Hi

I own this 1996 grand Voyager since 1997 and have 300.000 km down with it. Now the complete instrument cluster is inop and the ABS light is on. Engine starts normal. Once in a while during eng idling, the instrument comes to live for a few seconds, ABS light goes out. I checked the alarm system and shortened it out . No help. I checked the instrument connector and solderings etc , no help. I checked the heater 21 pin plug, all OK. I can disconnect the instrument connector, heater plug and the engine will start and run. I checked the instrument connector wires. 3 ea on grd, 1 directly, 2 with some Ohms resistance. 1 ea gets power when ingnition is on.
I have no wiring diagram in order to check all the wires , but it appears that the ordinary issue with losing the ground due to bad soledring isn't the problem here. What parts shall I start ti change ? The instrument cluster ? Can there be one electronic component on it that fails the complete cluster + brings the ABS light on ? Motor management computer ? Is it supplying the instrument cluster with all this info ?
I can get most parts from scrap yards via E-Bay.

Any idea ?

Rgds Günther ( from Luxembourg ).

 

Hi

Ok, let me ask the question I would like to get answers for :
1) who is supplying the instrument with the readings to be shown ? Is this individual sensors or is it the motor management computer ?
2) Could it still be the instrument itself even that the ABS light comes on at the same time the instruments give up ? ABS light is not part of the combi-instrument.

Rgds Günther

 

Anything come back to life if you smack the dash above the cluster? If so head back to the cluster connector and reflow the solder joints on the cluster circuit board that secure the connector to the circuit board REGARDLESS of what they look like. Solder joint cracks can be tiny and may only be seen with a magnifier.

Should be seeing 12vdc at contact 2 (pink wire) and contact 11 (red/white wire) at the cluster harness connector. Contact 7 is the ground.

The cluster gets most of it's display data over the CCD data bus from the body control module or BCM. The BCM gets it's data from the PCM (your motor management computer) again on the data bus.

The ABS controller is on the data bus. This may be why you are seeing the ABS light. The data bus is a communications network used to connect all the modules in the van so they can send data back and forth.

So you know, everything I am telling you is based on US spec information. I can only guess and say it applies to your Euro spec van. With that in mind would you like the wire diagrams? Send me an email address to send them to via a private message. How? Click Raptor 07 at left.

Here is another thread on the subject from another forum. There may be something there to to spark an idea: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-c...dashboard.html

 

Hi

Solderings have already been redone. This was the cause 10 years ago, broken soldering on the grd pin, but unfortunately not this time.

Also the ABS light makes me suspicious that this is not the fault of any power input to the instrument, but more a data failure from BCM or PCM .
And that during simple idling of the engine, the instrument sometimes comes alive for a very little while always with ABS light extinguishing, but all goes dead again soon. A broken wire or bad connection would stay once contact is made.

The PCM I found, under the radio floor level. Where is the BCM located for resetting of the connectors ? Does the CAM bus wires look different from ordinary wires ? I'm asking because all look like ordinar electric wires, no shielding or such.

Yes , pls send me the wiring to meeko at vo.lu , pls.

rgds Günther

 

"Solderings have already been redone. This was the cause 10 years ago, broken soldering on the grd pin, but unfortunately not this time."
So...you reflowed the solder joints recently to fix this event correct? Smack that dash.

"A broken wire or bad connection would stay once contact is made."
26 years of working avionics in the Air Force tells me otherwise.

"The PCM I found, under the radio floor level." That may be a Euro spec difference. On 3rd generation 96-00 US vans it's bolted to the inner fender liner in the engine compartment in front of the driver. It's right next to the PDC (Fuse box) and battery.http://i.fixya.net/uploads/images/25...skpttp-2-0.gif The SRS (airbags) controller is on the floor under the center console. It has yellow connectors.

"Where is the BCM..." It's bolted to the back of the junction block (Fuse panel) under the driver's side dash. Again, that's a US spec location.

CAM (CAN ?) data bus wires? You have two CCD data bus wires providing bus communications. No high/low single wire like the CAN system. CAN data bus didn't come around till 2008 with the advent of the 5th generation vans.

Your van is Euro spec and not British correct? In other words, is it left hand drive as in the US?

Just sent 4 wire diagrams - BCM (2), instrument cluster and computer data lines. If you need more let me know.

Just out of curiosity. Were you born and raised in Luxembourg or are you a US citizen living there? Your English is very good. Better than some here in the US. It's not often a "foreigner" (if that's the case) comes on one of these forums and communicates this well.

 

Hi


Thanks again for this great replies.
The soldering for the old issue was done 10 years ago. I redid all connector solderings now again just to make sure, no help.
Car is left hand drive like in the US.
And yes, I'm born and raised in Luxembourg having a specific Luxemburgish mother language ( not German ). We do learn Luxemburgish , German and French in school and English in high school. Most also another language like Latin, Spanish, Russian, Chinese or whatever they decide.
I am working in airline business as well with B1 license for wide bodies ( 747 ), presently working maintenance control center for Luxembourg main base + the entire world stations . Company is CARGOLUX .


Do you believe it could still be the gauge cluster electronic board being at fault or shall I go for the BCM or PCM .


The car has now 300.000 KM down. it had one distribution chain brake at 220.000 km ( my fault as I thought chains don't require any maintenance as I was told when I bought the car ) . I did the repair myself, only bend valve pushrods. Shortly after that, 1 of the cylinder heads started leaking water . Same was replaced by me . Otherwise only minor issues like front wheel bearings etc.


I just passed the governmental yearly technical inspection with it and would love to keep it running for a bit longer.


Rgds Günther

 

Hi

Thanks for the wiring diagrams.
I send you a mail back with some pics and some more questions.
Thanks so much for your time.

Here a pic with what I believe is the BCM & the motor management compt.

The smaller box being the BCM, correct ?

Both are located under the ash tray in this car.
I couldn't locate any box that looks like a computer box in the engine compartment near the fuse box.





Rgds Günther

 

If you Google the part number (4686242), you will see that the smaller box is the Air Bag Control Module.

I don't know what the other box is.

 

Hi

So I don't need that one, I guess.

Here a pic of the other one.

Brgds Günther

 

Hi

Good old youtube showed me that the BCM ist part of the fuse box, actually bolted onto the fuse box .
I will check again tomorrow on the car , possibly remove the fuse box with the BCM for contact cleaning and P/N checking in case I try to find one in E-Bay.

Rgds Günther