Tom Rogers wrote:
> 2005 Dodge Caravan 125k miles,my Brake and ABS lights are constantly on
as
> well as the TRACK OFF indicator. Brakes work fine, ABS works fine. The
> communication cable between the ABS module and the main computer is
> defective. I asked the local Dodge dealer the price to replace that
cable -
> he said I have to replace the entire engine wiring harness at a cost of
> $1200.00
>
> Does anyone know if there is a tech bulletin or a recall out on this
issue
> where I can get it done for free? Interesting to note - when it rains
the
> lights go out - which tells me a wire(s) is open and the rain shorts it
so
> that it works.
>
> No wonder the dealer that I took it to four times in a row, didn't want
to
> fix it. I didn't buy my warranty there so they would make no money doing
it.
> All they did was unplug it from the ABS module, plug it back in the
light
> went out, so they were happy. I went to pick up the car that night after
> work, turned the car on and those lights were on again. I pointed this
out
> to them immediately, they saw the lights on with their own eyes, but
again
> they did nothing to fix it. They told me no code on the scan tool, so
> nothing to fix.
>
> Amazing....what a racket. then they send me flyers wanting me to buy a
new
> car from their dealer****p. What a joke.
>
> -TRogers
This doesn't answer the question you asked, but I will offer unsolicited
advice: Get the connector pinouts and schematics* and determine the
actual defective wires (probably only two possibilities) from those.
Cut those wires and bypass them with new wires. (In case the problem is
in the terminal crimped onto the end of the bad wire or in the crimp
itself, you might want to find wires in a junk yard Chrysler vehicle
from a connector of the same type - i.e., the has the same type of
terminal - cut the bundle of wires from the harness, take the connector
and bundle home, take the connector apart, pull four wires with
terminals intact out of the connector, put them in place of the suspect
wires in your vehicle connector and splice new wire to your new junkyard
pigtails in place of your existing suspect wires. Alternatively, some
dealers stock pigtails with factory crimped terminals with the handful
of terminal variations to choose from - if they are helpful at all, they
can let you match the type up to what you need - more than once I've
gotten the right factory-new terminals that way from the local dealer).
That way you can move on with your life for relatively little money
and a bit of your time, and have the satisfaction of having stuck it to
the man! :)
*If you don't have an FSM (Factory Shop Manual), get a one year
www.alldata subscription for $25. That will give you on-line access to
the exact schematics and connector pinouts - as well as the full TSB's
applicable to that vehicle. You'd kill a bunch of birds with one stone
with that. I have no financial interest in www.alldata other than
seeing value in part of their product (actually some of it is pretty
bad, but the schematics and connector pinouts and TSB's are 100% genuine
and complete). (Do not get a Haynes or Chiltons - "typical" schematics
are worthless.)
Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')
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