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WHY??? Speedometer Needle Reset

14K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  mjt 
#1 ·
I walk outside last evening to hear my neighbor cussing while under the hood of his 2001 GC with 105k on the ticker. So, I walk over and see if I can be of help.

His speedo needle is on the wrong side of the needle. I laughed and showed him how to fix it. Thank you chryslerminivan.net.

This leads me to my why question. I have personally owned 45 automobiles and have fixed at least that many others for others. I have NEVER heard of such a stupid failure with such and easy fix. Fine it is easy to fix but........

Why did Chrysler have to make the IP that way? Why on some vans does the IP prevent the vehicle from even starting? Seems to me like a stupid thing to be dependent on.
 
#2 ·
Unfortunately, the electronics that "the powers that be" have piled on these wonder wagons don't always work as advertised. They are suseptable to power surges and below spec voltages usually caused by poor connections or weak batteries. The self test feature is there to help us overcome these glitches. I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. Just throwing my two cents on the table.

As far as the IP causing no starts etc, all I can come up with is it appears it was all an attempt to improve mileage and cutting pollution by eliminating quite a bit of wiring, inturn, weight. I'm talking about the CCD multyplex data bus. Depending on the fail mode, if the bus fails you get no starts. Unfortunately that means obscure units can cause seamingly unrelated problems.
 
#3 ·
I walk outside last evening to hear my neighbor cussing while under the hood of his 2001 GC
Did you learn any new phrases? :ninja:

His speedo needle is on the wrong side of the needle. I laughed and showed him how to fix it.
If you just recalibrated the pod, you fixed the symptom, not the actual problem. His battery is getting weak (or he has a bad connection).

<cue the ominous church chorus> The needle flipping is a SIGN... it's a weak battery that, if left unheeded, will result in more cussing when the car doesn't start. :eekkkk:

Years ago (the 80s), when the battery got weak, the period radios would lose all their preset memory, and you knew it was time to find a good sale on a battery. In these vans it's the speedo needle jumping at engine start that gives the same indication. (It probably jumped for months before it flipped all the way around to the dark-side of the instrument!) :bcyclop:

Hey, anybody remember the REALLY old days when slow cranking meant the battery was getting old? :biggrin:

I'm with Shipo or whoever, that recommended replacing the battery every five years regardless. There are just too much electronics that can get flaky when the voltages drop....
 
#4 ·
Did you learn any new phrases? :ninja:



If you just recalibrated the pod, you fixed the symptom, not the actual problem. His battery is getting weak (or he has a bad connection).

<cue the ominous church chorus> The needle flipping is a SIGN... it's a weak battery that, if left unheeded, will result in more cussing when the car doesn't start. :eekkkk:

Years ago (the 80s), when the battery got weak, the period radios would lose all their preset memory, and you knew it was time to find a good sale on a battery. In these vans it's the speedo needle jumping at engine start that gives the same indication. (It probably jumped for months before it flipped all the way around to the dark-side of the instrument!) :bcyclop:

Hey, anybody remember the REALLY old days when slow cranking meant the battery was getting old? :biggrin:

I'm with Shipo or whoever, that recommended replacing the battery every five years regardless. There are just too much electronics that can get flaky when the voltages drop....
Good advice. I did tell him to replace his battery but did not know that the needle flipping was one of the indicators. I just looked at the battery and saw lots of crap on the terminal (another old indicator that the battery was headed out).
 
#8 ·
I need some help. Speedo is jumping erratically when driving and transmission shifting a little hard. The engine light came on P1684 indicating battery disconnnect. It i9s raining and wet so I expect some electrical issue. Transmission fluid is not burnt.
 
#9 ·
Sounds like the output speed sensor is headed south. It's the sensor on the far right front to the right of the shift lever on the 4 speed 41TE tranny. Easy screw out screw in change. Check the connection and wire harness first if you decide to change it. This sensor is the sending unit for the speedometer and the Transmission Control Module uses it to determine shift points.

Did your engine light come on and go off? A P1684 code normally won't turn on the light. It means the Powertrain Control Module momentarily lost power. The usual reason is the battery was disconnected.
 
#10 ·
I would suggest checking the battery terminal connections to make sure they are tight. Lots of strange things can happen if your battery is not connected tightly.
 
#11 ·
The battery is one year old however when checking the terminals I realized I had forgotten to reconnect the drain hoses for the wiper cowl when replacing my valve cover gaskets several weeks ago. The drain was spilling on to some box and harness between the firewall and battery. After sitting for a day problem is gone. Not sure but think the problem was excessive water on some electrical parts. I will likely look a little closer to see what is in that area that could be sensitive to moisture. Anyway thanks for your replies
 
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