[Mikale]

Hello everybody,
I have read alot of threads but nothing matches. I have a 98 dodge intrepid SE 3.2. It has been an awesome car until i gave it to my son lol. it started acting up and he didnt want it so now its mine again. Ok it started with air bag light coming on then the check engine light and tac, mph, and temp gauges drop to zero at the same time. i found this site and thought it was ignition switch but replaced it and still nothing. Now it is in limp mode. i tried key dance in park, neutral, brake being pushed and not. but it still will not give me a code. this has been very frustrating any help you guys got i would appreciate it.

[tgs]

The first thing that comes to mind is a loose Instrument Cluster connection.

I would disconnect the battery at the negative jump post (passenger side strut tower).

Inside the car:
..remove the fuse/junction box cover
..unscrew (2 screws) and remove the lower knee bolster
..remove steering column top/bottom cover
..unscrew (4 screws) and remove the Instrument Cluster/Headlight Switch bezel

..remove two black screws that secure the cluster
..get your fingers all the way behind the cluster and pull straight forward
..there is an electrical connector on the lower left and on the lower right and there is a metal snap-in connector (just like the ones on the knee bolster) on the upper left and the upper right.
.. keep in mind that the plastic is old and brittle!

Once you have the instrument cluster out, you'll understand how it all goes back together. Line everything up, set the cluster in place and snap it back into place.

re-install the two black screws, re-connect the battery and give it a test drive.
.
.
--Terry

[300maximilien]

Check battery and all connections. This means remove/clean/re-install. Multiple electrical gremlins can be battery related.

[95intrepid99kid]

Gremlins?

[peva]

Another possibility is that one of the computers is failing and pulling the PCI bus down. The PCI bus is a wire over which all of the computers (including TCM, air bag module, ABS, PCM, cluster, etc.) communicate with each other.

Coincidentally, I have a '98 Concorde LXi (3.2) that had this problem before I bought it - the used car dealer that got stuck with it spent a *lot* of money trying to get it fixed at the local Chrysler dealer with no success. I was able to quickly narrow it down to the TCM pulling the PCI bus down. But it could be any one of the modules causing it.

When the problem is occurring, does the odometer read "no bus"?

Is the problem intermittent?

[Mikale]

ok good advice so for little lost on intermitten? it does not say no bus. have checked all battery conn. will try to remove cluster tomorrow. do i clean it or replace. thanks again for the help. thank god i dont have a gremlin lol.

[Mikale]

well i should have said this first but a friend said he had a similar problem with a chevy and said it was bad conn at the computer. i checked the net and still couldn't find the location, under the hood driver side in front of the the fuse box and behind the cruise control vacuum are two metal squares. one has two conns and the other had one large conn. saw nothing on the one with two conn. there was some moisture in the conn of the other one. i sprayed it with contact cleaner and put it all back. still nada.

[peva]

Since you don't have "no bus" on the odo, goood chance the cluster needs reseating - or replacing. Won't know 'til you try.

[tgs]

Intermittent = happens sometimes

I am thinking that one or both of the electrical connectors is loose. So, the idea is to pull it, then re-install it.

Directly behind the headlight is the TCM (Transmission Control Module) with one long connector (with a bolt).
Behind that is the PCM with two connectors. And inside the car just above the
parking brake is the junction box with the BCM (Body Control Module).


One of the reasons that I think the instrument cluster might be loose is that I
recently fixed a friends 98 Jeep Cheeroke that had a problem that sounds similar
to what you are describing.

They have owned the jeep for more than 10 years.
His boys used it for high school and college.
Both the boys and their dad admitted to banging on the dash when the gauges
would go dead. The more often the guages died, the more often they would bang
on the dash.

The Jeep instrument cluster uses the same connector design as in the LH cars.
It has the same two connectors. I pulled the Jeep cluster, then re-installed it.
Now that the connectors are seated properly again, nobody is banging on the dash.
--Terry
.
.

[Mikale]

now that you said that i had a a similiar problem with the a/c heater control display. it would go black i would give a little wrap and on again. so i shamefully admit to abusing my baby

[Mikale]

Thanks agin for all the help im going outside to give it a try. thank yall ssssssooooooooooooo much!

[Mikale]

update i removed the cluster and it was loose because my a/c heater control display is working! but same thing with air bag light is on then after 10 sec the check engine light comes on and gauges fall. any other ideas? when i removed PCM yesterday i notice it did have moisture in the conn. i removed the mounting bracket and the cover. threre was a circuite board covered in a jello like thick film on it. the inside and out of the cover had water marks so i asume water did get in a bit. saw no burnt connections.

[Mikale]

another update i was reading more on PCM and my battery keeps going dead and it is a new battery. when i first bought the car i went to get the key less entry button put on but the said it was puling an error code and i would have to get it diagnosed first so i didn't bother with it.before all this happened every once in a while it would idle rough and die out at a stop light. would crank it after a few minutes and after a few tries it would start. thought it was the fuel pump going out and could not replace the $286 part so treated with seafoam or lucas.

[tgs]

Can you post pictures of this?

[Mikale]

sorry! thttp://www.dodgeintrepid.net/forums/images/smilies/doh.gifhis was the TCM not PCM its the one with the large connector with bolt but i can take a picture of it