QuestionQUESTION: i have a1994 concorde the a.c is disconnected,i keep getting check engine codes 12 ,32,23,and sometimes i only get the code 12.also my fuel gauge flashes sometimes even when the tank is full. thank for your help.
ANSWER: Hi Peter,
I am not clear what specifically is the operational problem. You said the "a.c. is disconnected; do you mean willfully disconnected or spontaneously non-functional? If the latter, what does and doesn't work?
The engine code 12 will show up whenever you disconnect the battery, such as when you erase the stored codes; that is not a very important code unless it shows up without having knowingly disconnected the battery,
The 32 code says the egr system is not functioning properly. Look for the egr valve to be located along a pipe that comes from the right side exhaust manifold and goes backward to the throttle body air intake area. It has a body that is bolted into the pipe, a round fitting with vacuum hoses on the top, and a flanged area in between. Inside the flange you will see a rod with a slot. That is valve stem. You should try to lever the stem back and forth by inserting the tip of a screwdriver in the slot. It is closed by means of an internal spring. See if the spring is closing the valve against the seat and that the stem is moving easily. If not, then spray the stem where it enters the body of the valve with WD-40 and work it back and forth some more.
The 23 says the intake air sensor is off-value, which could mean a bad connection, shorted wire due to damage to the insulation, or just a failed sensor. It is screwed into the intake manifold but you didn't tell me which engine you have so I can't be precise. It is mainly helpful for warm engine re-starting. If you can find it, remove the plug and measure the resistance:7-13,000 ohms when cold, 700 to 1,000 when the engine is hot.
The fuel light probably is related to a faulty sensor in the tank, though the fuel gauge should also be showing some inaccuracy because there is only one wire which determines both the gauge reading and whether you would also get the warning light. It may be an error in body computer or the digital data bus or the cluster which reades the digital data from a pair of wires that comes from the body computer. But my bet is a faulty sensor in the tank. The gauge is buffered by time lag, so a brief discontinuity may not show up on the gauge, but still set off the warning.
So with only so much to go by, this is the best I can offer for now. Write back with more info and maybe I can be more helpful.
Roland
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QUESTION: Is there something I can do for the fuel gauge and light? Sensor, wire...
Thanks
AnswerHi Peter,
At the tank the sensor wire is dark blue and its black wire is grounded at a common ground at the lower rear corner of the driver's front door opening. Check those connections.
The dark blue wire goes to pin 23 of the gray plug at the body computer on the passenger side kick panel. So check that connection. After that the signal is digitized and sent to the cluster on a twisted pair of wires with alot of other data.
You could monitor the voltage on the dark blue wire at the body computer which should bounce around as you describe the warning light to do. Then the question is whether it is the level sensor or the connection of the dark blue wire itself. You could also monitor the wire at the tank connection as you drive, and in that way find out which is the source of the flakey response.
Roland
