1999 Plymouth Voyager SE 3.3L:Wire Harness Battery Acid/Transmission Overhaul

Hi All : I would appreciate any and all answers or comment regarding my issues

I've got a 1999Plymouth Voyager SE 3.3L, I initially took the van in for a transmission problem...Tranny guy said I needed to rebuild tranny because codes said some thing internal was wrong + it did not go into reverse. So I said OK...but the thing is I had tranny rebuilt 2 year prior and I only put less than 25K in miles since. While Tranny guy yanks out Transmission he says that there is major acid damage to the wire harness underneath the battery...He recommends me take it to his electrical guy for more specific diagnosis...So tranny guy completes his rebuild and says he puts 5 quarts of tranny fluid and does not connect battery until his guy looks at van. What I do is have my mobile electrical guy look at it cleans the outside of it and opens it up....he says wires look fine no internal damage to all the connections including the 2 wire harnesses and the other connectors going to the transmission...he says everything looks like it should be for a van this old. Wires look intact and pulling at the wire and pin show no signs of wire corrotion are powdered wire. He shows me the harnesses and connectors and they look like none of the acid has eaten away any of the wires. It just looks as though the acid has dripped on the outside of the harness...So the next thing I do is talk with the Tranny guy...Tranny guy insists on having his electrical guy look at van and says something about voiding the warranty he is giving me for tranny job he did if his guy does not look at...so i'm between a rock and a hard place....So I have the van towed to the Tranny guys electrical shop and he looks at it...he says major damage to harness... and it will need replacing....ouch....I don't know what to say or do... But I hold of on fixing.

I've spent $1800 for this tranny rebuild, 2 years ago $2300 for tranny rebuild. I'm expecting maybe another $1300 or $2000 for wire harness. I know the dealers don't sell just the connectors but the whole loom...so i'm looking at a very expensive fix.

If anyone could shed some light on how do identify if I need a new wire harness or if it is even worth putting more money into the harness...Do I junk the car or have the tranny guy top it off and I drive it home with no warranty?

Can Tranny guy void his warranty because of "ugly wire harness"?

I'm ready to tell the guy to top it off and I drive it.

Thank you in advance for any advise or comments.

Nick

Reply to
nnicolasjr
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My first thought is that you are being taken like Grant took Richmond.

Without a shot.

Bob AZ

Reply to
Ace

If it won't go ito reverse then you have a stripped gear or some such.

OK, so what happened is the previous rebuilder used cheapo Asian parts instead of the good quality Mopar parts, the cheap Asian junk wasn't up to snuff, and it broke.

Here's what you do.

Call a local wrecking yard and get a harness quote from them. The tranny guy is talking about the wiring harness that is going from the selonoid pack to the transmission computer. This is not a very long harness, it is true it has a lot of wires in it, though, but it really only has a big fat connector going from the transmission computer to a big fat connector going to the selonoid pack plus a few other connectors on it. You probably do have a lot of dripped down battery acid on it, but there is no reason that you need a brand new harness, a clean one from a wrecker will work just as well.

If I were the tranny guy I would probably recommend the harness to be replaced, because battery acid has a way of wicking all over the place. Cleaning it off is not really a solution, because all it takes it more water (rainwater or otherwise) to fall on the dried acid and it starts corroding the connectors again To really clean it properly you would need to take the harness off the car, unwrap the covering over the harness, immerse the entire harness in water and baking soda mixture, slosh it around really good, rinse it really good, use a heatgun and dry it really good, then use contact cleaner to clean all contacts, and rewrap it with a fresh wrap.

It was your fault, frankly, for not maintaining your battery, it wasn't the tranny guy's fault that acid got on the harness. And this trans proper operation is critical to having good solid electrical connectivity between the trans computer and the selonoid pack.

Your kind of between a rock and a hard place here. Your mobile electrical guy did confirm that you had acid on the harness, so if you decide to not replace the harness, and something happens, then you would need a sworn statement from the mobile wiring guy, and probably from some other auto electrical shop, that the harness wasn't damaged by the battery acid otherwise the tranny guy is going to try to get out of the warranty.

It is very likely of course that the tranny guy and his electrical guy are going to take your money and split it between themselves. I would under no circumstances pay to have the tranny guy's electrical guy do the work. Even if the tranny guy is completely on the level, and his electrical guy is also completely on the level, all your doing by letting them work on it is to encourage an environment for this kind of sweetheart kickbacks.

Legally, you gain nothing by having the tranny guy's electrical guy do the work UNLESS YOU PAY THE TRANNY GUY and he subcontracts the work out to his electrical guy. Why - because a year from now your tranny guy and his electrical guy could have a falling out, and if a problem happens you could bring it to your tranny guy and he could then claim the electrical guy botched the work.

If you pay the trannny guy then he is warrantying the entire job - not just the transmission part of the job. If you pay his friend for the wiring job, and him for the transmission job, and a problem happens, then the two of them could spend the next year sending you back and forth between them, blaming the other for the problem.

I would not leave it like this unless your willing to forgo a warranty - which is what it sounds like the tranny guy wants. Now, on the other hand, if your suspecting the tranny guy of being dishonest, then a warranty from a dishonest person is pretty worthless so nothing is lost by doing this.

What does your gut instinct tell you? I would suggest that if the tranny guy is being honest, that if you were to tell him your mobile electrical guy could have a wrecking yard harness swapped in there, that he would say fine, go with it. If the tranny guy starts protesting over this, then tell the tranny guy that your only willing to go with his electrical guy if the tranny guy warranties the entire job - transmission plus electrical work - and you only pay the tranny guy a set amount for the entire job and he pays his electrical guy out of that - and see what he says. If he says he won't do it this way, then tell him that your not willing to be caught between 2 different vendors, and if he isn't going to warranty his work then your going to go to the local district attorney and have a discussion about fraud and false advertising. If he will do this, then get a quote and if it's not too much, then do it. $1200 is definitely too much.

I suspect, though, that your tranny guy won't agree to this. If he really was interested in subbing the work out, he wouldn't have made you pay for a tow. That right there is already a big warning sign.

Keep in mind that if you do pay the tranny guy and he subs the work to his electrical guy, that his electrical guy will not know how much you have paid to the tranny guy, and it sets up a condition where the tranny guy gets more money if he can screw over his electrical guy (ie: get his electrical guy to do the job for cheap then overbill you) rather than a condition where both of them benefit by working together to screw you over. Nothing then would prevent you from later on comparing notes with the electrical guy to see if his tranny guy friend really did pass along everything he billed you. If you find a big discrepancy it might cause problems between the electrical guy and the tranny guy and thus you would have your revenge.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

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