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Ah geez...

2K views 36 replies 11 participants last post by  chevyjr73 
#1 ·
Went to the DMV to get permanent tags today. Haven't driven the car for a week cuz the temps expired on the 9th. When I came back out the car wouldn't start! Luckily there was a Firestone nearby and they threw one of those booster paks on it and it started. 'Hmmmmm', I thought. 'not a good sign'. I decided to drive back home a take the Cherokee to work but 1/2 way there the brake warning and battery lights came on and started to flicker wildly. I thought the car was about to die again so I pulled into a Sears parking lot-sure enough, turned it off, tried to start...nothin'. I went inside and bought a booster for myself and restarted it but within a minute the problem returned. managed to limp to my mechanic's. I tried revving the engine and all the dash lights flashed briliantly and the driver's side window went down on its own. ??? Annnnyways he put a meter on the battery(which went crazy) and said that the alternator diode had fried and was allowing current to flow backwards into the system. I noted that it looked like the original alt had already been replaced and he thought it was probably 'a cheap Mexican POS from PEP Boys'. Anything special I should tell him to look for in a replacement? Is there a 'performance' model I could get and not worry anymore? Should I sell this freakin car!?

/ok just kidding on that last one...








...for now
 
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#3 ·
Stock should suffice, unless like 04 said before me, you decide on putting a ton of amps in the trunk :p

Maybe there is a problem that caused the 1st ALT to fail and wasn't fixed, and caused the 2nd replacement to fail? Maybe check into that?
 
#4 ·
02R/T said:
Stock should suffice, unless like 04 said before me, you decide on putting a ton of amps in the trunk :p

Maybe there is a problem that caused the 1st ALT to fail and wasn't fixed, and caused the 2nd replacement to fail? Maybe check into that?

-I did notice a thing that on first glance looked kinda like a little starfish in the engine compartment. On closer look it was a power tap from the battery with 5 stubs of wires that had been cut. Didn't know what it was and just hadn't gotten around to removing it. I am curious why the brake warning light lit up in addition to the battery light. Thinking it might be the ABS causing a problem I pulled the fuse but the battery still didn't take a charge. Oh well, I'll talk to my mechanic tomorrow and go from there. Probably a msg from him waiting on my machine at home now.


thx for advice, guys...
 
#5 ·
Got the car back today with a new alternator. My guy said it was 'a good one'. For $167 + labor it better be!. Finally, everythings fixed, I think as I drive away...until I hit the turn signal to pull out onto the street. No turn signals. I turn around and go back, actually passing him as he headed home. Luckily he stopped for me and he and his assistant checked the car over. Fuses? OK. Relays? OK. Headlights? OK. The only thing that doesn't work are turn signals and hazard lights. Since the bulbs themselves work I suspect it's the flasher module - burned out when the defective alt was surging. He told me to bring it back on Monday, but I'd like to have a look myself . Where exactly is the flasher for this car? ('97 base) Can I replace it myself?




...this car is starting to try my patience...
 
#7 ·
Rams said:
it is under the dash on the drivers side, mounted on the right side of the junction block and is black. the left silencer duct must be removed to access.

-Silencer duct? Not sure what that is. I went out and took a look, pulled the access panel for the relays and fuses. The rightmost black thing I see is the headlight delay relay. Am I looking in the right place?
 
#8 ·
AmigaJoe said:
-Silencer duct? Not sure what that is. I went out and took a look, pulled the access panel for the relays and fuses. The rightmost black thing I see is the headlight delay relay. Am I looking in the right place?
it's behind the fuse block. The silencer duct is the black plastic thing that you see if you stick your head by the brake peddle and look up.
 
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#11 ·
[sigh] Finally got to try the swap today, and it didn't work. Pulled a combo-switch from a junker, the other functions worked but still no turn signals of hazards. I already put in a new flasher module, and the relevant fuses are ok, so I don't know what to do now. I actually did the swap in front of my mechanic's place cuz I didn't have the necessary Torx bits and sockets so he let me use his. He said he'd have to check the wiring schematics. I'd thought of that myself and I guess I'll do that tomorrow, only going back to him as a last resort. I'm depresed...
 
#14 · (Edited)
AmigaJoe said:
Once I've traced the wiring, I'll go over it with a meter to try to isolate the problem area...
a good place to start checking, would be the fusible link located at positive battery terminal. it's the 22 ga White one, that is spliced into a 16 ga Pink wire.
 
#16 ·
Mr

that star fish lug was probably all your ground connections which could be the source of your problems. maybe someone cut them trying to isolate a problem and never reconnected them.
 
#19 ·
If the bulbs are blown then you would get a fast blink when you turned the turn signals on. Sounds to me like you may want to try a new relay or do as you said and check the fuses and fusible links.

For the relay... make sure you get one with the right number of blades. My 94 has four blades and our 97 has five blades and they will not interchange (they fit but they don't work). Particularly, I would go get one from a junker that is the same year as yours as that isn't a common part that fails.
 
#20 ·
Which relay are you referring to? If you mean the flasher relay that's already been swapped from a junker. AND I bought one from AutoZone too just to make sure. No joy. The turn signal lights are the same ones that come on when you turn the light switch to the parking light position and they do work. If there are any other relveant relays I couldn't find them...
 
#23 ·
Update

OK. Tried disconnecting the brake switch - no joy. There is definitely something wrong with the electrical system. I didn't notice before but the interior lights no longer come on when the door is opened. Also there is no beep when the lights are left on and the door is opened - BUT , if I remove the interior light fuse (10a) then the beep works, and heres the weird one: if, while the fuse is pulled I hit the overhead light switch, the RADIO turns on and off! WTF? When the radio comes back on it's on AM so the power is just being cut altogether. What else...oh yeah, there's a spot for a cruise control relay that's empty, but the CC works anyway. Here's a couple of pix showing the little cluster of cut wires I mentioned earlier, the mounting is plastic. And yes, I tried reconnectiing that ground wire, to no effect.


-If it wasn't connected to that post, where would that battery wire normally go?
 
#24 ·
Mine only has 4 wires at pos batt post. Looks to me like the red wire that goes to that star fish was added in by a hack artist. Your pic shows a black wire from that star fish just dangling in mid air. ya never know where that is going to touch when you close your hood. If it were me I would remove that aftermarket crap. it doesn't look like it's being used for anything except to cause trouble.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I have no clue what the starfish thing is for. Looks to me like it was once used for stereo equipment. As for the cruise control relay, that is built in on the 95 and up models. My 94 has the relay there, so basically that spot is for 93-94 models. Our 97 Intrepid has nothing there and it works perfectly fine. Also, the main battery feed to most of the stuff is the black wire that is separateable (sp?). I might check all the fuses there also, I highly doubt that is where your problem lies. And a note on the Brake light, if you don't have the message center above the radio then if your ABS system malfunctions then it will light up the brake light on the gauge cluster.

Does your car have the factory stereo in it still? I am wondering if things didn't get screwed up when the aftermarket stereo was removed. I am thinking (but not sure), maybe your BCM got somewhat fried when the current was messed up from the alternator.
 
#26 ·
Does the BCM have anything to do with the turn signals? I do have the mgs center but the abs light on the dash still lit up. Interestingly I pulled the abs pump fuse while I was in the engine, which should cause it to light but this time it didn't, at least for the little while I ran the engine. I'm gonna remove that whole thing even if it's not the problem. There are holes in the interior trim down on the right side that would suggest that some equipment was mounted there in the past. Don't know what it was but the stereo is oem. I believe that this car was a fleet vehicle for most of its life so it may not have been stereo equipment. On a total side note, while at the junkyard, I spotted a 'trep with the premium stereo. I grabbed the front door speakers (& Infinity covers ;-) and even with the stock stereo the sound is better. Can I grab the head unit itself and just plug it in?
 
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