COULD THINK OF. THE CAR STILL DID NOT START.
THERE WAS ONE TIME I GOT INTO THE CAR FIRST THING IN THE MORNING. THE CAR WAS NOT LOCKED. I GOT IN, TURNED THE KEY AND NO LOWER DASH LIGHTS. I LAUGHED AND WENT BACK IN THE HOUSE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT IT WILL NOT START WHEN YOU FIRST TURN ON THE KEY BECAUSE THE LOWER LIGHTS DO NOT COME ON. AS LONG AS I DO NOT TRY TO START THE CAR, I CAN EXPERIMENT WITH IT BEFORE IT TOTALLY SHUTS DOWN. THAT IS WHEN I DID THE DOOR OPENINGS.
I DO NOT KNOW IF I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY. WHEN THE CAR WILL NOT START, THE GAS AND TEMPERATURE GAUGES DO NOT WORK. WHEN THE CAR IS RUNNING, EVERYTHING WORKS FINE.
I THINK THE ALARM IS SHUTTING THE CAR DOWN AFTER TRYING TO START IT 8 OR 9 TIMES. BUT I DO NOT KNOW IF THE ALARM IS WHAT IS CAUSING THE CAR NOT TO START IN THE FIRST PLACE.
7/27/2010
P.S. I JUST INSTALLED A DRIVER DOOR KEY SWITCH ALONG WITH THE DOOR LOCK MOTOR. THE OLD MOTOR SOUNDED FUNNY AND SOMETIMES DID NOT WORK WITH THE KEYLESS ENTRY.
WHEN I WOULD UNLOCK THE CAR FROM THE DRIVER SIDE, SOMETIMES THE DOOR WOULD RELOCK ITSELF AS I LET GO OF THE KEY. THE SWITCH WAS VERY SLOPPY. SOMETIMES I WOULD TURN THE KEY TO THE OPEN POSITION AND HOLD IT THERE JUST TO OPEN THE DOOR. THE DOOR WOULD KEEP LOCKING ITSELF IF I WOULD LET GO OF THE KEY.
I TOOK APART THE OLD DOOR SWITCH BECAUSE I WANTED TO KNOW HOW A TWO WIRE SWITCH COULD ACT LIKE A THREE WIRE SWITCH ( UP / DOWN). I SAW THE TWO RESISTORS. COOL!
HOPEFULLY THE DOOR SWITCH IS THE PROBLEM. I THINK IT WAS STAYING IN THE LOCK POSITION WHEN I WOULD UNLOCK THE DOOR WITH THE KEY, THEREFOR CONFUSING THE SECURITY SYSTEM. OR MAYBE IT WAS SO SLOPPY THAT IT WOULD INTERMITENTLY TOUCH THE LOCK POSITION.
THANKS. I WOULDN'T OF HAD A CLUE OF WHAT TO LOOK FOR WITHOUT YOUR HELP! VERN
ANSWER: Hi Vern,
Thanks for that last P.S. report. Am I correct that the problem is solved? If not, what is still wrong? Please 'rate' my earlier response. Thanks
Roland
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QUESTION: HI,
THE CAR WORKED GREAT FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
LAST WEEK I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. ALL THE GAGES STOPPED WORKING AND THE ALARM LIGHT CAME ON. THE SPEEDOMETER READ 120 AND THE TACK WAS AT ZERO. THE CAR WAS RUNNING FINE. AFTER ABOUT 3 MINUTES I STARTED BANGING ON THE TOP OF THE DASH. RIGHT ABOVE THE SPEEDOMETER. IT TOOK 4 OR 5 GOOD HITS AND EVERYTHING CAME BACK TO NORMAL. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS WRONG? DO I NEED AN EXCORSISE
AnswerWhat you observed is very common with this vintage of the van. There is likely a 'cold' solder joint between one of the pins on the socket for the plug on the back side of the cluster and the circuit board of the cluster. So remove the cluster and take a soldering pencil and reheat the solder on all the socket pins.
