QuestionA few weeks ago the temp gauge on my 2005 Town %26 Country van started to malfunction. When your driving down the road the gage will go up suddenly and stay in the red for 30 sec or so then will either go all the way down to cold or go back to normal reading. The van is not overheating because the first few times it did it I would pull over immediately and open the hood and it was not steaming or water boiling over into the overflow, nothing that would indicate it was getting hot except for the temp gage. Today while driving it, the van died twice while sitting at stop lights, it would only restart if you gave it some gas. Do you have any ideas what it could be or give me an idea where to start. I would appreciate any help with this problem.
AnswerHi Steve,
The gauge malfunction might be due to an air bubble in the cooling system, an inaccurate coolant temp sensor or a short in the wire from the coolant temp sensor to the engine computer or an intermittent malfunction of the magnetic gauge itself. Just in case you can do a self-diagnostic test of the cluster itself:
push and hold the trip reset button, then while holding it turn the ignition switch to the run position and continue holding until the word 'sof' and a number appear in the odometer window. Then release button and wait for any 4-digit numbers to show up in the window. If none appear then the cluster is OK. The gauges will also self-calibrate at that point and you will see the temp gauge read 1/4, 1/2, etc. if it is OK
If the engine stalling occurs at the same time that the temp gauge is acting up, then I would suspect the temp sensor is inaccurate or its wiring is flaky. To change that sensor you have to remove the power steering fluid reservoir and the ignition coil to get to the sensor but it isn't that difficult. I can give you the details.
The other part that can cause a stall at idle is the exhaust gas recirculation valve sticking slightly ajar. When that happens the mixture becomes too lean to sustain an idle. That can be corrected by lubricating the stem where it enters the valve body with some WD-40 and move the stem back and forth with the tip of a screwdriver inserted in the slot of the valve stem.
You might also want to check for fault codes by getting a free readout at an Autozone parts store near you or a simialar chain parts store, or for under $40 at an independent shop. Let me know any of the 4-digit fault codes and we can go from there.
Those are some ideas to consider.
Roland
PS Please 'rate' my answer and where you see the question about 'volunteer of the month' please give me a 'yes' if you believe this answer warrants it. Thank you.
Sorry for the delay but your question just appeared in the 'pool' to which it had been referred by the other expert.
