Odd issues with my Trans sport AKA Venture

[phatmitsu]

I recently purhased a 98 Trans sport.. Its the same basic van as the ventures Its not the dust buter looking thing.. Anyways.. I have some odd issues I need a bit of help with..

First. My overhead info display goes out sometimes.. Its mainly when we get alot of rain. It will just not work for a day or two then its all fine.. I pulled the console down and everything looks good Connectors are clean. I dont see any water getting in anywhere.

Second.. Totally random issue.. I have traction control.. When Im driving the low traction light comes on. Can be hitting a bump, goign up a hill, drivign on flat roads, its pretty random.. However if its wet out the light will come on alot more then the tcs and abs lights will come on..

Third..The drivers side door unlock does not work.. The lock works.. The pass side locks/unlocks.. I tried a new switch but same thing..

Any suggestions would be awesome. I have another trip coming up pretty soon and would like it fixed by then.. Thanks Rick

[rdh2]

Originally Posted by phatmitsu

I recently purhased a 98 Trans sport.. Its the same basic van as the ventures Its not the dust buter looking thing.. Anyways.. I have some odd issues I need a bit of help with..

First. My overhead info display goes out sometimes.. Its mainly when we get alot of rain. It will just not work for a day or two then its all fine.. I pulled the console down and everything looks good Connectors are clean. I dont see any water getting in anywhere.

Second.. Totally random issue.. I have traction control.. When Im driving the low traction light comes on. Can be hitting a bump, goign up a hill, drivign on flat roads, its pretty random.. However if its wet out the light will come on alot more then the tcs and abs lights will come on..

Third..The drivers side door unlock does not work.. The lock works.. The pass side locks/unlocks.. I tried a new switch but same thing..

Any suggestions would be awesome. I have another trip coming up pretty soon and would like it fixed by then.. Thanks Rick

There is a connector under the passenger side carpet that can get wet and corrode. It has been known to cause almost all the problems you describe.

The TCS and ABS light issue sounds like a wheel speed sensor or harness. The speed sensor is part of the wheel bearing. Any noises from the wheels? You can check the integrity of the harness to each wheel sensor. The other option would be to have the codes read while the TCS and ABS lights are on.

[phatmitsu]

Killer Thanks for the advice. Ill check that connector tomorrow.. I tired autozone to have them scan the codes but they claim there scanner wont read the abs and traction control codes.. dont know if thats true or not but whatever.. I might end up having to pay a real shop to scan it..

['97ventureowner]

Autozone only scans engine codes, they don't have the capabilities to do others.
As for the overhead display, you say it happens a lot after you get a lot of rain. My instinct is that it is moisture is getting in there somehow and causing the issue. The van is 11 years old and it's likely that moisture is finding a way in. There have been reports of leaky windshield seals ,( I had an issue myself with water coming in under a heavy rain and pour out of the overhead panel, <not a display rather the ones with just the buttons>) Check the seal where the windshield meets the body for any signs of deterioration, and even rust. I've seen rust forming on top of the roofs in the vicinity of the windshield, even one of my Ventures had some there.
Possibly spraying WD40 on the wiring and connections might "dry" it up a bit and protect from further moisture issues.

[rockwood84]

a bead of polyethelyne where the windshield molding meets the body on the roof will stop water from getting in.i've seen some put silicone on but it won't stay long and peel off.water will short out the info display if not stopped.

[534BC]

Did you get any resolution with this issue? or check the connector under ther carpet?

Mine has started the dim display quite some time ago and now the driver's door lock button will not unlock (same as yours)

Thanks.

[gearhead514.2008]

Yeah, I have one of these vans. As far as the door locks, remove the front seats and pull back the carpet. Remove all of the black electrical tape around the bundle of wires across the entire floor under where the front seats used to be and up to the dash. If you look closely, you will see where the genius installers at GM crimped some wires together and covered them with a single piece of black duct tape. Locate every one of these and remove the duct tape. Fix the corroded ones and the ones that have already fallen apart when you tried to remove the tape. These are the ones causing your door locks and power windows not to work. On some vans, they will cause all the taillight bulbs to blink like a broken Christmas tree. Anyways, fix all of these and apply anti-corrosion gel and wrap it properly with heatshrink tubing or something waterproof. Your problems should go away and you will save yourself a lot of cussing later. Now for your ABS and TCS light, you will have to go to a brake shop and have your ABS computer scanned for codes which are different than your engine codes from your PCM. You probably have a bad wheel sensor. You will have to replace the hub assembly. Don't pay more than $180 for the part, otherwise you are gettting ripped off. If you can do it yourself, pay to find out which one it is and buy a Timken bearing from Autozone and swap it out.