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Thanks.
gpeterng
#321 of 642 Re: AC/heating lights on dashboard [rebellady1964] by crackerjax May 30, 2005 (3:36 am)
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Replying to: rebellady1964 (May 15, 2005 5:22 am)
I had the same problem and the Dodge House where I lived wanted 500 dollars to fix it! I found someone on the internet who helped me out and I pass this on to you and others to save you some big money as this you can do for free. Here is what you do:
All you need to do is start your van. Then slide your temp lever all the way to full cold. Then turn the Mode Control to the one that sends air to your face only. Then turn the 'blower switch' to all the way to full. Now go to the leftmost three buttons. Press the top one (rear wiper on constant) and the bottom one (rear wiper washer fluid). Hold these two for a few seconds. Once the lights come on solid then begin to flash, you can let go. The AC will now calibrate. You will feel the air blow out of all the different zones at different intervals and see lights come on and go off. Then after a minute or two the top button you pressed will be slowly flashing. This means it has been completed. Press the last flashing button and you are done. Turn off the van and started it back up and see now you don't have those infernal blinking lights anymore! Hope this helps! Oh, be careful with the battery, it is very touchy on Dodge Caravans and can blow out any electrical thing so it is better to take the battery out and charge it and don't charge it directly. One guy mentioned it blew his on board computer just accidently touching the wrench and grounding the battery so be careful with the battery.
Do they boobie trap these things so you have to bring them in to the dealership? He thought he found all the parts, but the fuel return seems to be missing a part and it is leaking profusely. It is not drivable. Chiltons and Autozone, as well as the dealership in town show no seals or anything on the diagrams. We don't know where to get the part, how much it will cost or if we can even fix it ourselves ( Gosh I hope so!) Do we have to buy a whole fuel system or something? Please help! :sick: We are trying to take a drive to New Mexico next week to see my grandfather before he dies, and we don't know if he will last longer than a week or two.
Thanks JP
I have yet to figure out what people have done on their older vehicles to get the lenses so cloudy, are they driving a lot in dust storms in the desert Southwest, or are they misapplying rubbing compound or some other abrasive cleaner or solvent? Cloudy lenses have never been a problem in our vehicles.
I have an '03 T&C 3.8 w/ 50K miles which is missing badly. I'm getting error codes P0300 (random misfires) and P1684 ("Driver 5 Line 4" - no idea what this means). Dealer wants to start by replacing plugs and wires. I'm about to do that myself but in reading around the internet I'm starting to suspect the EGR system.
Lisa
Bought brand new. Dealer filled 20 gal. tank @ purchase. At 212 miles the gauge showed empty and the gas light came on. Stopped @ nearest station to fill up. Only took 11 gals. Went to dealer, they said no problem that it was the sending unit not calibrated. They ordered the part and called when it came in. Brought it in for the work. Picked it up after repairs and stopped on way home to fill it up so we could see how for we could go on tank of gas. Once again you can watch the gauge move as you go down the highway. Reached the 200 mile mark, light came on and gauge on empty. Fill it up and only takes 10 gals. If you stop the vehicle for a few minutes , the gauge will show accurate (assuming). But once you start driving for a few miles it starts to move down. We don't have 700 miles on the van yet, as it is not driven daily. This is very frustrating because you can't second guess the gauge and light when you are out on the interstate, possibly out of gas and stranded. Service Dept. says nothing is wrong with it and is normal. Has anyone heard of this problem?
By the way, could you tell me if you will hear a chime when you apply your parking brake? My DC SXT will give me a chime occasionally(one of 5-10 times). But somebody in this forum told me I should always hear a chime when I apply parking brake. I brought my car to the dealer twice and they told me they couldn't find any problem and nothing is wrong. So I can fully understand your frustration cause both of us wish our brand new is perfect and worry-free. Well, I think I may have to live with it.
Went out to check Park Brake for you. While vehicle is running and apply the Park Brake, it chimes one time. Tried it couple times with the same result. 1 chime will engine running.
Haynes manual for '96 -> '98 lists 105 ft/lbs - if anyone knows the 2003 specs it would be helpful.
You can try one of those AC recharge kits, and see if the system can be coaxed to run for another year.
Please post back as to what happens.
It is all right when it is cold for the first 3-4km.
I disconnected the battery to see if that would reset anything because it almost seems electrical as opposed to mechanical. I checked the error code (ignition ON - OFF - ON - OFF - ON in 5 seconds) and get a 12 which tells me only that the battery had been disconnected.
Twice shutting the engine off and re-starting then it worked. Now it makes no difference.
Any help would be appreciated.
I would start by checking preventive maintenance that is due or low cost like changing plugs, plug wires and fuel filter and PCV valve. Add an isopropyl alcohol fuel dryer to your gas. Add a fuel injector cleaner to your gas(assuming your engine has fuel injection and not a carburetor).
A failing coil could malfunction when hot and recover with cooling. The best diagnosis for this would be to borrow or buy (about $40.00) a timing light and have someone show you how to use it so you could detect absence of ignition current to spark plugs at the time the engine fails to run. A timing light has two power wires with clamps that attach to the battery terminals, red to the positive terminal and black to the negative terminal. A third wire has a sensor that has a space through which a plug wire can go. When the engine is running or being turned by the starter, the light will flash if current travels through the plug wire being tested. If no flash, something is wrong in the ignition circuit from coil to distributor to wire to spark plug. Roy
I have a 2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE, and the tailgate won't shut, it just bounces off the upright piece on the bottom where it shuts. When you open the tailgate and look at where it closes, there is a piece that looks like it should be out of the way so it can close. I believe it is a gold colored piece. I've tried to move that piece with a screw driver and have sprayed WD-40 on it in order to get it to move but to no avail. Has anyone had this problem before. I really want to try to fix it myself and save some money. I hope it's a simple fix
Thanks
Mike
I suggest you are going to have to get professional help in diagnosing and fixing your AC. AC systems are not all that user friendly for do it yourselfers to repair, and if you are so inexperienced you cannot identify the compressor, you likely will not be able to fix it either.
Interestingly, Chiltons didn't list P1684 as a valid code for 2001. I decided to let our local mechanic(a long time Chrysler mechanic) take a look while the van was in for a couple of other things.
He called me back to say that the actual codes were evaporative in nature(one broken hose and another loose one) and that the dash readout doesn't read evaporative codes. Only a regular code reader will properly read these codes according to him. So, you might take it in and see what you mechanic's r code reader says and maybe it will be something simply like mine.
Does anyone have any other ideas?
Thanks
My car is a Dodge Grand Caravan SXT not a Caravan SXT, so it comes with a overhead trip computer.
Do you get any progress on your inaccurate gas guage problem these days?
I thought about pursuing my problems with my dealer, but finally gave the idea up cause right now it seems not worth the hassles. I'd prefer the peace of my mind.
I have 200,000+ miles on the van and the worst problems I have had are worn-out motor mounts and CV joints. I tow a small motorcycle trailer with dirt bikes to motocross races with it and I still have the stock tranny in it! (I never use the overdrive unless I am doing 65mph!)
The crankshaft sensor is easy to change. You put the van up on jack-stands and you get to it from behind the cross member. It takes a 10mm socket. Don't over-tighten it. The bolt only takes about 10ft/lbs. Cost was $31 at autozone.
When it dies I get the check gauge light because the oil pressure falls to nothing.
What could be wrong with it? Alternator?
It could also be you have a loose or bad battery cable or something else wrong in the charging system, but 9 times out of 10 it will be the battery. Three years on a battery is not unusual, fortunately they are pretty cheap to replace.
Go to an autoparts chain store and they will likely be able to give you a free test of your battery and charging system, and their battery prices will be much less than a dealers, so buy your replacement there also.
Best Regards,
Shipo
The other day, my driver side power window would not roll back up. I took off the door panel and without doing anything else, I tried the window switch and the window went back up. Today, the window got stuck again. This time, we just fiddled with the switch and eventually the window went back. up.
The second problem happened twice this morning. My wife went to start the van and it wouldn't turn over. She said there seemed to be no power. She left the van for about 10 minutes and tried again and the van started right up. She had an auto tech from our local college take a look and he didn't find any errors with his diagnostic computer. However, the no power thing also happened to him.
I'm wondering if anyone has the same issues and or suggestions.
Thanks in advance for your help.
It usually is not a real difficult do it yourself job to replace them, but you will have to judge your mechanical aptitude and desire to save a few bucks. Rebuilt starters are not all that expensive.
2005 DGC SXT 3.8 12K miles
1) After the vehicle warms up, the transmission gets "sloppy" when up shifting from 1st to 2nd gear (under light to normal acceleration) . I would describe the feeling and sound as a shudder and thump you can really feel.
2) Occasionally I see steam coming from under the hood but the temp. sensor shows everything is okay.
Any help anyone can provide would be much appreciated!