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You can replace the pins in the connector, but this still does not remove the ps fluid still coating all of the wires. While this may remove the immediate cause of the problem, the O2 connector is still the low point on this wiring harness, and eventually will again become the collection point for residual fluid in the harness. I can imagine this is why Dodge created a "bypass harness" since they realized that it was the best thing short of removing the entire wiring harness and cleaning the wires with de-greaser. (a viable option if you are that determined ), or replacing the whole harness - $$. Unfortunately, it appears that most Dodge "techs" are ignorant of how to install it, since it only occured on one model vehicle, in one model year.
I sucessfully finished repairing mine yesterday after 1.5 years of screwing with it, researching it, and letting my Durango sit in the yard (could not get it registered with engine light on)
If you look at an engine wiring diagram (hayes, chilton, etc.) it shows the four wires to the O2 sensor. There is 12V for the heater, a "chassis-ground" for the heater, a signal wire from the sensor, and a "PCM-ground" for the sensor. (I am making up the ground terms to keep them separate, do not look for them in the manual) . I left the sensor connected to the heater and heater ground, since I had proper voltage there, and the heater circuit fuse has not blown. The heater circuit can handle a lot more contamination than the sensor circuit since it can just "burn" through it, so I have left it intact for now since it is not part of the problem.
I ran two new wires from the sensor, the signal and "PCM" ground wires, up to where the PCM is mounted on top of the right fenderwell in the engine compartment. (the black 'signal' and gray 'ground' wire if you are using a Bosch universal replacement) From there I opened the main harness leading into the PCM and located the wires. The signal is a light green with red stripe,(note there are two wires this color, one is O2, one is transmission, I used trial and error) and the "PCM isolated ground" is black with a blue stripe. The signal wire must be cut, and the new wire from the sensor connected to the end going into the PCM. If you do not cut it, but rather spice it, you have essentially left your sensor connected to the point of contamination that you are trying to avoid. The ground wire must be spliced into the one in the harness bundle so as not to disconnect other devices using the same ground. I used an automotive crimp style spice sold at auto stores.
So far I have driven 70 miles with no problems. I have a scanner, and both oxygen sensors are reading fine. The front sensor switches from @ 0.080 volts to @ 0.810 volts at a regular interval. The system is running in closed loop mode like it should, and there is no engine light.
I understand this may be somewhat vague if you are not somewhat handy with automotive wiring, but this post is half a novel already so I will leave it at this for now to see what areas are clear and which are not so they can be answered in future posts. If I get the time I would like to put the whole procedure on a webpage with pictures since Dodge is not really helping anyone and this is the only place on the entire web that is.
I'm sure whoever does it that it could be monetized with ads from every auto part store.
I still have a couple questions.
Do you know the wire colors from the original factory o2 sensor- Are they the same as the Bosch?
You determined the correct wire between the two same-colored wires in the harness @ the PCM (tranny vs O2) using "trial and error". What procedure did you perform, and what result were you looking for, to determine which was the correct wire?.
Let us all know the name of the webpage if you create it.
There's also Edmunds Answers.
Mostly the trick is using the search tools if you have something specific you need info on and then post if you don't see a thread that helps.
To remove the old sensor, you can locate it on a metal tube right below the backside of the PS fluid resevoir. Easy to work on and freely visible. It is a silver color - looks like a lug nut- with a black connector and two wires coming out of it (black, green w/red stripe). Uncouple the connector at the sensor (it has a little side clip you squeeze in with your fingers (should come off freely). The sensor itself can be unscrewed with a common wrench . PS Fluid will come pouring out but this is better than draining the entire PS system- you should only lose a small amount of fluid out of the resevoir which you can top off later- use you finger to keep to much fluid from leaking out while you switch the sensors. With all these components you should used firm tighting but don't herf on it and strip the threads. replug in the connector and your done. Spray off the PS fluid from any painted, rubber parts by using a water hose (PS fluid corrodes paint and rubber).
A bigger issue however is if you have PS fluid in the harness wiring from the bad PS sensor leaking into the wiring. If that is the case it will (or could) eventually travel through the harness down under the car and contaminate the ground wire of one of your O2 sensors. When this happens you performance gets so bad the car is virtually undrivable. Dogde dealers in general have no clue about the causality of this problem and proceed in doing thousands of dollars of needless repairs, There are allot of 2000 dodge durangos out there with this problem and dodge dealers are making $book$ on the repairs. I believe this is one reason they don't invest in educating the repair techs on a national level. The proper fix should only run about 400 dollars replacing an o2 sensor and doing a o2 wiring bypass through the harness.
Check the PS sensor connector immediately for PS fluid leaks. You may have even notice losing PS fluid on the ground. If you have any PS fluid in the connector when you remove it from the PS sensor leave it disconnected until you make the sensor replacement repair. Your car will run fine- in fact it may stabilize your idle RPM since a bad PS sensor sends bad signal to the PCM - idle control module.
Update: I have put 350+ miles on the Durango with no further O2 issues. I was finally able to get it to pass the state OBDII emmissions test and back on the road. The Bosch universal sensor seems to be working fine. I read elsewhere that it is later model Durangos that must have an OEM sensor to work. Way to go Dodge - plan your own obsolescence!
The wiring that I installed for the bypass was very rudimentary and "fly by night" so I plan to get back under there and clean it up, since I do not believe it would last the long haul. I just did what was necessary to prove weather it would work or not, and so far it has been sucessful. I am getting an overall average 16 mpg, which is "unfortunately" good for this vehicle, but better than 6mpg, which I was getting when all of this started.
Start this repair by purchasing a bosch universal fit oxygen sensor for your car since your sensor is likely bad anyway. Follow the instructions as written to match up wiring. The instructions give all of the wiring codes. Once you identify the signal and ground wires, do not connect them as instructed. Instead, utilize the splice supplied, but do not hook up the corresponding signal and ground wires from the old connector, only hook up the two heater wires. Run two wires separately from the splice kit up to the PCM from the signal and ground, carefully routing them with wire-ties and or some wire braiding cover to protect them since this is all located near the hot exhaust pipes.
Once you have the two wires routed to the engine compartment, you will need to cut open the large wire bundle that snakes around from the back of the engine to the PCM (a box with several wire bundles leading to it, NOT the fuse box) I made my splices between the back of the engine compartment and the PCM where you can open the bundle cleanly along about a 8" section. For the signal wire, you must cut the light green wire with a red stripe on it. NOTE: there are two of these, the other one goes to the tranny, so you can either continue cutting the bundle open to figure out where each one goes, or try one, then the other. Connect your signal wire to the end of this wire that leads to the PCM. As for the other end of the wire, you can just leave it hang. It is the source of contamination, and leaving it in the circuit defeats the purpose of the bypass.
For the ground wire, locate one of a couple of black wires with a blue stripe on it. There are a couple, but according to the diagram they are all common to one another, so it should not matter which one you use. They are all isolated signal ground. Again, you can spend a lot of time tracing this out if you want, but once you see how difficult this is in the tight space, you again understand why dodge just said bypass it. For this connection, you do not want to cut the wire, but rather splice into it. They sell crimp style connectors for this at all auto stores which enables you to connect one wire to an existing wire without cutting it and having a big nasty three wire splice. If you cannot find these connectors, you can just cut the wire, but you must connect them all back together to keep other sensors connected also. That is the extent of it. After testing, you can neatly incorporate your bypass wires into the wire bundle and close it up with zip-ties or electrical tape. Of course, you will need to reset your codes, and it is helpful to have a scanner available that you can read O2 sensor values to ensure all is well before closing up. Good luck!
thanks
go1
P.s.- mucuna is the man. our savior thus far on this seeminlgly crazy battle.
I know you posted this quite a while ago, but I'm now having similar problems. Sometimes my 2000 Dodge Durango simply will not turn over at all. If I move the shifter from "Park" into "Neutral", it will start up. I replaced the switch on the side of the transmission, but that did not solve the issue. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
the truck starts fine but will not shift to any position i was told by dealer it is neutral safety switch i am currently in the process of putting new one on. old one came off simple new one is a real pain just dont want to go in.......
PLEASE any help would be great :mad:
Thank you!
Bob
rchii@hotmail.com
What experiences does anyone out there have?
My boat weights 4350 lbs, and my trailer 1500 lbs.
thanks.
thanks.
but not my problem is on top of my transfer casing there's a line there but i cant fine a hose to hook up to that line on the casing. i need help real bad. i was thinking that it might not take a hose but i cant put trany fluid in because i'm thinking that when i start the truck it's going to shoot out the fluid. can anyone help??????
One question I have. You left the ground (S108 - which is the common ground connected the Power steering pressure switch) attached? Since this is the cause of the contamination intially, wouldn't this eventually flow fluid back into the new O2 sensor?
I did a small test, swapping both the PSPS and the O2 sensor and drove for about 12 miles and then checked both. Both had fluid showing at each connection.
After routing everything and taking a drive I am getting a p0132 (P0132 ($3E) = 1/1 02 Sensor Shorted to Voltage ). I don't know why this is happening.
I cut the sensor wire as ncdodgeowner stated and using a butt plug hooked them both up. I didn't solder the connection because in the book it says not to solder because the solder blocks oxygen.
Then I found the pcm ground and spliced into that connection using one of the press down connectors. I also ran a new ground and plugged that into the standard ground.
Anyone have any suggestions?
I have replaced the coil and the crank position sensor and still no fire. :confuse:
Please respond with any ideas.
When you say you had an engine put into it, are you saying you had the entire engine replaced??? If so, have the person that did it get it running. Since you threw that variable into the mix, it could be just about anything causing it to not start from a connection left un-done, crimped wire, blown fuse, clogged fuel filter/line, etc. Start by checking fuel and spark and work your way back from there. Remember that the motors, in the Durango, are Benz motors and are about as bullet-proof as you will find in an American SUV. The sensors that control it, on the other hand, are usually where your problems will come from. Stop "shot-gunning" the problem and work methodically to trouble shoot where the problem(s) are.
Try another dealership.
Finally I found a blog and it told me to disconnect the neg batter terminal
hang out for 5 minutes or so. Hook it back up and guess what everything was fine again. Havent had that problem again
I did locate an oxygen sensor by-pass harness and have one on order. I need to identify the wires to the sensor in order to make the splices. Your information would by very helpful.
Now sometimes I go to crank it and it will not start, touch jumper cable to it and it start, that was a month ago. Thursday, I drove it to the store, radio was playing, got back in to start it and battery was dead and no radio. I was only in the store 5 mins.
Could it be a short in the radio or in the key switch?
thanks for your advice! jk