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This repair was actually suggested by many people in the comments of the original diagnosis video of this van. I decided to give the repair a try. If nothing else, this video will show you how to take the instrument cluster out of one of these vans. I think the real issue with this van is the ignition switch. The next time I see Barbara’s van I hope to replace it. What did you think of the video?
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Very good video Eric.
Little recommendation if you end up having to replace the ignition switch – definitely ensure the wiring in that part of the harness is not frayed or damaged – I’m sure you will check this if such a thing comes to pass, but I wanted to confirm that it, not the switch, could also be a potential issue. I’ve not seen this specifically on Chryslers, but various makes ranging from Honda, to VW. Three of my cars required me to splice parts of the dashboard harness with new wire.
[quote=”Kazuo” post=148831]Very good video Eric.
Little recommendation if you end up having to replace the ignition switch – definitely ensure the wiring in that part of the harness is not frayed or damaged – I’m sure you will check this if such a thing comes to pass, but I wanted to confirm that it, not the switch, could also be a potential issue. I’ve not seen this specifically on Chryslers, but various makes ranging from Honda, to VW. Three of my cars required me to splice parts of the dashboard harness with new wire.[/quote]
Thanks for the input. I’ll be sure to check the harness before installing a new switch.
some thing to note.. is when you lifted or tilted the steering column the beeping would come and go .. I wonder if she is lifting the column to get in and out of the drivers seat.. if so could be a fractured in one of the wires from the key switch that fallow the steering column. Would go with the post from Kazuo.. or could be a connector under the dash behind the instrument cluster.. but do love information video’s.. would love to see the work on the engine rebuild for the v8 you pulled.. and like you say “Be Safe, have fun, and Stay Dirty.”
Darkntie
A shift interlock in these vans was not installed until 2001….That got Chrysler sued after a woman was killed
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132254&page=1
Personally, I prefer the Viking funeral method of getting rid of a lemon….find the nearest boat ramp into the Ohio River, light the minivan on fire and push it in the river… fun to watch, but not environmentally sound 🙂
[quote=”ToyotaKarl” post=148892]Personally, I prefer the Viking funeral method of getting rid of a lemon….find the nearest boat ramp into the Ohio River, light the minivan on fire and push it in the river… fun to watch, but not environmentally sound :)[/quote]
My favourite way of getting rid of a lemon is what my dad and some friends did back when they were in high school. Drive up to an old logging road, park the car. Then go back to the other vehicle, pull shotguns out of the trunk and yell “POLICE! FREEZE!” and then blast the junker repeatedly. Apparently the windshield in particular exploded in a very satisfying way.
On topic: Someday, many decades from now, that van will have had everything it could possibly need repaired. And I’ll miss it. I’m sure Eric won’t though! But it’s like an old friend, seeing videos each week about what else could possibly go wrong!
For those that say I should just get rid of the van. Yes, it’s a POS, but no more a POS than my beloved Vigor. Yes, it did take some time to bring the Vigor back, but it runs and drives like a new car now. Perhaps the same will be true for Barbara’s van. In fact, when I talked to her last week she said she loved driving it because it was so smooth on the highway.
More importantly, Barbara’s van kicked off the Fixing it Forward series. As I’ve said several times, I think history will show this was the right thing to do. I don’t feel bad about helping Barbara either.
So, complain all you want about me fixing that van, but I stand by what I did and will continue to work on it for as long as it takes. I’m just disappointed that so many are ignoring the repair in the video and focusing on the van. Because they don’t like the van, they don’t like the video. I suppose we can take a break from it for a while and work on other projects like Jeff’s Ford Contour.
You know, I’m really looking forward to the videos about the Contour. My dad had one, and like the van, it had an endless stream of problems with it. After 14 years he decided enough was enough and cut his losses and traded it in. The radiator hose exploded just as it pulled into the dealer and spewed crap all over the parking lot. Seemed fitting for a car which only stranded us 5 or 6 times with increasingly impressive failures. But the thing is, that whenever everything was working, it was a great car. Handled well, was comfortable. Peppy. only problem is, that the car never stayed fixed for very long. So I can sympathize with keeping a car longer than it’s apparent due date.
But the funny thing is, that if I had discovered ETCG at that time, my dad would have still had that car!
+darknite01 That was my same exact thought when I saw Eric moving the cloumn and the beep was come and go.
Eric you mentioned that nothing happened for a couple of months when you got the van in the shop. Neither cluster nor starting problems. Probably you never moved the steering column so the wires got connection everytime you started the car.
Maybe next time Barbara should tilt or lift the steering column if she’s got any starting issues. That would absolutly clarify that those wires are the issue.
Just a thought 🙂Jani
AHHH ERIC!!! you let that intermittent electrical malfunction slide??? you KNOW thats gonna be some problem! I am dying that you didn’t diagnose that!!! Easily repeatable condition and everything!!
[quote=”asetoftools” post=149039]AHHH ERIC!!! you let that intermittent electrical malfunction slide??? you KNOW thats gonna be some problem! I am dying that you didn’t diagnose that!!! Easily repeatable condition and everything!![/quote]
The video was about repairing the instrument cluster, not the ignition switch. I’ll be dealing with the other problem in a different video. I’m a bit disappointed that so many people didn’t see that as the focus of the video. If I could go back and do it again, I would have cut that part out of the video and dealt with the ignition switch problem in an entirely different video.
[quote=”szavjani” post=149006]+darknite01 That was my same exact thought when I saw Eric moving the cloumn and the beep was come and go.
Eric you mentioned that nothing happened for a couple of months when you got the van in the shop. Neither cluster nor starting problems. Probably you never moved the steering column so the wires got connection everytime you started the car.
Maybe next time Barbara should tilt or lift the steering column if she’s got any starting issues. That would absolutly clarify that those wires are the issue.
Just a thought 🙂Jani[/quote]
In actuality the van was in my shop for about 2 months. There was plenty of opportunities for the issue to show up. I also hit the dash, and moved the wheel around trying to duplicate the condition. It never manifested. I was also dealing with many of the vans other issues and wasn’t focused on the intermittent no start condition.
I’ll be dealing with that problem in another video at some point. The focus of this video was on the problems that often come up with the instrument clusters. Looking back, I wish I would have cut out the part about the ignition switch wires but ended up leaving it in for another video at another time. For that reason, many people seem to see the video as incomplete.
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=149076][quote=”szavjani” post=149006]+darknite01 That was my same exact thought when I saw Eric moving the cloumn and the beep was come and go.
Eric you mentioned that nothing happened for a couple of months when you got the van in the shop. Neither cluster nor starting problems. Probably you never moved the steering column so the wires got connection everytime you started the car.
Maybe next time Barbara should tilt or lift the steering column if she’s got any starting issues. That would absolutly clarify that those wires are the issue.
Just a thought 🙂Jani[/quote]
In actuality the van was in my shop for about 2 months. There was plenty of opportunities for the issue to show up. I also hit the dash, and moved the wheel around trying to duplicate the condition. It never manifested. I was also dealing with many of the vans other issues and wasn’t focused on the intermittent no start condition.
I’ll be dealing with that problem in another video at some point. The focus of this video was on the problems that often come up with the instrument clusters. Looking back, I wish I would have cut out the part about the ignition switch wires but ended up leaving it in for another video at another time. For that reason, many people seem to see the video as incomplete.[/quote]
You shouldn’t be disappointed at all Eric. This is a helpfull video. Why would it be incomplete? The goal was to demonstrate how to get out, fix and put back a minivan’s instument cluster. I just mentioned what I mentioned because I got excited that maybe I got a solution to check this problem with Barbara’s van. I just felt like we all repairing that van together 🙂 I know it’s not what the video about. But the fact that it’s Barbara’s van makes people to find a solution to repair this car. Probably that’s the reason why people care too much about the ignition problem in case of this video.
Beside of all of these things it’s a great video. Everyone who got this kinda problem with their minivans will find this video and they won’t care about that there’s any igniton or wire problem. They gonna be happy that now they know how to fix the sauter issue plus everyone will be thankfull that they got their connectors in one piece thanks to this video. 😉[quote=”szavjani” post=149099][quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=149076][quote=”szavjani” post=149006]+darknite01 That was my same exact thought when I saw Eric moving the cloumn and the beep was come and go.
Eric you mentioned that nothing happened for a couple of months when you got the van in the shop. Neither cluster nor starting problems. Probably you never moved the steering column so the wires got connection everytime you started the car.
Maybe next time Barbara should tilt or lift the steering column if she’s got any starting issues. That would absolutly clarify that those wires are the issue.
Just a thought 🙂Jani[/quote]
In actuality the van was in my shop for about 2 months. There was plenty of opportunities for the issue to show up. I also hit the dash, and moved the wheel around trying to duplicate the condition. It never manifested. I was also dealing with many of the vans other issues and wasn’t focused on the intermittent no start condition.
I’ll be dealing with that problem in another video at some point. The focus of this video was on the problems that often come up with the instrument clusters. Looking back, I wish I would have cut out the part about the ignition switch wires but ended up leaving it in for another video at another time. For that reason, many people seem to see the video as incomplete.[/quote]
You shouldn’t be disappointed at all Eric. This is a helpfull video. Why would it be incomplete? The goal was to demonstrate how to get out, fix and put back a minivan’s instument cluster. I just mentioned what I mentioned because I got excited that maybe I got a solution to check this problem with Barbara’s van. I just felt like we all repairing that van together 🙂 I know it’s not what the video about. But the fact that it’s Barbara’s van makes people to find a solution to repair this car. Probably that’s the reason why people care too much about the ignition problem in case of this video.
Beside of all of these things it’s a great video. Everyone who got this kinda problem with their minivans will find this video and they won’t care about that there’s any igniton or wire problem. They gonna be happy that now they know how to fix the sauter issue plus everyone will be thankfull that they got their connectors in one piece thanks to this video. ;)[/quote]At least someone gets it. 🙂
Hey Eric, really nice soldering job! That’s exactly what a solder joint should look like. Nice and shiny, and without a big blob of tin 🙂
One suggestion: since you’ve gone through all the trouble to get to that circuit board, just re-solder the entire connector, not just the one pin that looks suspicious. From my experience, those cracks can be virtually invisible, yet still cause trouble. It certainly increases the chances of hitting the right one, and it takes very little extra time.
Dry solder joints often like to form at points of mechanical stress, i.e. where some large/heavy part connects to something else and some sort of movement is involved. Connectors are often prone to this because the board moves/vibrates, even if just by a tiny amount. What I would to is re-soldering all connectors plus large components, especially those that sit on a heat sink (didn’t see any of those here, so just a general FYI).
(yes, I’m a bit picky when it comes to soldering, probably because I’ve been an electronics service tech for 10+ years and I’ve seen some really weird things happening because of dry joints 😉 )
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