2001 neon fuse problem

Sounds to me like a wire harness problem rubbing as the engine/trans is shifted, put a fuse in it and start the engine and do a wiggle test on the wire harness, see if you can blow the fuse yourself, if so, you should be able to locate it, I would start with the harness the runs near the transmission and the front motor mount. good luck

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

thanks Glenn...better suggestion than anybody has given me so far! I'll try it first thing in the morning, but I may need a little more insight on where exactly that harness is...up front like under the airfilter housing/behind the bumper? Thats where I think I see the PCM mounted....or is it further back like under the batt etc? Thanks a million!

-Chris

I'm in Dallas. are you saying the wiring harness behind the headLIGHT on the drivers side? like between the airfilter and the front frame?

The harness runs everywhere, just start with the obvious, the stretch points, the place that are near objects that could rub, things like that..... if the fuse blows as easy as you say it is you should be able to find it, look for frayed or rubbed places of the harness also

Fuse #10 protects the a/c compressor, the radiator fan relay, Antilock brake controller if equiped, the leak detection pump. fuel pump relay, the rear window defogger switch if so equiped,

I dont like to be swamped, I like to get home around 2pm, but yes we are staying busy, Pays the bills and the green fees

max n mic...thanks guys. I understand what you mean by the harness now...the mesh-and-plastic-and-tape wrapped bundle of wires running different places under the hood. I've visually traced it from the fuse box in the dash, through the firewall, and along most of it's paths...at least as far as I can get to it w/o having to remove/disassemble major components...and haven't seen any clear signs of wear or fraying, it all looks very good actually. I'll do a wiggle test along as much of the length of it as I can, with the engine running (can't believe I didn't think of that first), starting with the part along the back of the head, etc. I've been reluctant to cut open the outer wrapping on the harness, but I guess that may be the next step here. I do have a rear window defogger switch, btw...does the circuit for that protected by the fuse include the wiring all the way back to the rear window? (ie should I take a peek at that too?).

Thanks a bunch...and mic, I guess you're not close to dallas huh? bummer. either of you know any good non-dealer shops around here for

NON DEALER SHOPS?? And yes according to the schematic Im looking at that fuse protects the rear window defogger. Intermittent problems are hard to find especially in electrical diagnostics, that's why the shops are having a hard time finding it.

I would suspect more of a problem under the hood if it is a short.

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech "dealer shop"

lol no offense intended max...I'm just trying to exhaust every option. I know there's just as many good dealer shops as not, I've just been very frustrated with the service advisors handling of my situation. They have been very poor (at the 3 local delaers anyway) at listening to what I've been trying to explain. They seem to assume that they just need to hear the first 3 or 4 words I say rather than listening to my full explination of the problem and what I've tried to do to resolve it...they speend more time trying to sell me additional services than truly trying to understand what my particular issue is. I've explained exactly what fuse is blowing, what I've done to try to track it down, etc, and every one of them so far has managed to misunderstand some or all of it. Every time I drop my car off, they do nothing but drive it around for 2 days trying to get the fuse to blow, and refuse to even test any of the wiring or components on the circuit.

Anyway...didn't mean to create any bad blood...I know there's dealers who could/would handle this better, I just haven't found any in this area is all. I appreciate the help you've given me so far...as soon as it stops raining today I'll be under the hood wiggle-testing the entire length of the harness while the engine's running (....couldn't any of the dealers I took it to have at least tried that too?)

No bad blood here at all, And I understand.