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Hey Everyone,
I just wanted to thank all of you guys again for all of your help and advice. The problem is fixed! The thermostat WAS the problem! I bought the OEM thermo and new gasket, put them in, put the coolant back in and then bled the system. The car warms up fast and great now, temperature gauge is exactly where it should be and I get AWESOME heat again even on the highway. Tested it last night cruising at 60 mph and it worked great! And believe you me, it was freezing last night. I also received the replacement ATC head and installed it today (Thu 3/23). It’s also good – double checked it for codes and all is well. Thanks again to everyone! šHi,
Just wanted to let you know that I spoke to my mechanic on Friday (3/17) and I asked him about the code 36 (communication failure) just to verify it and so I know exactly what’s going on. Of course, he has a DRB III scan tool and he said that the code IS still there. He definitely feels that there is something going on with the control head. I had notified the seller of the unit a while back when I first experienced the code. I just let him know yesterday (Sat) and he is more than happy to send me a replacement. I just have to send the one in the car back to him. He’s shipping it out Monday morning, so hopefully I will get it in a few days. I have heard that sometimes the code 36 (comm failure) is a “boy who cried wolf” code but I’d rather not take any chances, and just put a new (refurb) one in.I will keep you guys posted as to what’s going on. šRawson
O.K. – Will do. One more question if you don’t mind. What about the code 36 on the ATC control head (Communication failure). It seemed to be working fine because I had some heat while driving around town and it worked when I tested the A/C out. Maybe I shouldn’t have done this, but I disconnected the negative battery terminal to clear the code. I did this over 2 wks ago (maybe even 3). I’ve checked it several times and the code hasn’t returned. How long does it take for this car’s computer go through it’s cycle? Also, do you think the control head is o.k.? Thanks again. š
O.K. – Thanks to you as well for responding. I will definitely put a new one in and see how it goes. š
Thanks for responding. As far I can tell, there is no coolant loss. I have checked it several times over the course of about 2 weeks or so and it seems fine. Fortunately, no signs of any kind of leak – internal or external. š
I do actually have an Innova scanner for OBD 1 & 2. It also has the feature to look at live data. I will definitely try that tomorrow. Thanks for the advice. š
Well, just to let everyone know – the car is fixed. Unfortunately, it was a bit beyond my scope of repair. I brought it in to my mechanic on Wednesday, May 25th and got it back on Wednesday, June 1st. It was (2) things actually – A broken ground wire way down deep in one of the main harnesses AND the Sears battery was NOT holding a charge anymore EVEN THOUGH Sears tested the battery several times and claimed it was good. With all due respect to Sears, their little machine for checking the batteries is not that great. I know my mechanic – I totally trust him. He wouldnāt sell me a battery just for the sake of selling me a battery. He said that he could do a lot better job testing it than they can and I believe him. So, Sears wonāt give me my money back so now I have to fight for that which I WILL do. Not to mention that an ASE master tech on ScottyKilmer.com also thought that it was the battery and a poor connection. Well – based on the diagnosis on the car – He was SPOT ON!! So thatās it. I am just glad I got my car back. ļ
Even though I bench tested the starter motor myself and it checked out O.K., I wanted Autozone to test it for me anyway and to also look at the teeth on the gear because I thought they looked a little worn. The man in Autozone said that a few of them did. There was a place right down the block from there that rebuilds starters and alternators so I talked to the guy there. He agreed about the teeth being worn but he feels that maybe the solenoid was the problem. He normally charges $85 but he said he would re-build it for me for $75. So he told me to test if I were getting at least 12V to that connection. I went home and tested for that and I tried to get a good chassis ground and I got about 10-11V and change at that connection. My neighbor helped me out by turning the key with the battery connected (My mom was gone – had to pick up my nephew at school). I am going to buy a new one since itās not much more than the price of totally rebuilding this one.
Well, itās Monday and I finally got the starter out (What a major PITA). I removed the engine mount on the left side where the starter is to give me more room (donāt worry – I jacked the engine up properly – right now itās sitting on a jackstand with a piece of plywood.) Anyway, I tested it with my battery and it worked FINE!! AHHH!! The terminal was pretty clean – I mean not really a lick of corrosion on it either. The cables looked good too however right where the negative battery cable attaches to the starter motor body for the ground looked somewhat frayed. However, it looks like just the insulation is a bit frayed and worn – I canāt tell if the wiring is damaged at all. Do you think that the problem lies within the ignition system? As I stated before, I tested the ignition switch and it was O.K. Any ideas/suggestions? I am at a loss right now.
I probably forgot to mention this but I cleaned the battery posts and terminals from the get-go. I also forgot to mention that when I was stuck in the Advance Auto Parts parking lot in the beginning of this ordeal, they tried to give me a jump and the solenoid just kept clicking and then the second time we tried it – silence. No clicking what-so-ever. I tested for voltage on the jump posts and for voltage to the Power Junction Fuse/Relay box under the hood and there was the proper voltage in all of those places. I checked any ground connections that I could find (I prob. didnāt get them all) and they were in very good shape. I also tested the ignition switch and that tested O.K. too. Tomorrow (Sunday), I am going to try and remove the starter and either bench test it myself and/or bring it to Autozone to bench test it. I have a feeling that the starter solenoid might be shot. The terminals probably need a cleaning anyway. So, I could ākill two birds with one stoneā so to speak. I will let you know when thatās done and then weāll take it from there. š
Thanks for responding. Also, thank you for the tips. I will try to check that stuff out today. The cables attached to the starter are kind of a pain to get to. I will do my best to test it. I will let you know.
No problem. No harm done. Unfortunately, I donāt have a lot of experience testing for voltage on cars. I mean, donāt get me wrong – I know HOW to do it. I just donāt know exactly where to put the leads and in what order to do it in. In other words, where to start first. I mean – I know I have to follow the circuit and I know how to read a schematic and wiring diagrams but I really donāt know where all of the connections are – hot and ground – on the car. I wish I had a friend who knew how to do this and who could help me out. Believe me – I would pay him. I mean – the learning experience would be invaluable. I will test as many things as I can tomorrow on Saturday. Wish me luck. ļ
I will check all of those things that you mentioned plus the relays on Sat. The one fusible link which is near the battery is fine. Fusible links are normally NOT put in fuse panels/fuse boxes. I am going to check ALL of the fuses/relays that MIGHT possibly have something to do with this. I am also going to check the ignition switch just to be sure that that’s OK. I have to get in there anyway because I want to check my multi-function switch so I can “kill two birds with one stone” so to speak. Duede – trust me – i know about this stuff. Resistance which is actually measured in Ohms is DIFFERENT than continuity. Continuity just checks if there is a break in the wire for example. Resistance can impede current flow, amperage or whatever. An example would be if a battery terminal had a lot of corrosion on it and the volatage and amperage weren’t getting through to where it needs to go, then that particular terminal would have a lot of resistance – hence a VERY high Ohm reading. Trust me – They are DIFFERENT. Just look at a multi-meter. Ohms is one selection on the meter and continuity is a different selection.
i think you meant to say to set the DMM to the continuity setting. I will def. check that out – (continuity between the jump posts and the battery terminals). Resistance a.k.a Ohms is a different thing. As far as the posts are concerned, they are all clean – the battery posts AND the jump posts. I cleaned them really well. I was also thinking that maybe a relay on the circuit went bad. I am going to test them on Sat (can’t do it Fri unfortunately). I just want to make sure that they are working properly. I’ll keep you posted. š
First of all – Thanks for responding.
Well with the Intrepid, the battery is in the right fender well – kind of a pain to get to, so what Dodge did was make “extension posts” near the battery for both the positive and negative side to make it easier to jump. I put BOTH clamps on these – NOT on the engine block to jump it. I forgot to mention in my orig. post that when I checked for voltage at these “extension posts”, there was NO voltage. It’s strange too, because I checked the battery cables as much as possible and they seem fine – solid, clean, no breaks or melted areas – as far I can see. As for the fusible link that you mentioned, there aren’t any in the fuse/relay box, just one connected off the positive cable from the battery. I looked at it too and it seemed fine although I didn’t unwrap the tape to check where it’s connected however the smaller gauge wire in the middle part of it looked fine. š