1998 Intrepid gauges went blank, now wont start

The saga continues: Well, all bets are off. It started this morning and after two seconds, it died. Tried 3 more times and once again wont even crank (sound familiar). Don't know if this all points to one "sure fire" thing, but here I sit, back to needing a tow just to get it to the dealer. Just for ha-has, I stayed in the car, locked it, shut the door, then opened it from inside. The alarm (car horn) started to sound. This is normal for this car since we've owned it, dont know if thats how a "factory" alarm system is supposed to work. I just tried that to see if that wouldnt work, maybe further pointing to a faulty "skim" module. I await any further input or tests, from you guys, but getting tired of "bothering" you about it as well. Perhaps we've exhausted the possibilities of "long distance" troubleshooting. Will keep you posted to the outcome of all this, even it's the proverbial bullet to end it's misery. Thanks

That's how my wife's 2001 Sebring factory alarm works.

-Thief breaks window, reaches in and opens the door, alarm then goes off.

This Sebring has the chip in key, but a key copy without the chip can open the door from the outside with no alarm sounding. When the non chip key copy is used to start the car, it only runs for a few seconds.

This car is a 1998 Intrepid ES (2nd generation LH), so the "key trick" (turn key from off to on 3 times in quick succession WITHOUT starting engine) will not cause the check engine light to flash, as it did for earlier vehicles. 1998+ LH cars have the key trick, but they will display check engine codes in the odometer display. Unfortunately, not all codes will be displayed, just major ones, and certainly no codes from other modules. If there are no codes to display, nothing will show up in the odometer display.

Also, the Sentry Key Immobilizer Module (SKIM) was a new feature for LH cars for the 1999 model year, so a 1998 LH car should not have this feature. The illuminated check engine light implies that it probably wouldn't be a SKIM issue anyway.

Greg Houston

I don't think this car would have the SKIM (Sentry Key Immobilizer Module) system, as it is a 1998 Intrepid. Chrysler added the SKIM option for the 1999 model year, it was not previously available for LH vehicles.

what month in 98 is on the door Vin tag?

Neither my '98 nor '99 Concordes have SKIM, a fact that I am very thankful for.

From what I read on the LH car forums, SKIM is proof that technology can be a blessing or a curse. It makes DIY'ers more reliant on the dealer to do the simplest diagnostic and repair tasks at great expense, and impedes or eliminates being able to swap very inexpensive modules from salvage yards that otherwise would be perfectly interchangeable.

IMO, the benefits of things like SKIM are far outweighed by the costs and troubles they cause. I would even submit that many cars go to the junk yard early because people simply can't afford the greatly inflated costs of troubleshooting and repair of systems that otherwise could be fixed very inexpensively by the DIY'er.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

yeah technology is a fickle lady...sometimes its great, but it can really bite you at times.

and its made a lot of guys lazy these days too. no real troubleshooting skills from some guys I talk to!

from salvage yards that otherwise would be perfectly interchangeable.

Yeah, like a power steering cooler!