1990 LeBaron Plethora Of Problems

Hello All! I'm new here, so please be gentle. I wish I could make this long story short but I'm thinking a lot of the problems are stemming from one another.

I have a 1990 LeBaron conv, 3L, V6 with 93K miles. While driving on the highway it felt like the car was slammed into first gear. I slowed down and it BANGED back into gear. It was having a hard time changing gears.

The next day I took it to a mechanic and when I told him the problem he said the typical "yep, you need a new tranny". Aggravated because I just shelled out some $$$ to have the engine completely rebuilt about a month prior, I just put my car in the garage and bought a brand new SUV (hey, I live in Buffalo and we get snow!!!).

The car has been sitting for approx 5 yrs in prestine condition. I finally have some extra and I wanted to dump it into my favorite car ever, my Lebaron.

Me and my dad went to tinker with it the other day and it turns over but wouldn't start. We put gas in it, the battery is completely charged. Here are the problems:

1) When you try to start the car the fuel, battery, and temp gauges all move past empty. All interior lights, radio work. The headlights also turn on but they do not open up. We checked all the fuses and they are all good. Are the gauges and headlight motor connected in anyway?

2) When giving the car a shot of ether it runs on that for a second or 2 then stalls. This makes me think that the car isn't getting fuel. I'm thinking fuel pump but I just want another opinion.

3) Once I can actually GET THE CAR STARTED again, I'll be able to tackle the tranny. Any advice on what would cause the BANG when shifting gears and the feeling that it was just thown into first gear?

I've read pretty much all the other posts about Lebaron transmissions and I don't know if the transmission fluid was ever changed let alone if it had dex-III in it.

Sorry for the rambling post, but I just wanted to get as much info out there as possilbe. Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

I borrowed this from the Dodge Datona site.. same car.. might be useful for yer lamps.. i not got to this stage yet..

Re: headlights wont go up 1990 dodge daytona
I know all about this. I can't begin to tell you how much knowledge i have about how the headlights work on the daytona. I can even tell you what is in that black box, the controller as they are referring to.

I feel for you, I know it is a pain when the lights don't work.

Most of the time it is the controller, but sometimes it can be the body computer as well.

The body computer, which is located in the passenger kick panel controls the controller. The controller is just 3 relays that are used to reverse the polarity going to the headlights.

When you shut off your lights or flash someone the body computer sends +12 volts for a few seconds to the controller. There are two wires that come from the computer. One controlls up and the other down.

I once thought that it was the controller when it turned out I simply needed to reset the computer.

Before you go to the junk yard, take off the kick panel on the passenger side and disconnect the computer. It will have two plugs on it, remove both.

The computer is really easy to remove, it only has 2 half inch bolts holding it in place, I found it is easier to disconnect the wires with the computer removed from the kick panel.

Now plug the computer back in. Try your lights.

If it doesn't work,then move onto the module.

If you get under your dash you should hear a tiny click whenever you engage the highbeams by pulling back on the turnsignal switch. Listen for two clicks. The first will turn your lamps on, the second turns them off.

Like this.

Press your headlight switch in.. you will hear the relays click. Let go of the switch.. A few seconds later you should hear another click.... This is the relays reversing the polarity in the controller to close the lights.

If you hear no clicks then the controller is bad or there is no signal coming from the computer.

I would give you the control wires that do this as you can put a volt meter + side, and the other on a good ground in the car and you will see the meter jump for about 1/2 a second to 12 volts on one wire and on the other wire when it is closing the lamps.

I do remember there is a large black and red wire. These are straight 12 volts and should always be. I believe the contoller wires are two color.

Good luck... I wish I was there, cause I would be able to solve it for you quickly. I even debating building my own controller as I took one appart many years ago and that is how I know what is in it... Only three relays.

Good luck.


also.. see what other sites say bout yer tranny.. daytona.. plymouth acclaim etc

Let me see if I can help - based on what you are describing here, I will make the assumption that everything was working correctly when the car was parked - that is, all except the transmission.


Me and my dad went to tinker with it the other day and it turns over but wouldn't start. We put gas in it, the battery is completely charged. Here are the problems:

1) When you try to start the car the fuel, battery, and temp gauges all move past empty. All interior lights, radio work. The headlights also turn on but they do not open up. We checked all the fuses and they are all good. Are the gauges and headlight motor connected in anyway?
Yes they are all connected by the battery. What shape is the battery in? Is it a new battery? Have you put a full charge in it if it is the old battery? Are the battery terminals clean (free of corrosion)? I would think that this is a battery issue or a ground wire issue. If you try a new battery - different battery and it does the same thing - you should search for any broken ground wires - but, I definately lean towards an issue with the battery.



2) When giving the car a shot of ether it runs on that for a second or 2 then stalls. This makes me think that the car isn't getting fuel. I'm thinking fuel pump but I just want another opinion.
When you turn on the key you should be able to hear the fuel pump energize, it will make a humming noise - if you don't hear it check the fuses. If the fuses are good - go back to the last step - check out the battery and ground wires - if that doesn't help you might have a bad relay or a bad pump. Did the car have much gas in the tank when parked? If the pump does run but it seems to not get fuel to the engine - replace the fuel filter. If it did gas can/will varnish up things in the tank including fuel pumps. I have had to replace fuel pumps for this reason before.


3) Once I can actually GET THE CAR STARTED again, I'll be able to tackle the tranny. Any advice on what would cause the BANG when shifting gears and the feeling that it was just thown into first gear?

I've read pretty much all the other posts about Lebaron transmissions and I don't know if the transmission fluid was ever changed let alone if it had dex-III in it.
Did the car drive after the bang and shift down to first gear? I would take it to a reputable transmission shop and have them check it out with their test equipment - it might just need the solenoid pack replaced - cheap fix compared to tranny replacement



Hope this helps