Clicking...and other fun-fun topics!
tsyzer
06-30-2007, 12:34 AM
Our voyager quit 2 months ago and we've been too busy/broke and amateur to do anything about it. I think the problem MIGHT be what people on this site have said-a loose solder point in the cluster board.
I have three question categories :) 1) The last (and final) time the van quit, it immediately started a clicking noise from the key-entry/dash area. I thought it would quit once it had deadened the battery. However, two months later, if you open the door, you can still hear the clicking loud and clear. So...what is going on with that? If it's the starter, is it not battery operated? If it is, shouldn't it have drained the battery by now? And finally, I'm afraid of getting electrocuted, but then again, if I disable the battery, then I still won't be able to start the car. Suggestions about what to do?
2) Can the cluster board come out of the van or is it worked on when still inside? Is this a job that motivated novices should not attempt? Is this something worth paying to get looked at when we were told a while ago that the problem might be some ridiculously expensive all-purpose switch-thing (and thus, perhaps unrelated to a loose solder joint)??
3) Anything you want to add?!!
It's a '98 with 160,000... (but it does have air conditioning, which in our humble car state, makes it very personally valuable at this hot moment in d.c.)
Thank you muchly.
I have three question categories :) 1) The last (and final) time the van quit, it immediately started a clicking noise from the key-entry/dash area. I thought it would quit once it had deadened the battery. However, two months later, if you open the door, you can still hear the clicking loud and clear. So...what is going on with that? If it's the starter, is it not battery operated? If it is, shouldn't it have drained the battery by now? And finally, I'm afraid of getting electrocuted, but then again, if I disable the battery, then I still won't be able to start the car. Suggestions about what to do?
2) Can the cluster board come out of the van or is it worked on when still inside? Is this a job that motivated novices should not attempt? Is this something worth paying to get looked at when we were told a while ago that the problem might be some ridiculously expensive all-purpose switch-thing (and thus, perhaps unrelated to a loose solder joint)??
3) Anything you want to add?!!
It's a '98 with 160,000... (but it does have air conditioning, which in our humble car state, makes it very personally valuable at this hot moment in d.c.)
Thank you muchly.
RIP
06-30-2007, 11:39 PM
First step, get it to crank/turnover. How? Disconnect the battery and charge it on a charger for 4/6 hours. If it won't take a charge, buy a new battery. Clean the battery connections shiny clean with a wire brush and check the ground connection from the battery on the frame. Make sure it's tight and not corroded. Wouldn't hurt to clean it anyway. At least back the nut off half a turn, rotate it back and forth, then retighten. Still won't crank? Come back here.
The clicking sounds you heard were probably relays reacting to low voltage from a weak battery.
The clicking sounds you heard were probably relays reacting to low voltage from a weak battery.
peterjon1
07-02-2007, 10:49 PM
Indeed it sounds like a weak battery. When did you have it changed? Batteries last on average about 5 years (though I did just change one for my neighbor, who still had the original MOPAR battery in their '98.)
tsyzer
07-03-2007, 01:14 PM
Oh my-that would be very good news! Thank you both very much. I'll do all that with the battery next week, and I'm not sure when the battery was replaced, but you are probably correct that it has not ever been.
I'll be back in a week or so. :) Thanks!
I'll be back in a week or so. :) Thanks!
webbch
07-06-2007, 04:58 PM
The last (and final) time the van quit, it immediately started a clicking noise from the key-entry/dash area
Just went through this myself. Went out to the van and it appeared to have a dead battery, so I jump start it. Drive into town, during which the entire dash flickers periodically and almost cuts out twice. I get home, turn it off, then try to start it again with no luck. No dash lights, and relays clicking at various frequencies depending on key position. I half-wondered if the ignition switch wasn't going out.
Being the smart feller that I am, and having done my research, I recognize this is probably due to some cold solder joints that these vans are notorious for. Only thing bothering me is that striking the instrument cluster doesn't change the behavior in the slightest. Oh well, I press on. I remove the instrument cluster and inspect, but can't find a single bad solder joint. Interestingly enough, the van exhibits the same behavior with the instrument cluster removed. So I remove the BCM and do the same inspection with no luck.
Finally it dawns on me that the relays might be clicking away due to a weak battery. Looking at the battery voltage when I try to reconnect the battery shows it going from 12.5 volts down to 7.5 volts or so with nothing turned on. So I reassemble everything and replace the battery. Problem solved. Battery drain with everything off is on the order of 80 mA, so I may still have a slight problem (manual says 5-25 mA is acceptable) somewhere, but it's not worth tracking down until it gets a bit worse).
Oh, and the old battery - It was right at 12.5 Volts, but I didn't have a load tester. So I put it on a charger overnight, and came back to 11.5 volts :D
Just went through this myself. Went out to the van and it appeared to have a dead battery, so I jump start it. Drive into town, during which the entire dash flickers periodically and almost cuts out twice. I get home, turn it off, then try to start it again with no luck. No dash lights, and relays clicking at various frequencies depending on key position. I half-wondered if the ignition switch wasn't going out.
Being the smart feller that I am, and having done my research, I recognize this is probably due to some cold solder joints that these vans are notorious for. Only thing bothering me is that striking the instrument cluster doesn't change the behavior in the slightest. Oh well, I press on. I remove the instrument cluster and inspect, but can't find a single bad solder joint. Interestingly enough, the van exhibits the same behavior with the instrument cluster removed. So I remove the BCM and do the same inspection with no luck.
Finally it dawns on me that the relays might be clicking away due to a weak battery. Looking at the battery voltage when I try to reconnect the battery shows it going from 12.5 volts down to 7.5 volts or so with nothing turned on. So I reassemble everything and replace the battery. Problem solved. Battery drain with everything off is on the order of 80 mA, so I may still have a slight problem (manual says 5-25 mA is acceptable) somewhere, but it's not worth tracking down until it gets a bit worse).
Oh, and the old battery - It was right at 12.5 Volts, but I didn't have a load tester. So I put it on a charger overnight, and came back to 11.5 volts :D
RickMN
07-06-2007, 11:28 PM
Computers and relays do nasty things when voltage goes below 9.6 volts.
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