I just love this series of videos on Barbara's minivan. People sometimes just don't get the real message behind on helping other people. For instance I live in Brazil a third world country where cars are really expensive and we keep them running for a long long time so we need to find resources to fix our imported cars.. these videos are a golden mine for me . I just recently purchased a minivan like that and I'm learning so much from watching it. Besides it was such nice thing for Barbara because she also help other people with this vehicle... anyway congratulations Erick you're such nice professional and human being. Thank you so much!!!
Thank you for posting this video. I had the same problem on my 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan. I would be driving down the road, and everything would be running perfectly fine, and suddenly the engine would die. Sometimes I could restart it, and sometimes it wouldn't restart right away. It would crank, but it wouldn't start. I had tried many things - replacing the crankshaft sensor, camshaft sensor, coil pack, relays, PCM/ECU (several times!). I found this video and others, and went through the procedure. Sure enough, I found a cracked solder joint on the first pin of the connector, just as you showed here. Fixed it yesterday. I'll post another response if the fix doesn't hold, but I'm 99.99% sure that after 10 years of fighting this ridiculous intermittent fault, I've finally found it and nailed it.
I got lucky, my van ran fine all of the way home with no signs of any issue lurking. Then it just would not start. Fortunately right where my tools were close by and did not require a tow.
You are a gentleman and a scholar of the first order Sir and as such you are one of my heros. Thank You and everyone that goes that extra mile just because it is the right thing to do.
Thank you Eric. Thanks for all of the close up shots as you disassembled the dash. Showing where each screw is and where you just have to pull things apart to separate hidden clips. I get real nervous pulling on all of these plastic parts that can crack. Knowing that a certain component really is snapped together is a huge help. I referenced your video for each piece and what order the layers are assembled. My van is a '97 with 203,000 miles on it and it has had almost every item repaired or replaced as Barbara's '98 ( I do not have heated seats and the wing window motors still work).
it amazes me the range of knowledge a mechanic needs to know to be able to fix ....... most problems on an auto. From mech to eletrical to .... chemistry and physics
Epic instructional video my friend! Thank you so much. Our Dodge Caravan was doing the same thing. Cluster was dead. Took it apart & had "3" cracked solder joints on the back of the main plug. Just heated them up, applied a touch of solder, & it works like new!!!! Thanks again Eric!!!!
Great video ! U might add that they should always disconnect battery and disable airbags too. On the actual inspection, wiggling the socket might have shown you movement so you could see where a solder joint came loose or cracked (notorious problem as you know), also inspect all socket pins for dirt, oxidation, or charring, again great work !
I did the same repair a couple years ago when I was using my moms van for work, of course the instrument cluster started acting up while I was driving it. But I used the magnifying glass and I used a solder sucker/desolder tool to remove the solder from any joints that looked smokey grey or cracked then flowed some fresh solder on them. There were some that were obviously cracked and those may have been the culprit but I did the smokey ones too for good measure and it turned out great, still in action today actually I just don't drive it anymore. That was one of many repairs I did on that van though, they have a tendency to have some ridiculous things go wrong. Belt tensioner was a nightmare, sounds funny but there is one bolt that you gotta use a 3ft extension with a u joint socket to get to it, you absolutely need a guy looking and telling you if you're turning the bolt or you could be there for hours.
Thanks for the video. I had to replace the instrument cluster in a 1999 dodge caravan and I followed your video step by step. Replacement one works like a charm. Cheers.
Thanks for the detailed video! I know you put some time in it so I appreciate it. My van has a similar problem, I have to slug the dash on occasion to get it to work again. Hopefully this will fix mine.
Good video with regards to showing how to remove and check the instrument panel if needed. But probably not so good when it comes to avoiding more trouble for Barbara in the future. I think you are spot on in thinking that there is another issue, i think you should have at least had a quick look at the problem with the ignition switch wiring/contacts. It would appear to be fairly obvious that there is a problem that needs fixing - especially when you think of the problem Barbara is having. But, i guess that in the future when she brings it back you will know where to look!
Spot on Eric! I saw that questionable solder joint on your first pan. But I think there are two issues and she is going to need that ignition switch also.
My gauges went out the other day, just after I filled up the tank. Van started up just fine, so I used my Bluetooth scanner and Torque on my phone as a makeshift cluster. I had the great luck to get siphoned sometime the next day, but had no idea due to the lack of a gas gauge. I drove for about 40 miles on what must've been fumes and sludge, stalling just up the hill from my house. I could cost to the house, but not make it up the steep drive! After figuring out the gas thing, and wacking the dash a few time, I got the car to stay running long enough to get it up the drive. Following this great video, I started to remove the cluster. I had a bad feeling when about half the screws were either not original, or just missing. When I finally got everything out, the cluster didn't have a cardboard back on it. Another bad omen. After I removed the circuit board and flipped it over, my suspicions were confirmed: the pins in question were a mess. Someone had clearly tried to resolder them already. This might be why my odometer and trip computer have never worked... There is burnt flux everywhere, along with a few blobs of stray solder. Wish me luck!
I am glad you made this video. I had 99 town and country that the dash would occasionally go crazy and the car would not start. It would crank 2 or three times, and knock right back off. After that it would not crank up until you either left it alone a while, or banged the dash real hard. Apparently the computer would get confused and lock out the security system preventing the car from running. Also the gauges would die in the middle or driving and once, they suddenly went full tilt and stayed there a while. The speedometer and tach went as high as they could go. I did my own research and came to the conclusion that it was a bad solder. I pulled the instrument panel and one of the joints seemed cracked. It was very hard to see and I had to use a magnifying glass, but I touched it up, and put the van back together and the problem did not re occur. I would say, do not dismiss this fix. It worked for me. It very well could have been the bad solder, it was on mine. I would be interested to see if her problem re occurs.
Just a comment on the lightbulbs in the instrument cluster... those clusters don't get removed very often - if ever - in the life of a vehicle, and once you've gone so far with an ~seventeen year old cluster, you might as well just go ahead and replace the bulbs on general principles... I'm only at 13:59, so you might have decided to replace them, but as of where I'm at now, I'd recommend it just to be sure...
Eric, I had a similar problem with my 1999 Chrysler T&C. I was in the process of checking out the solder joints on the BCM. Then I did what you're doing. I also tried the ignition switch. Finally, had to go to the dealer. They replaced the BCM I had bought from them and installed myself, then they had to replace that one, too. The third one has worked well for more than a year. I paid the original price of a refurbished BCM and then only the labor for the dealer's work.
Another great video Eric. However, if this was a tv series, it would be over. I believe I feel no different than many others watching these videos, and we are tired of seeing this van. Let Barbara pay for some repairs and give you the opportunity to help other needing individuals and their automobiles.
Eric -- great video, the camera man is so patient. Fixing it forward is such a wonderful thing to do, Keep up the great work and thank you for helping us mere mortals.
Good job Eric. I had a dash problem and I had to replace the instrument cluster. I actually controlled my headlights, turn signals, Electric window, mirrors ect... After replacement everything worked fine. but yes it could be the key too. It is a hit and miss when it comes to electric problems,
Glad to see you keeping this van on the road! And helping this woman out! If u ever get stumped feel free to Contact me.. I am are master certified and a Chrysler certified tech... And i specialize in these and other mid80s until now... I know these vans inside and out and could tear one down In my sleep.... Also one issue that these vans have is the bcm and cold solder joints and bad resistors
used to have the exact same problem with my van... did some research, pulled the instrument cluster, and had a friend solder the broken points -- the most problematic one being the same solder point that Eric had to re-do. The van now runs without a problem and the intermittent start issues along with the crazy cluster issues are now gone.
Thanks for this video, and especially the description. I had no function on the dash. Google gave many hits for the solder joint. I inspected the board but did not find any issues. I also had an intermittent chime and suspected the ignition. I'm going to change the ignition and I'll be back!
Eric, my instrument cluster was dead. I had that problem before and this time it was the spring contacts that hold the guages in. They had a little mold and cleaning them did the trick.
Eric, I had the same problem on a 02. Smacking the dash fixed it enough for me to get it started. Figured I would mention it for anyone maybe looking for a quick solution.
At the same time you said that the one to watch for was the one on the end, I found exactly the same one cracked! I fix! Actually, both terminals on that end were cracked.
+ericthecarguy Hey there Eric. Excellent series on "Fixing-It-Forward". Your patience and willingness to do this is commendable. I'm just curious, in the case of this van... When does it stop? I've watched the entire line-up in the series of the van and while each video is great, I can't help but wonder, when you signed up for this van did you become its caretaker or was there an agreement if there were ever a problem, then van come back to you so you can have more subject videos? I think the majority of the crazy comments lately about this van stem from viewers not knowing all the facts about the van, which I assume is none of our business but, reading some of the comments, I think people are confusing your WANT to have an opportunity to have more repair videos with Barbara just wanting to get a 'free ride", which I know isn't the case. Everyone who has participated in the project of the van has been stellar. But a time might come when the donating suppliers will say enough is enough. I'm seeing this series; especially with the van, be a huge opportunity to make videos and helping viewers solve problems. Others, with the nasty comments might be seeing it as you being taken advantage of as a technician, if that makes sense? Maybe if you made a video on ETCG1 about the project and set a clear and definite line detailing what you're looking to get out of the series, it will help squash the negative comments. Only a suggestion, otherwise I am enjoying all of the videos! Take care Eric.
Hey +tin pin, curious, how did you do the 'strike through' in your above comment? I can't seem to do any text formatting/styling no matter what I do...
rwbishop Put dashes on each side of what you want to strike through. Use asterisks the same way to make text bold. There's a way to do italics as well, but I don't know what it is.
We had this issue with our 1997 Grand Caravan. Banging on the dash seemed to be a temporary fix. That is until all the gauge needles fell off! After driving with no gauges for a few months, we took the dash apart, put the needles on and actually diagnosed the problem. Ours had some visibly faulty solder joints and re soldering them fixed the issue.
I had a '97 Sebring convertible that had constant instrument cluster issues. The RPM gauge would occasionally work, gas hand would randomly drop and no digital read-out. I soldered it twice and it would break again months later. I replaced the whole cluster a total of two times in the end. The problem area you were looking in was the problem area with mine as well. Mine was obviously bad with blackened areas around a few solder joints. Something gets too hot and causing the solder to crack. During that whole time with the bad clusters there was never a no start condition though.
Eric, I'm surprised you didn't use the built in Diagnostic mode that those 3rd Gen instrument clusters had! To activate it, push in both the trip and reset buttons, and then you turn the key from lock to off; and the odometer should display CODE 999, and then it will sweep the gauges to predetermined calibration points, then it check the warning lamps, and finally it checks the odometer and shift indicator.
Own a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan,its in WalMart parking lot right now. IOD is not bad but it wont crank and cluster is crazy. Relay switches going crazy.
You found a symptom of the issue and you just button everything back together and ship it instead of continuing with an ignition switch diagnostic? You know that this van is just going to come back with the same issue. I can't believe you just did that. Can't believe what I just saw you do. The problem "might be" is a scotty kilmer punchline, you can't seriously be going down that road. "If she continues to have this problem I'm going to go for replacing the ignition switch". WTF parts changing... how about "I'm going to do some diagnostics on the ignition switch". Keep making videos like this and you "might be" dropping down a spot or two on my favorite channels list.
+DJDevon3 If you know Eric, you know that he won't perform a repair without verifying the claim. He will test it thoroughly before replacing it, especially since these repairs come out of his pocket. He made a repair and is waiting to see if that will make a difference. He is a full time self employed mechanic. TH-cam money is not nearly as much as people might think. He isn't going to spend time chasing a problem that he may have already corrected when he has other repairs to do that will support him and his family.
Wow Eric new camera? Awesome.... What kind of camera so clear... Really enjoy your videos has helped me more than once, keep up the good work. Thanks Bob
Why didn't you repair the ignition switch while you had the dash apart? There is an obvious problem there with the harness somewhere. If you didn't have the switch to replace you could at least taken it apart and checked for any shorts in the wire or corrosion. Sometimes just the act of taking things apart and putting them back together fixes issue like that.
Hey, Eric. If she's having problems with the ignition key not turning let me tell you what I have to do. I also have a '98 Voyager and I've found that if I park it with the the front wheels turned (even a little bit) I have problems removing the key. Tell her to always point the wheels straight ahead every time she shuts off the car and you should be able to put off replacing the ignition switch for quite awhile. Also, I've found that one side of the (double-sided) key tends to fit (and work) better than the other side.
I know Eric is helping Barbara out with her continuing adventures with this van but man you can kind of sense it how frustrated he is with this van I mean come on issue after issue she better at least buy him a sixpack or something after dealing with the van so many times :-)
+BSGT2TREKFAN88 He should try owning my wife's car. I'll just probe my brain for a list of things I've fixed in the last 2 years on it. Rear engine mount, transmission mount, radiator, thermostat, rotors, pads, tensioner pulley, belt, cabin filter, blower motor regulator, battery TWICE, battery ground cable, valve cover gasket, PCV system (leaked so bad the car would stall), brake booster vacuum hose, shift cable, neutral safety switch, crankshaft position sensor, shifter jalousy (exposed internals of shifter, had broken off), dissasembled and cleaned window switches, water damage prevented windows from working, tonneau top cover not working, fixed that (sheer pin), removed onstar unit (water damaged caused alarm to go off continually), replaced on-star antenna (leaked water into on-star module and trunk), dissasembled and fixed horn (a previous owner messed it up somehow, had to adjust things so the horn could be pressed and it would work). I'd almost say it's been more trouble than it's worth, but the damn thing keeps running and the motor and transmission seem fine, flushed all fluids at least twice now, doesn't leak anything... now that I've dropped a few GRAND into it lol. I almost think any other person would have sent it to the scrapyard, but I knew it was rough when I bought it. Just about anything that can break at this point has been replaced, so I expect it to last for a few years at least.
I know it benefits himself, his family and his channel..but my point was that he kinda showed what some of us feel when working on a repeat task - "omg..really.....ok lets see whats up now" ;)
Being someone who has help numerous people who don't know anything about car with their cars, I've dealt with a few people i try to help and dont understand that some problems cant be figured out the first go around and ive gotten bitched at by them. i could be talking out of my ass here but his fustration sounds like she kind of bitched at him or had an attitude about it and made him upset. i could be completely wrong.. but im speaking from my own experiences.
+MegaThunder70 I took out the shifter safety in my Saab (don't have to put the car in reverse to remove the key), and the previous owner had removed the switch that requires the clutch to be depressed in order to crank. No safety AT ALL! Just crank in first or reverse and watch it lurch into a cement wall! lol
Month and a half my truck town & Country showed a failure, the needles are out of control board, not how to explain it, we could say that "dance" ... the technician said that should replace the BCM, this was done, the failure persisted ... then changed the general computer, a lot of money, long time ... a few days ago, in a casual conversation with a person who never see because he lives in another city, told me that the fault is on the dashboard ... I have started to investigate and oh, wonder !! I find your video as well explained ... I will encourage and desarmaré the dashboard !! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much!! I would be grateful to tell me your opinion: You may have broken some welding spots? I helped the google translator, please forgive my poor command of the language ...
Working with dashboards is the worst. There is so much stuff crammed together with so many screws and fasteners, and you have to do the work in so many awkward positions and places. I can feel the back pain by just watching this video.
Oooooh, Weller soldering iron station, bit upmarket from your last soldering (welding) iron you had, good choice... happy soldering :), keep up the good work.
I have a 96 grand caravan that was doing the same thing I found one of the issues to be with the bcm one of the black fuses was bad and had bad sauders so far it has fixed my issue
Your video was a piece of cake to follow on my 1999. I had the same pin on the instrument panel that needed re-soldering. Fixed the problem in about and hour. Saved probably $1500 and a masive headach associated with having someone else do he job for me. That's a $1500.00 per hour savings. Will you take money, or beer for payment? IOU Thanks, Rich
Someone give this man a vacation! I'd take you to the Shire but I'm scared you might step on my people. But for reals,I love the series. Even though you're not getting paid for the hard work/labor, in return you're getting the most rewarding feeling of satisfaction for helping your community. I'll share these amazing vids to my uncle, Bilbo Dildo.
i had a 99 town and country ltd and it had the same problem with dash i did the gauge. fix and soon after the ignition it did fix the problem good video
Those bulbs are fine to touch, just not halogens as used in headlights as they run a lot hotter and I believe the oils left on the glass prevent heat from escaping.
+Jonny Fix The research I have done points to skin oils causing uneven heating on the glass even on non halogen bulbs and the uneven heating causes the glass to crack. And every one knows when you crack the glass you let the magic smoke out and electrical stuff simply won't work without the magic smoke.
Great video. Had to use the zoom on my phone to inspect the solder points. The four corner points of the main wiring harness connector seemed loose do I resoldered them. It's an intermittent failure so I'll have to see how long the repair holds.
Before you replace the ignition switch you should check the wiring harness going to the switch first. It's not good practice to just throw parts at it. It could be something as simple as a loose ground or broken wire. Especially with electrical problems the first thing your suppose to do is pull up an electrical diagram and check the wiring first. Whenever you have intermediate electrical problems you have to check the whole circuit first and not just replace parts. You can put a new switch in and it might work fine at first and as soon as Barbara gets down the road it can stop working if it's a wiring problem. That's the right way to troubleshoot an electrical problem
+Tim Wall Also i have seen alot of bad harness's for 90's chrysler ignition switches, there was even a recall if i remember because the the switch/harness would not handle the loads and start to burn up (had to replace the harness on a 90's dodge spirit because of this)
+Tim Wall Thanks for your input, but when I push on the wire on the back of the ignition switch and I get a reaction, I consider that to be pretty definitive. You're correct, it's also worth being more thorough when doing a diagnosis.
I've had a similar problem forever in my 1993 Ford Taurus SHO. If you adjust the wheel up and down you can make the chimer go off. I've never had a starting issue in three years.
+NRG Media Productions I can't believe people actually like the 60fps, it looks so "video" and not "filmlike". But then folks are really into the "soap opera effect" on their LCD TVs these days too, everything artificially smoothed over and not looking the least bit realistic.
I had a similar issue, of what you were looking to at least, with my old Honda Prelude where the ignition relay would fail and it was just a matter of redoing the solder on the circuit board. Upon inspection it looked OK, but after doing the job it never bothered me again. The issue was that with the car in running temperatures, it would not turn back on until it cooled down. No ignition at all... I supposed that it was a similar diagnostic on this case, althuogh I can see that it might not be the same failure in this situation. Point is, the solders can look OK and still make a bad connection.
My POS Caravan is/was doing this same BS ... now thanks to this video.. IT IS NOT!!! Thanks for taking the time to haggle with the Camera and doing the edits needed!!
+David G I wanted to comment that too. I don't understand why he didn't even check if that would cause the claimed no start issue. I mean he even explained that the harness is most likely the issue.
+David G And also, it looked like the beep stopped when he moved the steering Wheel. The constant wiggling of the harness has probably weakened the wires, or their Connections.On some ignition switches the leads are soldered on the back, so maybe he shold have checked that out right away when he noticed the beeper change from wiggling the harness.Guess we will see it in Another video.
I see this was common for late 90's Chryslers. I had a 96 Neon with cluster freaking out and going dead. When you take the board out and wiggle the plug on the back side you can see the pins move where the solder cracked. I soldered the pins including the ones that were not cracked and never had the issue again.
The solder joints failing is also a common problem in the older Neon's. I had to do that for a friend. However there were several joints broken so that the dash never decided to work properly. It was pretty easy to fix.
+murkinstock that is the nickname for the Chrysler Cirrus, 1st Generation Dodge Stratus, Plymouth Breeze, and 1st Generation Chrysler Sebring convertible.
This is insane considering on a 90's Honda civic you had to remove two face plate screws and 4 or 5 mounting screws and the entire cluster came out like butter. Friggen car manufactures making cars harder to work on!
12:28 - Top left corner above your finger, there's a thin wire sticking through the board that has no solder around it, I'm not sure if that's supposed to look that way, but the board looks slightly scorched around the wire.
Ive really been missing those old format videos where you would film yourself work. They have been delivering this very special atmosphere for me. It's not that the other videos where you have cameraman Brian as your operator are bad in any way, don't get me wrong. They are awesome as well. They're just different. I am so happy that we got to see this old format again in this new video. Thanks!
I seem to remember that if alternator is on the way out on some dodges it causes the dash to go crazy like your customer complained about. there are videoes about this on youtube
I noticed when you moved the tilt steering it was intermittent. Just a guess- how's the ribbon cable between stuff? Tilt steering is notorious for wearing of wires- no matter how they're made.
I've watched all the Chrysler videos. It makes for good TV, and good info on auto tech work. And it is nice to help others. However, it is sooooooooo impractical to fix a van like this one. It has just had too many problems. Any sensible person (who doesn't have a TV show like Eric) would just get rid of it rather than putting that much time and money into it. Part of me cannot help but cringe every time I see another episode of fixing-it-forward with Barbara's van. But I also love it so, and keep watching!
+Aristotle2000 A van in the driveway with a $400 fix is a lot less expensive than another car payment and the associated insurance bump while you pay off the loan.
+hotdrippyglass Agreed. But this Chrysler van has gotten repairs that would cost many thousands of dollars. It would be far cheaper to buy a used minivan that needs more modest repairs.
yes.... the tranny alone would be considered a throw away these days these vans are worth next to nothing- (even when they are running well!) because of the notorious problems they had.
+EricTheCarGuy Eric, my suggestion would be next time you have that open, if at all, try holding the harness such that the key alarm is silenced, and try starting it like that. It's possible that is the issue.
The next generation of Caravan (01-07) has just a handful of screws just below the cluster and it is out in 30s. Good thing the older Caravans has good bulbs and the newer ones have bulbs that are not meant to last.
So sorry for the multiple comments. But I was also gonna suggest that you go ahead and replace the ignition switch and the lock cylinder while you're in there. I know it's not completely gone but as you've seen they can be problematic and I personally don't find either of those 2 items to be expensive repairs and it's a very good preventative measure. Some cars like old MB can be very difficult to replace when the key gets jammed in there and doesn't come out sometimes they have to drill the thing out. Not fun. So anyways you might consider that
I also noticed towards the end of the video the chiming stopped when Eric tilted the steering wheel in the up position. There's an electrical issue with the ignition switch. I would do some diagnosis on the ignition switch and see what happens
You might want to look at the harness wiring and the connectors themselves, or look something entirely different. For example, not long ago I had a similar problem with my 2006 Sebring Limited where the dashboard would act crazy - warning lights coming on and off at random, tach and spidometer jumping around while car's standing still, gearbox going into limp mode and back to normal, all sorts of glitches. Turned out to be a half-burnt out diode in the alternator's rectifier generating noise in the CANbus.
Well, that wasn't too difficult to remove. Based on history, I assumed the windshield, spare tire, gas filler cap, etc. would need to be removed to access the cluster.
Outside pins can get cold solder joints from vibration. Do you use a temperature controlled soldering iron? I found out the hard way variable wattage just get hotter and hotter.
Leaving oils from your skin on a light bulb causes them to burn hotter which shortens the lifespan of the bulb. Tx for the vids, your an amazing resource! Still can't start my truck though:( Peace
I don't know how relevant this is to you now, but I think I see at least three broken connections when you were showing a closeup of that circuit board from the instrument cluster. Several of the solder joints are connected directly to a "through" wire, that goes through a hole to the other side of the board. You can see one of them right at the start of the closeup, at 10:08 toward the bottom left, another in the center of the picture at 10:20. I don't know if it means anything, but it appears as though these solder joints have broken off where they connected to a wire from the other side of the board. Anyway, something to look at and consider for the future. I hope it's helpful, but maybe not. ;)
Did the soldering on the instrument cluster solve the issue or did the ignition switch harness or switch itself needed to be replaced or some other issue?
I dont know if you know this but try to bake the board. this will reheat and remelt all the solder. If there is any micro fractures it will be corrected. I did it for my dads laptops motherboard brought it back to life. bake at 375 for 7 minutes and let cool for 30 minutes
That shift interlock thing got Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep and I think a few remaining Eagle models into some hot water back in the late 90s. While most the other brands had a shift interlock system, Chrysler decided to save a few bucks and not include it...even on their extremly popular Minivans. That, and the 1st and second gen vans didn't have a dual safety latch on the rear gate...so in some accidents the gate flew open allowing ejection of passengers in the back. (Mostly small kids.) Both stupid things to save a few cents on.
I've read you stance on _why_ you're fixing this, I get it. What I don't get is how crappy the materials are on the inside of that van.. I'm pretty sure I've assembled childrens toys that used heavier plastics and better joints.
When you would wiggle the wires for the chime to go off why didn't you try to start it out of curiosity? Just seemed at the end of the video like you wanted to get the van out of sight.
I had to replace my mother's ignition switch(2000 caravan). It would play havoc on the interior lighting and radio when turned off. lights would stay on and chime would randomly play. Also, dash lights would flicker or go out all together. Once i got the old switch out, i noticed that from heavy usage and wear, that copper dust (from the contacts sliding across ea other) had settled into the grease and created several "jumps". This was shorting several contacts that controlled accessories.
Eric, I have a 97 Voyager and my dash died. I took it apart as you did in this video and it had some fuses loose and that solved the problem. My steering wheel is faded and has black spots. I would like to paint it to match the rest of the steering wheel. What kind of paint would I need?
Since you had the cluster open you should have reflowed all the solder joints on that connector. It should only take a few minutes max. Often times you can't actually see when a solder joint is busted but it still loses electrical contact.
I did this exact same repair on a 98 Neon, only in my case, there were several visibly cracked joints. Re-soldering them solved my intermittent speedometer problem. A questions for you Eric. How would you test the ignition switch to verify its operation instead of just replacing it hoping that it solves the problem?
Your soldering is spot on now eric :-D :-D Just a matter of tinning anything you need to solder first, then it flows :-D That dashboard wasnt the worst ive seen, not too bad really.
+IIGrayfoxII Very true but he secured that joint, you would be supprised how many people make a right pigs ear of soldering. ive had to correct so many horrors created by people that cant solder. The splat solderers i call them ha ha :-D
+zx8401ztv Thanks. I'm sure you're aware I've gotten a lot of flack for that in the past. The better soldering gun and solder have helped a great deal.
+EricTheCarGuy Its getting the basics right, a good iron that can melt joints easly, decent solder (not lead free), clean wire, tin the surface/wire, then apply the tinned wire into the molten solder, add more if needed. LOL ive started sounding like a cookery program, and serve with wine lol.
+zx8401ztv And that is a good soldering iron for that job. I would have done all the joints on that connector just to make sure. Cold joints can be hard to detect.
My goodness your patient! But I wonder if this video's information can help me decipher why on my 98 Dodge Caravan when I shut the van off and remove the key, the lights flash on and off while a clicking sound can be heard. Also, my battery gets drained if I don't disconnect it once I park. If I forget and don't, I need to get my jump cables to charge the battery again. Aside from replacing the vehicle, which will happen eventually, cuz the a.c. has died as well, could you offer some clues on what I can try before seeking a mechanic?
About the "key in ignition" warning tone - my 1998 T&C doesn't warning me unless I touch the switch enough to push it just a bit further into the switch.
It looks like it is going to be a problem with wiring going to the ignition barrel. Wires are usually soldered to the barrel. Could be broken solder joins there or some damage to the wires. That is why the problem is intermittent.
I just love this series of videos on Barbara's minivan. People sometimes just don't get the real message behind on helping other people. For instance I live in Brazil a third world country where cars are really expensive and we keep them running for a long long time so we need to find resources to fix our imported cars.. these videos are a golden mine for me . I just recently purchased a minivan like that and I'm learning so much from watching it. Besides it was such nice thing for Barbara because she also help other people with this vehicle... anyway congratulations Erick you're such nice professional and human being.
Thank you so much!!!
Thank you for posting this video. I had the same problem on my 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan. I would be driving down the road, and everything would be running perfectly fine, and suddenly the engine would die. Sometimes I could restart it, and sometimes it wouldn't restart right away. It would crank, but it wouldn't start. I had tried many things - replacing the crankshaft sensor, camshaft sensor, coil pack, relays, PCM/ECU (several times!). I found this video and others, and went through the procedure. Sure enough, I found a cracked solder joint on the first pin of the connector, just as you showed here. Fixed it yesterday. I'll post another response if the fix doesn't hold, but I'm 99.99% sure that after 10 years of fighting this ridiculous intermittent fault, I've finally found it and nailed it.
I got lucky, my van ran fine all of the way home with no signs of any issue lurking. Then it just would not start. Fortunately right where my tools were close by and did not require a tow.
You are a gentleman and a scholar of the first order Sir and as such you are one of my heros. Thank You and everyone that goes that extra mile just because it is the right thing to do.
Thank you Eric. Thanks for all of the close up shots as you disassembled the dash. Showing where each screw is and where you just have to pull things apart to separate hidden clips. I get real nervous pulling on all of these plastic parts that can crack. Knowing that a certain component really is snapped together is a huge help. I referenced your video for each piece and what order the layers are assembled. My van is a '97 with 203,000 miles on it and it has had almost every item repaired or replaced as Barbara's '98 ( I do not have heated seats and the wing window motors still work).
it amazes me the range of knowledge a mechanic needs to know to be able to fix ....... most problems on an auto. From mech to eletrical to .... chemistry and physics
Epic instructional video my friend! Thank you so much. Our Dodge Caravan was doing the same thing. Cluster was dead. Took it apart & had "3" cracked solder joints on the back of the main plug. Just heated them up, applied a touch of solder, & it works like new!!!! Thanks again Eric!!!!
I'm with you -- I hate intermittent electrical problems! They *never* act up when you're actively looking for them. Only later, when you're not there.
+LMacNeill ...Or when you need to pick your kids up from school... -_-
Great video ! U might add that they should always disconnect battery and disable airbags too. On the actual inspection, wiggling the socket might have shown you movement so you could see where a solder joint came loose or cracked (notorious problem as you know), also inspect all socket pins for dirt, oxidation, or charring, again great work !
I did the same repair a couple years ago when I was using my moms van for work, of course the instrument cluster started acting up while I was driving it. But I used the magnifying glass and I used a solder sucker/desolder tool to remove the solder from any joints that looked smokey grey or cracked then flowed some fresh solder on them. There were some that were obviously cracked and those may have been the culprit but I did the smokey ones too for good measure and it turned out great, still in action today actually I just don't drive it anymore. That was one of many repairs I did on that van though, they have a tendency to have some ridiculous things go wrong. Belt tensioner was a nightmare, sounds funny but there is one bolt that you gotta use a 3ft extension with a u joint socket to get to it, you absolutely need a guy looking and telling you if you're turning the bolt or you could be there for hours.
Thanks for the video. I had to replace the instrument cluster in a 1999 dodge caravan and I followed your video step by step. Replacement one works like a charm. Cheers.
Thanks for the detailed video! I know you put some time in it so I appreciate it. My van has a similar problem, I have to slug the dash on occasion to get it to work again. Hopefully this will fix mine.
Good video with regards to showing how to remove and check the instrument panel if needed. But probably not so good when it comes to avoiding more trouble for Barbara in the future. I think you are spot on in thinking that there is another issue, i think you should have at least had a quick look at the problem with the ignition switch wiring/contacts. It would appear to be fairly obvious that there is a problem that needs fixing - especially when you think of the problem Barbara is having. But, i guess that in the future when she brings it back you will know where to look!
Spot on Eric! I saw that questionable solder joint on your first pan. But I think there are two issues and she is going to need that ignition switch also.
My gauges went out the other day, just after I filled up the tank. Van started up just fine, so I used my Bluetooth scanner and Torque on my phone as a makeshift cluster. I had the great luck to get siphoned sometime the next day, but had no idea due to the lack of a gas gauge. I drove for about 40 miles on what must've been fumes and sludge, stalling just up the hill from my house. I could cost to the house, but not make it up the steep drive! After figuring out the gas thing, and wacking the dash a few time, I got the car to stay running long enough to get it up the drive.
Following this great video, I started to remove the cluster. I had a bad feeling when about half the screws were either not original, or just missing. When I finally got everything out, the cluster didn't have a cardboard back on it. Another bad omen. After I removed the circuit board and flipped it over, my suspicions were confirmed: the pins in question were a mess. Someone had clearly tried to resolder them already. This might be why my odometer and trip computer have never worked... There is burnt flux everywhere, along with a few blobs of stray solder.
Wish me luck!
I am glad you made this video. I had 99 town and country that the dash would occasionally go crazy and the car would not start. It would crank 2 or three times, and knock right back off. After that it would not crank up until you either left it alone a while, or banged the dash real hard. Apparently the computer would get confused and lock out the security system preventing the car from running. Also the gauges would die in the middle or driving and once, they suddenly went full tilt and stayed there a while. The speedometer and tach went as high as they could go.
I did my own research and came to the conclusion that it was a bad solder. I pulled the instrument panel and one of the joints seemed cracked. It was very hard to see and I had to use a magnifying glass, but I touched it up, and put the van back together and the problem did not re occur.
I would say, do not dismiss this fix. It worked for me. It very well could have been the bad solder, it was on mine. I would be interested to see if her problem re occurs.
This Caravan feels confortable at your you shop for sure. More like it has found a garage now.
Just a comment on the lightbulbs in the instrument cluster... those clusters don't get removed very often - if ever - in the life of a vehicle, and once you've gone so far with an ~seventeen year old cluster, you might as well just go ahead and replace the bulbs on general principles...
I'm only at 13:59, so you might have decided to replace them, but as of where I'm at now, I'd recommend it just to be sure...
Eric, I had a similar problem with my 1999 Chrysler T&C. I was in the process of checking out the solder joints on the BCM. Then I did what you're doing. I also tried the ignition switch. Finally, had to go to the dealer. They replaced the BCM I had bought from them and installed myself, then they had to replace that one, too. The third one has worked well for more than a year. I paid the original price of a refurbished BCM and then only the labor for the dealer's work.
May God bless you with strength, health, wisdom, wealth more and more Eric.....
G'day Eric your patience is all inspiring!!!! Johnno Tassie
Another great video Eric. However, if this was a tv series, it would be over. I believe I feel no different than many others watching these videos, and we are tired of seeing this van. Let Barbara pay for some repairs and give you the opportunity to help other needing individuals and their automobiles.
+John Fountaine He's already finished or is in the process of fixing up at least 2 other vehicles as part of the series.
Eric -- great video, the camera man is so patient. Fixing it forward is such a wonderful thing to do, Keep up the great work and thank you for helping us mere mortals.
Good job Eric. I had a dash problem and I had to replace the instrument cluster. I actually controlled my headlights, turn signals, Electric window, mirrors ect... After replacement everything worked fine. but yes it could be the key too. It is a hit and miss when it comes to electric problems,
Glad to see you keeping this van on the road! And helping this woman out! If u ever get stumped feel free to Contact me.. I am are master certified and a Chrysler certified tech... And i specialize in these and other mid80s until now... I know these vans inside and out and could tear one down In my sleep.... Also one issue that these vans have is the bcm and cold solder joints and bad resistors
Are you working anywhere near Houston Texas?
Just rename this series to fixing Barbara's van! Lol
+TJC450
Or have an interactive series called "Whats wrong with Barbaras Van"
A): Alternator
B) Fuel Pump
C) Battery
D) Chrystler
+IIGrayfoxII Secret option E) All of the above
+IIGrayfoxII D!! The answer is D!!
you know you're driving a piece of shit when your mechanic has a youtube series named after it!
This should be a whole new series called "Fixing it backwards" . You are married to the f**kin mini van now !
used to have the exact same problem with my van... did some research, pulled the instrument cluster, and had a friend solder the broken points -- the most problematic one being the same solder point that Eric had to re-do. The van now runs without a problem and the intermittent start issues along with the crazy cluster issues are now gone.
Thanks eric for the tip of checking the lights bulbs. I usually use power source to check them, but your method is much easier. Thanks again :)
Thanks for this video, and especially the description. I had no function on the dash. Google gave many hits for the solder joint. I inspected the board but did not find any issues. I also had an intermittent chime and suspected the ignition. I'm going to change the ignition and I'll be back!
Eric, my instrument cluster was dead. I had that problem before and this time it was the spring contacts that hold the guages in. They had a little mold and cleaning them did the trick.
Eric, I had the same problem on a 02. Smacking the dash fixed it enough for me to get it started. Figured I would mention it for anyone maybe looking for a quick solution.
At the same time you said that the one to watch for was the one on the end, I found exactly the same one cracked! I fix! Actually, both terminals on that end were cracked.
+ericthecarguy Hey there Eric. Excellent series on "Fixing-It-Forward". Your patience and willingness to do this is commendable. I'm just curious, in the case of this van... When does it stop? I've watched the entire line-up in the series of the van and while each video is great, I can't help but wonder, when you signed up for this van did you become its caretaker or was there an agreement if there were ever a problem, then van come back to you so you can have more subject videos? I think the majority of the crazy comments lately about this van stem from viewers not knowing all the facts about the van, which I assume is none of our business but, reading some of the comments, I think people are confusing your WANT to have an opportunity to have more repair videos with Barbara just wanting to get a 'free ride", which I know isn't the case. Everyone who has participated in the project of the van has been stellar. But a time might come when the donating suppliers will say enough is enough. I'm seeing this series; especially with the van, be a huge opportunity to make videos and helping viewers solve problems. Others, with the nasty comments might be seeing it as you being taken advantage of as a technician, if that makes sense? Maybe if you made a video on ETCG1 about the project and set a clear and definite line detailing what you're looking to get out of the series, it will help squash the negative comments. Only a suggestion, otherwise I am enjoying all of the videos! Take care Eric.
+GMDuramax We should look at it this way: its the Chrysler that keeps on giving -Eric headaches- things for Eric to make videos about.
Hey +tin pin, curious, how did you do the 'strike through' in your above comment? I can't seem to do any text formatting/styling no matter what I do...
rwbishop Put dashes on each side of what you want to strike through. Use asterisks the same way to make text bold. There's a way to do italics as well, but I don't know what it is.
+tin pin Wow!!! How *cool* is that! (did it work???) Thanks man!
rwbishop Yup. Your formatting shows up in your comment after you post.
We had this issue with our 1997 Grand Caravan. Banging on the dash seemed to be a temporary fix. That is until all the gauge needles fell off!
After driving with no gauges for a few months, we took the dash apart, put the needles on and actually diagnosed the problem. Ours had some visibly faulty solder joints and re soldering them fixed the issue.
I had a '97 Sebring convertible that had constant instrument cluster issues. The RPM gauge would occasionally work, gas hand would randomly drop and no digital read-out. I soldered it twice and it would break again months later. I replaced the whole cluster a total of two times in the end.
The problem area you were looking in was the problem area with mine as well. Mine was obviously bad with blackened areas around a few solder joints. Something gets too hot and causing the solder to crack.
During that whole time with the bad clusters there was never a no start condition though.
Eric, I'm surprised you didn't use the built in Diagnostic mode that those 3rd Gen instrument clusters had! To activate it, push in both the trip and reset buttons, and then you turn the key from lock to off; and the odometer should display CODE 999, and then it will sweep the gauges to predetermined calibration points, then it check the warning lamps, and finally it checks the odometer and shift indicator.
Own a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan,its in WalMart parking lot right now. IOD is not bad but it wont crank and cluster is crazy. Relay switches going crazy.
You found a symptom of the issue and you just button everything back together and ship it instead of continuing with an ignition switch diagnostic? You know that this van is just going to come back with the same issue. I can't believe you just did that. Can't believe what I just saw you do. The problem "might be" is a scotty kilmer punchline, you can't seriously be going down that road. "If she continues to have this problem I'm going to go for replacing the ignition switch". WTF parts changing... how about "I'm going to do some diagnostics on the ignition switch". Keep making videos like this and you "might be" dropping down a spot or two on my favorite channels list.
You are right but these videos don't skip over most of the job, and they also don't show a rant about useless engineers in every video
+camtheham13 lol those rants are my favorite.
+DJDevon3 lol that's the whole beauty of this video making business. It's a show like no other.
+DJDevon3 If you know Eric, you know that he won't perform a repair without verifying the claim. He will test it thoroughly before replacing it, especially since these repairs come out of his pocket. He made a repair and is waiting to see if that will make a difference. He is a full time self employed mechanic. TH-cam money is not nearly as much as people might think. He isn't going to spend time chasing a problem that he may have already corrected when he has other repairs to do that will support him and his family.
***** Why consult the owner on a repair that he's hasn't done diagnostics for?
Wow Eric new camera? Awesome.... What kind of camera so clear... Really enjoy your videos has helped me more than once, keep up the good work. Thanks Bob
Why didn't you repair the ignition switch while you had the dash apart? There is an obvious problem there with the harness somewhere. If you didn't have the switch to replace you could at least taken it apart and checked for any shorts in the wire or corrosion. Sometimes just the act of taking things apart and putting them back together fixes issue like that.
I have (or had) that classic Ryobi drill/driver! Thanks for the video, my DD Caravan gauge cluster is acting stupid today.
Hey, Eric. If she's having problems with the ignition key not turning let me tell you what I have to do. I also have a '98 Voyager and I've found that if I park it with the the front wheels turned (even a little bit) I have problems removing the key. Tell her to always point the wheels straight ahead every time she shuts off the car and you should be able to put off replacing the ignition switch for quite awhile. Also, I've found that one side of the (double-sided) key tends to fit (and work) better than the other side.
I know Eric is helping Barbara out with her continuing adventures with this van but man you can kind of sense it how frustrated he is with this van I mean come on issue after issue she better at least buy him a sixpack or something after dealing with the van so many times :-)
+BSGT2TREKFAN88 He should try owning my wife's car. I'll just probe my brain for a list of things I've fixed in the last 2 years on it.
Rear engine mount, transmission mount, radiator, thermostat, rotors, pads, tensioner pulley, belt, cabin filter, blower motor regulator, battery TWICE, battery ground cable, valve cover gasket, PCV system (leaked so bad the car would stall), brake booster vacuum hose, shift cable, neutral safety switch, crankshaft position sensor, shifter jalousy (exposed internals of shifter, had broken off), dissasembled and cleaned window switches, water damage prevented windows from working, tonneau top cover not working, fixed that (sheer pin), removed onstar unit (water damaged caused alarm to go off continually), replaced on-star antenna (leaked water into on-star module and trunk), dissasembled and fixed horn (a previous owner messed it up somehow, had to adjust things so the horn could be pressed and it would work).
I'd almost say it's been more trouble than it's worth, but the damn thing keeps running and the motor and transmission seem fine, flushed all fluids at least twice now, doesn't leak anything... now that I've dropped a few GRAND into it lol. I almost think any other person would have sent it to the scrapyard, but I knew it was rough when I bought it. Just about anything that can break at this point has been replaced, so I expect it to last for a few years at least.
I know it benefits himself, his family and his channel..but my point was that he kinda showed what some of us feel when working on a repeat task - "omg..really.....ok lets see whats up now" ;)
+Jesse Crandle ...what brand is this vehicle?
+olds767 I wasnt being serious...it was a figure of speech.
Being someone who has help numerous people who don't know anything about car with their cars, I've dealt with a few people i try to help and dont understand that some problems cant be figured out the first go around and ive gotten bitched at by them. i could be talking out of my ass here but his fustration sounds like she kind of bitched at him or had an attitude about it and made him upset. i could be completely wrong.. but im speaking from my own experiences.
Little FYI the fact that the gear shifter will move without putting your foot on the brake that got dodge/Chrysler in hot water a few years ago
+MegaThunder70 I took out the shifter safety in my Saab (don't have to put the car in reverse to remove the key), and the previous owner had removed the switch that requires the clutch to be depressed in order to crank. No safety AT ALL! Just crank in first or reverse and watch it lurch into a cement wall! lol
+Jesse Crandle The having to put the shifter in reverse to remove the key thing is because there's no steering wheel lock.
+MegaThunder70 So that's actually a thing? for that past 10 years almost my dad's 01 Ram has been doing this. Didn't know it was known problem.
Why?!
+MegaThunder70 It's not just Dodge and Chrysler though. I've had multiple GM's that could do it. My current DD is a cadillac and it does it.
Month and a half my truck town & Country showed a failure, the needles are out of control board, not how to explain it, we could say that "dance" ... the technician said that should replace the BCM, this was done, the failure persisted ... then changed the general computer, a lot of money, long time ... a few days ago, in a casual conversation with a person who never see because he lives in another city, told me that the fault is on the dashboard ... I have started to investigate and oh, wonder !! I find your video as well explained ... I will encourage and desarmaré the dashboard !! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much!!
I would be grateful to tell me your opinion: You may have broken some welding spots?
I helped the google translator, please forgive my poor command of the language ...
Saw what I needed to see. Thank you.
Thanks for the walk through. Seen a few of your vids. Good info with a little humor sprinkled on top 😂
Working with dashboards is the worst. There is so much stuff crammed together with so many screws and fasteners, and you have to do the work in so many awkward positions and places. I can feel the back pain by just watching this video.
Oooooh, Weller soldering iron station, bit upmarket from your last soldering (welding) iron you had, good choice... happy soldering :), keep up the good work.
I have a 96 grand caravan that was doing the same thing I found one of the issues to be with the bcm one of the black fuses was bad and had bad sauders so far it has fixed my issue
Your video was a piece of cake to follow on my 1999. I had the same pin on the instrument panel that needed re-soldering. Fixed the problem in about and hour. Saved probably $1500 and a masive headach associated with having someone else do he job for me. That's a $1500.00 per hour savings. Will you take money, or beer for payment? IOU Thanks, Rich
Someone give this man a vacation! I'd take you to the Shire but I'm scared you might step on my people.
But for reals,I love the series. Even though you're not getting paid for the hard work/labor, in return you're getting the most rewarding feeling of satisfaction for helping your community. I'll share these amazing vids to my uncle, Bilbo Dildo.
i had a 99 town and country ltd and it had the same problem with dash i did the gauge. fix and soon after the ignition it did fix the problem good video
Those bulbs are fine to touch, just not halogens as used in headlights as they run a lot hotter and I believe the oils left on the glass prevent heat from escaping.
+Jonny Fix The research I have done points to skin oils causing uneven heating on the glass even on non halogen bulbs and the uneven heating causes the glass to crack. And every one knows when you crack the glass you let the magic smoke out and electrical stuff simply won't work without the magic smoke.
or really let the magic air "IN" , (without vacuum the filament quickly oxidizes (burns up).
Great video. Had to use the zoom on my phone to inspect the solder points. The four corner points of the main wiring harness connector seemed loose do I resoldered them. It's an intermittent failure so I'll have to see how long the repair holds.
Before you replace the ignition switch you should check the wiring harness going to the switch first. It's not good practice to just throw parts at it. It could be something as simple as a loose ground or broken wire. Especially with electrical problems the first thing your suppose to do is pull up an electrical diagram and check the wiring first. Whenever you have intermediate electrical problems you have to check the whole circuit first and not just replace parts. You can put a new switch in and it might work fine at first and as soon as Barbara gets down the road it can stop working if it's a wiring problem. That's the right way to troubleshoot an electrical problem
+Tim Wall Also i have seen alot of bad harness's for 90's chrysler ignition switches, there was even a recall if i remember because the the switch/harness would not handle the loads and start to burn up (had to replace the harness on a 90's dodge spirit because of this)
+Tim Wall Thanks for your input, but when I push on the wire on the back of the ignition switch and I get a reaction, I consider that to be pretty definitive. You're correct, it's also worth being more thorough when doing a diagnosis.
Proper diagnosis??? What do you think this is, a ScannerDanner or South Main Auto video?!
At this rate chrysler should send barbara a new van so as to stop you from exposing their shitty build quality any more.
I've had a similar problem forever in my 1993 Ford Taurus SHO. If you adjust the wheel up and down you can make the chimer go off. I've never had a starting issue in three years.
I just seen one of your videos for the first time in 60p.... OMG IT'S SOOOO SMOOTH!
+NRG Media Productions I can't believe people actually like the 60fps, it looks so "video" and not "filmlike". But then folks are really into the "soap opera effect" on their LCD TVs these days too, everything artificially smoothed over and not looking the least bit realistic.
I had a similar issue, of what you were looking to at least, with my old Honda Prelude where the ignition relay would fail and it was just a matter of redoing the solder on the circuit board. Upon inspection it looked OK, but after doing the job it never bothered me again.
The issue was that with the car in running temperatures, it would not turn back on until it cooled down. No ignition at all... I supposed that it was a similar diagnostic on this case, althuogh I can see that it might not be the same failure in this situation.
Point is, the solders can look OK and still make a bad connection.
My POS Caravan is/was doing this same BS ... now thanks to this video.. IT IS NOT!!! Thanks for taking the time to haggle with the Camera and doing the edits needed!!
You should've at least confirmed it was the harness by holding it in such a way to where the beeper goes off, then try to crank.
+David G Or close the door.
James Schrumm
He said it's connected to the ignition switch.
*****
Yup i seen that, i have the same honda with that problem i fixed cuz of it
+David G I wanted to comment that too. I don't understand why he didn't even check if that would cause the claimed no start issue. I mean he even explained that the harness is most likely the issue.
+David G And also, it looked like the beep stopped when he moved the steering Wheel. The constant wiggling of the harness has probably weakened the wires, or their Connections.On some ignition switches the leads are soldered on the back, so maybe he shold have checked that out right away when he noticed the beeper change from wiggling the harness.Guess we will see it in Another video.
I see this was common for late 90's Chryslers. I had a 96 Neon with cluster freaking out and going dead. When you take the board out and wiggle the plug on the back side you can see the pins move where the solder cracked. I soldered the pins including the ones that were not cracked and never had the issue again.
The solder joints failing is also a common problem in the older Neon's. I had to do that for a friend. However there were several joints broken so that the dash never decided to work properly. It was pretty easy to fix.
It was also an issue with the Cloud Cars as well, you would lose the tachometer and odometer because of it.
digitalrailroader What is a cloud car? Yeah so many joints were broken on my friends car I don't recall anything working properly on it. lol
+murkinstock that is the nickname for the Chrysler Cirrus, 1st Generation Dodge Stratus, Plymouth Breeze, and 1st Generation Chrysler Sebring convertible.
digitalrailroader Alright cool, thanks!
Great videos EricI see you got yourself a temp. controlled soldering station,
This is insane considering on a 90's Honda civic you had to remove two face plate screws and 4 or 5 mounting screws and the entire cluster came out like butter. Friggen car manufactures making cars harder to work on!
Yes I found this very useful it kept me from ripping out my Dash thinking it was just a snap in type. Lol
12:28 - Top left corner above your finger, there's a thin wire sticking through the board that has no solder around it, I'm not sure if that's supposed to look that way, but the board looks slightly scorched around the wire.
Ive really been missing those old format videos where you would film yourself work. They have been delivering this very special atmosphere for me.
It's not that the other videos where you have cameraman Brian as your operator are bad in any way, don't get me wrong. They are awesome as well. They're just different.
I am so happy that we got to see this old format again in this new video.
Thanks!
I seem to remember that if alternator is on the way out on some dodges it causes the dash to go crazy like your customer complained about. there are videoes about this on youtube
I noticed when you moved the tilt steering it was intermittent. Just a guess- how's the ribbon cable between stuff? Tilt steering is notorious for wearing of wires- no matter how they're made.
I've watched all the Chrysler videos. It makes for good TV, and good info on auto tech work. And it is nice to help others. However, it is sooooooooo impractical to fix a van like this one. It has just had too many problems. Any sensible person (who doesn't have a TV show like Eric) would just get rid of it rather than putting that much time and money into it. Part of me cannot help but cringe every time I see another episode of fixing-it-forward with Barbara's van. But I also love it so, and keep watching!
+Aristotle2000 A van in the driveway with a $400 fix is a lot less expensive than another car payment and the associated insurance bump while you pay off the loan.
+hotdrippyglass Agreed. But this Chrysler van has gotten repairs that would cost many thousands of dollars. It would be far cheaper to buy a used minivan that needs more modest repairs.
yes.... the tranny alone would be considered a throw away
these days these vans are worth next to nothing- (even when they are running well!) because of the notorious problems they had.
+EricTheCarGuy Eric, my suggestion would be next time you have that open, if at all, try holding the harness such that the key alarm is silenced, and try starting it like that. It's possible that is the issue.
The next generation of Caravan (01-07) has just a handful of screws just below the cluster and it is out in 30s. Good thing the older Caravans has good bulbs and the newer ones have bulbs that are not meant to last.
So sorry for the multiple comments. But I was also gonna suggest that you go ahead and replace the ignition switch and the lock cylinder while you're in there. I know it's not completely gone but as you've seen they can be problematic and I personally don't find either of those 2 items to be expensive repairs and it's a very good preventative measure. Some cars like old MB can be very difficult to replace when the key gets jammed in there and doesn't come out sometimes they have to drill the thing out. Not fun. So anyways you might consider that
***** I'm not surprised. Those vans are basically disposable at that age with that kind of mileage
Sweet! The mini van Again! Thanks Eric.
I also noticed towards the end of the video the chiming stopped when Eric tilted the steering wheel in the up position. There's an electrical issue with the ignition switch. I would do some diagnosis on the ignition switch and see what happens
You might want to look at the harness wiring and the connectors themselves, or look something entirely different.
For example, not long ago I had a similar problem with my 2006 Sebring Limited where the dashboard would act crazy - warning lights coming on and off at random, tach and spidometer jumping around while car's standing still, gearbox going into limp mode and back to normal, all sorts of glitches. Turned out to be a half-burnt out diode in the alternator's rectifier generating noise in the CANbus.
Well, that wasn't too difficult to remove. Based on history, I assumed the windshield, spare tire, gas filler cap, etc. would need to be removed to access the cluster.
🤣🤣🤣👍
Outside pins can get cold solder joints from vibration. Do you use a temperature controlled soldering iron? I found out the hard way variable wattage just get hotter and hotter.
Leaving oils from your skin on a light bulb causes them to burn hotter which shortens the lifespan of the bulb. Tx for the vids, your an amazing resource! Still can't start my truck though:( Peace
I don't know how relevant this is to you now, but I think I see at least three broken connections when you were showing a closeup of that circuit board from the instrument cluster. Several of the solder joints are connected directly to a "through" wire, that goes through a hole to the other side of the board.
You can see one of them right at the start of the closeup, at 10:08 toward the bottom left, another in the center of the picture at 10:20. I don't know if it means anything, but it appears as though these solder joints have broken off where they connected to a wire from the other side of the board.
Anyway, something to look at and consider for the future. I hope it's helpful, but maybe not. ;)
Did the soldering on the instrument cluster solve the issue or did the ignition switch harness or switch itself needed to be replaced or some other issue?
I dont know if you know this but try to bake the board. this will reheat and remelt all the solder. If there is any micro fractures it will be corrected. I did it for my dads laptops motherboard brought it back to life. bake at 375 for 7 minutes and let cool for 30 minutes
Eric C., Thanks for a helpful video. .Did you consult a shop manual before starting this job to help you step through dissassembly?
That shift interlock thing got Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep and I think a few remaining Eagle models into some hot water back in the late 90s. While most the other brands had a shift interlock system, Chrysler decided to save a few bucks and not include it...even on their extremly popular Minivans. That, and the 1st and second gen vans didn't have a dual safety latch on the rear gate...so in some accidents the gate flew open allowing ejection of passengers in the back. (Mostly small kids.)
Both stupid things to save a few cents on.
Excellent video. Thank You Sir.
I've read you stance on _why_ you're fixing this, I get it. What I don't get is how crappy the materials are on the inside of that van.. I'm pretty sure I've assembled childrens toys that used heavier plastics and better joints.
When you would wiggle the wires for the chime to go off why didn't you try to start it out of curiosity? Just seemed at the end of the video like you wanted to get the van out of sight.
I had to replace my mother's ignition switch(2000 caravan). It would play havoc on the interior lighting and radio when turned off. lights would stay on and chime would randomly play. Also, dash lights would flicker or go out all together. Once i got the old switch out, i noticed that from heavy usage and wear, that copper dust (from the contacts sliding across ea other) had settled into the grease and created several "jumps". This was shorting several contacts that controlled accessories.
Eric, I have a 97 Voyager and my dash died. I took it apart as you did in this video and it had some fuses loose and that solved the problem. My steering wheel is faded and has black spots. I would like to paint it to match the rest of the steering wheel. What kind of paint would I need?
Do you sometimes break stuff? If yes how do you handled it? Are you insured for that or something?
Since you had the cluster open you should have reflowed all the solder joints on that connector. It should only take a few minutes max. Often times you can't actually see when a solder joint is busted but it still loses electrical contact.
I love the FiF videos. keep them coming.
I did this exact same repair on a 98 Neon, only in my case, there were several visibly cracked joints. Re-soldering them solved my intermittent speedometer problem. A questions for you Eric. How would you test the ignition switch to verify its operation instead of just replacing it hoping that it solves the problem?
Your soldering is spot on now eric :-D :-D
Just a matter of tinning anything you need to solder first, then it flows :-D
That dashboard wasnt the worst ive seen, not too bad really.
+zx8401ztv
I was thinking the same thing but then again all eric did this time was add a small amount of solder, not soldering two wires together.
+IIGrayfoxII Very true but he secured that joint, you would be supprised how many people make a right pigs ear of soldering.
ive had to correct so many horrors created by people that cant solder.
The splat solderers i call them ha ha :-D
+zx8401ztv Thanks. I'm sure you're aware I've gotten a lot of flack for that in the past. The better soldering gun and solder have helped a great deal.
+EricTheCarGuy
Its getting the basics right, a good iron that can melt joints easly, decent solder (not lead free), clean wire, tin the surface/wire, then apply the tinned wire into the molten solder, add more if needed.
LOL ive started sounding like a cookery program, and serve with wine lol.
+zx8401ztv And that is a good soldering iron for that job. I would have done all the joints on that connector just to make sure. Cold joints can be hard to detect.
My goodness your patient! But I wonder if this video's information can help me decipher why on my 98 Dodge Caravan when I shut the van off and remove the key, the lights flash on and off while a clicking sound can be heard. Also, my battery gets drained if I don't disconnect it once I park. If I forget and don't, I need to get my jump cables to charge the battery again. Aside from replacing the vehicle, which will happen eventually, cuz the a.c. has died as well, could you offer some clues on what I can try before seeking a mechanic?
About the "key in ignition" warning tone - my 1998 T&C doesn't warning me unless I touch the switch enough to push it just a bit further into the switch.
Jesus Chrysler! How many times will it be back in the shop?
All the times.
It looks like it is going to be a problem with wiring going to the ignition barrel. Wires are usually soldered to the barrel. Could be broken solder joins there or some damage to the wires. That is why the problem is intermittent.