1998 Intrepid gauges went blank, now wont start

Wife called me frantically while on the road to say "all went dark,
except check engine light came on". After couple of minutes, gauges
came back and all seemed normal..until next time we tried to start.
Car fired up but died immediately three times, then stopped cranking
also. Battery voltage is good, and when it cranked, it did so with
authority. All dash lights working now, just not cranking. 1998
Intrepid LS 3.2 Thanks for any help.

Norm

 

The two most likely causes:
(1) Bad connection at the battery. The positive battery posts are very
prone to severe corrosion on the 2nd gen. LH cars. Remove the cable
clamp from the battery and clean all corrosion off with baking soda and
water solution - use Coca-Cola full strength if it's hard and stubborn.
Then inspect the clamp and cable, including the green fusible link, to
make sure that there's still enough metal left to do the job. Repair or
replace those items as needed.
(2) Check the tightness of the positive jump post connections (next to
the air filter box). Those connections can get loose. With the
exception of the hot cable between the battery and the alternator (thru
that green fusible link), *ALL* electrical power of the vehicle go thru
that jump post - one cable in from battery, one cable out to starter,
third cable out to everything else. When this connection gets loose, it
is often intermittent - which is what you're seeing.

Also check the tightness of the connection at the neg. jump post (on the
passenger side strut tower - single cable and nut. That is the main
ground for the entire vehicle.

It is also possible for a battery to have an intermittent internal
short. If your battery is 5 or more years old, you might ought to
replace it anyway. Even if that's not causing this problem, it's due
anyway.

Might be ignition switch, but I'd go thru everything else first and
eliminate those as the possibility - unless you can narrow it down with
a multimeter if you know how to troubleshoot with that (to see where
you're loosing voltage when cranking).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Wow, thanks for the quick reply!! I will check on the battery/ground
issues pronto. I'm wondering why it cranked so good for 3 times
(within a minute) without starting, and then NOTHING! I will report of
my findings in hopes that someone else may benefit. Thanks again Bill.

 

Hey Bill (or anybody)... Well... Battery loked like it has seen better
days, so I replaced it and the terminals. I cleaned all cables you
mentioned and tightened (they didn't look bad) It looks like the
fusible link go's to the alt, so I checked for voltage there and have
12.7 volts. I'm now suspecting the ign sw. I have the plastic off the
steering column and called it quits for now (hot & humid). Should I
just get another sw, or are they ez to test? I didnt look to see how
it removes as i was starting to feel frustrated and miserable. Anymore
insight would br most welcome. I'm a r.r. engineer and have wiered
hours, so I'll check here as often as I can. Thanks again.

 

OK - so you did include the positive jump post in your checks? You
didn't specifically mention that, and sometimes people think that I'm
talking about the battery posts when I mention that. I think you did
check the jump post, but thought I better ask to be sure.

I've taken the ignition lock cylinder out of mine before, but that is
not the electrical part of the switch itself. I'd have to read the shop
manual to see what would be involved in getting to the switch itself.

If it was me, I'd get a multimeter out and start checking voltages to
see where it was and where it wasn't when the problem occurs. There's a
link to download a pdf FSM on www.dodgeintrepid.net, or you could get a
one-year subscription on alldata.com for $25 - would include some (not
all) info. out off the FSM, including *ALL* schematics/wiring diagrams.

With the right troubleshooting skills, the schematics, and a multimeter,
you can narrow it down to the failed component without guessing and
possibly wasting time and money (and we know that Einstein proved that
time = money) on replacing parts that may or may not be bad..

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

=----


If you disconnected the battery you cleared all faults that may pertain to
the problem you are having. If the problem occurs again I would have the TCM
(Trans control module) PCM (power control module) BCM (body control Module)
And since it was a no start have the SKIM module (theft module). You will
have to have this done at a shop that has a scanner that will pull these
codes.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Thanks again Bill. Yes, I took all the batt connections apart and
cleaned/sanded until like new, including the pos jump post and the neg
as well. Car wont even "click" when turning key now, as it did for
three trys. three times it started, then died as soon as I let go of
the ign sw, now nothing. The "elect" part of the sw seems to be
opposite side of column from where you put key in. doesnt look like it
will lend itself to internal diagnostics, but maybe I can verify that
power is making it to the sw... then again, when i put the key in and
turn, all lights on dash and acessories work normally. I'd even
suspect the starter if it didnt crank so goo the three times it did
when it wouldnt stat lit... Oh well... I love my NON-COMPUTER slant-6
d-100... I can fix it with a few curse words and some chewing gum.
This one likes money...ugh Thamks for your help. I'll continue
checking with this thread,and will let you know what I eventually
find.

PS: after proof reading this msg, it may sound like I swapped the
batt, cleaned terms and THEN car wont even click. This is the wy it
acted BEFORE swapping/cleaning also. So no change after aforementioned
tasks. Starting to believe it's the ign sw, but would like to verify
as "shotgun" approach gets costly fast...$90 for battery and terms so
far...

 

Hmmm...you right. Neighbor has a NICE scanner and found no codes, but
while attempting further diagnostics, it says something like "cannot
connect, check the ign sw is turned on, check grounds anf fuses"...
could the ecm(s) be fried?? It is not cranking or anything...so I
can't report on "occuring again". this one could get quite costly, I'm
starting to realize...Thanks for chiming in...need all the help i can
get... looks like it may be "off to the Dodge dealer" soon...nutz.

 

It's running!!! I put it in neutral and she fired right up!! I didnt
shut it off yet, hoping to let it run long enough to re-trigger any
erased codes from replacing battery this morning. Neutrral safety
switch??

 

update: well... it starts and runs evrytime now! alarm indicator is
flashing faster than normal,and for the cars first time, we have a
"check engine" light. Airbox is off (from this mornings batt swap out)
maybe that triggered the light?? What's your thoughts?? Anti theft
problems???

 

Use the key trick on that vintage vehicle.. Place car in Park and with the
engine off turn the ignition key to on position (not start), then off, then
on, then off, then on. Leave the key in the on position and the check
engine light will flash the trouble codes to you. These are all two digit
codes, so for example, 5 short dashes, then a pause, then 5 more short
flashes is a "55". The code sequence should start with a "12" and end with
a "55". Post what you see and/or Google the codes to learn the cause of the
check engine light.

Bob

 

One of your recent posts said it started and then cut off. A bad
transmission range sensor (that's the assembly of switches on the tranny
that serves as the "neutral safety switch") would prevent it from
starting but would not cause it to cut off once running.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Ugh...pretty confused and dont trust my otherwise great car. Alarm
light not flashing normally, appears to be flashing faster than normal
when car is locked...dont have remote key (missing when i bought it)
so using key to unlock. Wondering if faulty alarm module would cause
above symptoms. Would scanner find that? It starts normally now.
Perhaps putting it in neutral was just a fluke that it decided to
start then.

 

kind of a different subject here but I found a pair of remotes for both my
94 Concorde and my 96 LHS on eBay. 15 bucks each time.

 

Yep just bought one for my '95 Grand Caravan from keyless4you for $12.04
shipped (after the 10% off promo coupon), currently waiting for it to
arrive. It will be SO nice not having to open the driver's door and hit the
little black button on the dash to pop the liftgate.

 

=----

Your having a SKIM module or key problem related to the theft system. You
should be able to retrieve a fault code from the skim module assuming that
your friends scan tool is capable of pulling these faults. more then likely
the fault would be a mismatch problem and this is normally due to a bad key.
How many keys do you have for this vehicle?

Glenn

 

Thanks for all you guys and your helpful input. Alas, it's time to
take it to the dealer. My keys don't have the chips in them, if that
helps, but maybe the "skim module" is causing all this. Here's the
latest on what ails it. Car starts fine now (don't know what made it
"decide" to start starting). Check eng light comes on after about a
minute of running and the alarm indicator illuminates at the same
time, no flash, just stays lit. Also my tachometer is not working
(never a prob before), and my a/c not working, all of which were fine
before this series of events. Could a module be causing all this??
Maybe a bad ground?? As mentioned before, I’m a railroad engineer, and
have the most unpredictable hours, so spending hours under the hood
of this thing is something I just can't do. I will, however, check
this board when I return from work tomorrow, to see if my description
has triggered any further ideas or checks that I can make. Otherwise,
as soon as I can secure a ride BACK from the dealer, I will surrender
the vehicle to the money thirsty spirits called "hourly rate". I'll
certainly post any and all findings here. Thanks for all who have
helped. I’m still puzzled as to why my buddies very hi-tech scanner
couldn’t communicate with the vehicle. I remember it saying "no codes
found", but as he went further it said the it couldn’t communicate.
Another buddy mentioned a "personality key" that pertains to my
vehicle may have to be inserted with the diag tool??? Oh well, hate
to be a quitter but we’re needing the car back on the road. One last
time anyone??

PS: My a/c wasn’t working last night, but I swapped the relays from
washer pump, and it worked, but so did the washer pump?? Today, a/c
not working again, and didn’t even try swapping relays anymore. Maybe
I’m jiggling a loose connection somewhere?? I’m going to try swapping
again for ha-ha’s Ready to punt.

 

Wow, just got back from a little test drive (about 15min after my last
post, and figured I’d add the following: As stated, Tach not working.
Neither are the speedometer, or the water temp gauge. A/C still not
working (tried swapping relay, and jiggling). Check eng light comes on
after about 30sec of running, followed by the alarm indicator (solid
red light on top of dash). Tried "on-off-on-off-on trick. That doesn’t
seem to work in this car (1998 Intrep LS 3.2), don’t know if that’s
supposed to work in ALL years or not. Odometer not working either
(guess it won’t be racking much mileage during this event). Anyway,
just thought I’d be as specific as possible for any last ditch
efforts. Thanks again. Off to work.

 

=----

If your keys don't have chips in them, what is the alarm lite that is on?
and if your vehicle is not equipped with the factory system you wont have a
skim module

 

The miles are kept track of by the BCM - the numbers are simply sent to
the gage cluster for display - so they're still being racked up when you
drive it.

Does the odometer ever display something like "no bus". Your symptoms
are consistent with loss of the pci bus over which all the various
computers and modules communicate - the only thing you have not
mentioned that would go with that is that message in the odometer.

I have two Concordes - essentially the same car as your Intrepid - one
is a '98, the other a '99. I bought the '98 for peanuts from a local
used car lot because of similar intermittent behavior that the dealer
billed them thousands of dollars for but could not diagnose and fix, and
it was getting the "no bus" message (during the periods of the failure).
Turned out that the TCM module was bad - grounding out the two-wire
bus signal. Any one of the modules that sees that bus could be dragging
it down.

If you're not getting the "no bus" message in your odometer, then ignore
all of the above.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')