Car problem

Maintenance/Repairs
,
1

I saw the 7-minute solution in the Sundays Bee paper 1-9-11. Would you be able to kindly help me with my car problem ?

My vehicle is a Plymouth Sundance 1990 2.5L

The problem:-

when driving my car suddenly dies on me, whether on the freeway or street and I have to quickly pull aside and then I will try to start my vehicle and after several tries my car starts only to fail again and yet at times it drives from point A to point B without any problems.



The ignition system , spark plugs, cap and rotor are all checked out by the mechanic as good. This problem has been ongoing since Nov?10?.The mechanics will take my vehicle for a test drive and are unable to duplicate the problem I am experiencing and hence fail to diagnose a solution. Could you kindly advise me as to your experiences could be some of the things that could help me narrow down the problem what do I need to do? Please help me.



Sincerely,



Moreen

2

Loose/broken battery cable is a definite possibility.

3

sounds like a possible broken wire in the wiring harness. Start the engine, and with the hood open staying clear of moving parts, shake the wiring harness around and see what happens.

4

Could also be an ignition switch with bad contacts. Wouldn’t be the first Chrysler product with this problem.

5

I had a clogged fuel filter do that to me once, when was the last time it was changed?

6

[b][i]Moreen, Did The Mechanics Check To See If The Sundance Is Keeping Any Secrets From You ? Did They Scan The Car For Diagnostic Trouble Codes ? Why Not Try It Yourself ?

Teach Your Sundance To Do The Key Dance ! [/i][/b]
Being a 1990 (pre-1996), you don’t have a modern OBD 2 data socket, but your older style OBD (On Board Diagnostic system) was designed to record information when certain malfunctions occur. You might be able to access the information if there is any.

With the engine off, try turning the ignition key :

from “off” to the “on” position (not start),
then to “off”,
then to “on”,
then to "off,
and then to “on” (the third “on”) and leave it there. Don’t start the car.

Do this “key dance” within 5 seconds and get ready to count how many times the “Check engine” light blinks. It will send out a code or codes if it’s got any stored. The codes are 2 digit numbers that are blinked by the red light.

Blink, pause, blink, blink, pause . . . blink, blink, blink, pause, blink, blink, blink, would be two codes - code 12 and code 33. The codes may repeat after the first time through. You may have to try this over again to catch it. It takes a little practice. You will probably get a code 12 at the beginning and should get a code 55 “End of Message” at the end of the other codes.

See if you can do that and post the codes here and we’ll see if it helps with anything. The codes could look something like: 12, 11, 33, 55. There can be any number of them.
Is the “check engine” light on at this time?

CSA