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Followup To
Question -
Roland - Remeber me? Probably not, but you provided a fairly decent answer (better than the dealership "supposedly" trying to fix my vehicle). My Van's engine is still cutting off (as it did yesterday 3/24) while driving or in idle and when I contacted the service department, I was told again that they could not repair my vehicle without codes.
Well I went on the Chrysler web site and amazingly found a customer satisfaction notification posted on 2/09/06 on my VIN offering to replace the rear A/C and heater tubes on my vehicle (why I was not notified about this offer, I haven't investigated yet). WOULD THE A/C AND HEATER TUBES HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE RELAY? WHAT IS THE RELAY, AND HOW CAN I GET THE DEALER TO PERHAPS FOCUS IN ON REPAIRING IT?
The van always immediately comes back on again - so if the issue is about the relay, the problem may not be discovered until the car is just simply at its "wit's end" and will no longer be able to function. I just do not want anything happening while my children are in this unsafe vehicle.
Answer -
Hi Makeda,
Thanks for reminding me about this history, which unfortunately I can't put my finger on without an approximate date when you first wrote. There is no search function in the 'previously asked questions' listing. Was the relay I mentioned the autoshutdown relay? If so, then I don't believe there would be a relationship between the rear A.C.-heater tubes failing and that relay. So it probably won't give you a lever to get them to deal with the stalling fault. But I wonder if you might not be able to make a case with either the dealer or the Chrysler regional service representative that this random stalling is a safety issue that were it brought to the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration might lead them to find their to be a generic problem and do a similar recall? You could try that approach, or just go to NHTSA directly and file a complaint.
Is it still the case that no codes appear? How and when was the last time that you tried for codes? I can't recall what possibilities I gave you to investigate, but my thoughts go back the ignition switch, the engine ground wire, or anything else that the engine controller is not programed to observe and therefor code when a shutdown occurs.
So please let me know if you can help me with the date of your first question. I have logged over 2500 questions so the time it would take to look through the list is daunting.
Roland
Follow up Question -
Roland you're memory is a lot better than you think! Yes the relay you mentioned from your 7/5/2005 email response to me was the autoshutdown relay. The case I made with Chrysler resulted in their decision to replace the rear A/C and heater tubes. The regional service representative has been elusive, I haven't had a conversation with him or any kind of dialouge (but according to the dealer he was handling my case)and it's going to be going on a year now since I have had this problem and this vehicle. The state of Illinois Lemon Law Statutes will be exhausted and I will have to seek a lawyer. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was contacted last year, but it seems I may have to do a follow up with them.
There is still the "no code" issue and the dealer supposedly has not been able to duplicate the problem. The engine ground wire was the first thing they "replaced", then the PCM and after that a car -pilot was installed on the vechicle twice. The first time they said it was a defective car-pilot and that is why they could not pick up any codes. The second one installed supposedly did not give them any codes either.
So far you have been the most logical person I have been able to talk to about trying to solve this problem, but there has to be someone that knows what they are talking about and can fix this for me! You would think it would be from Chrysler but your responses have been more logical than theirs.
AnswerHi Makeda,
Those simultaneous shutdowns of the audio system and the heater/AC as you perceive it (blowers or control panel?) along with the stalling of the engine are indeed relevant. It should cause the dealer's electronics tech to review the wiring diagrams for your van to ascertain where there is a wire or a section of the ignition switch that supplies power to the AC, the audio, and the engine (powertrain) controller which if it opened up or lost connection would produce this effect. For example, while these units are not all being supplied from the same output of the ignition switch, they are all dependent on the same input wire from the charging system to the ignition switch so that wire/circuit when it dropped out would simultaneously take out the systems. So this shifts the attention to the basic wiring of the power distribution and away from the engine electronics system. So write a description of that observation and also be prepared to make similar observations whenever the engine cuts out as to what also went down with it and document these. Then go to the dealer and present them with the information to give to their best electronics tech. Unfortunately I don't own a copy of the wiring diagrams for a vehicle as recent as a 2005 so I can't be definitive, but based upon my knowledge of the prior years' diagrams I believe there is some paydirt in those observations that will lead someone with those diagrams to a solution.
Roland
