'99 Intrepid trunk release problem

Hooray! I tracked the problem down to an open wire in the trunk wiring harness. It was open where the wire repeatedly bends when the lid is opened / closed. Spliced in a new wire and everything works fine.... the trunk even opens from the key fob remote! I must admit that I was starting to get a bit nervous about the BCM, especially after you (Greg) said that your dealer had to replace your BCM serveral times before they managed to fix the problem. I sure do appreciate the help from all you.

Reply to
Randy
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Congratulations!

I was actaully encouraged by Greg's post because the part about his BCM needing replacing was because the dealer screwed up in the troubelshooting and destroyed the original one - his original problem was a broken wire - apparently where yours was in the trunk area.

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

Reply to
Bill Putney

Good to hear! I'm not sure how my dealer managed to break two BCMs, but my guess is that they (or the bad wire) caused a short while probing the wires during troubleshooting, and the BCM is not forgiving of shorts. So they probably just weren't being careful. Dealers aren't always very forward with information about what actually happens to your car when you can't see it, but I kept asking questions since they suddenly needed to hang on to the car for a few days. I didn't mind this too much since they (actually I think it was my Chrysler service contract) paid for a rental car. I remember that they let me see my car to retrieve a few things and there may have been some panels open but I can't remember too many details---this was in Fall of 2000. They did say that it appeared to be a wiring flaw that originated at the factory. If the car hadn't been under warranty I wonder if I would have been charged for a BCM (or two).

It makes sense that the your problem would be where the wire is under the most stress since it didn't occur until the car was 6 years old. Where any other wires broken (3rd brake light etc). The alarm is apparently connected to something in the trunk lock but I'm not sure what it does (alerts if the trunk lock cylinder is removed?) I think it the trunk lock alarm is armed all the time and is unaffected by the status of the cabin alarm or the position of the trunk lid or lock.

Reply to
Greg Houston

While we're on the subject of bad wiring, my wife's VW has a left taillight assembly that is not working properly, probably because of corrosion at the multi-wire connector there. I can't separate the two halves of the connector for the life of me; it's corroded/frozen together pretty good. Do you guys have any suggestions? I don't want to pull so hard I hurt something (or me :)

Reply to
Greg Houston

You are correct, the alarm for the deck lid can only be actuated if the lock cylinder is punched out, once the ground wire to the cylinder looses ground it triggers the system

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

Reply to
maxpower

Most connectors have a small tab to locks the connector halves together to prevent them from coming apart. Assuming you looked at the connector closely and opened the tab, the next thing I would try is to shoot a little WD40 in each wire socket (hopefully getting some to work its way between each wire pin and socket). You may have to leave it setup for a day or two before the corrosion bond is loose enough to separate. After you separate them and clean the corrosion, use WD-40 to prevent them new corrosion from forming.

"> While we're on the subject of bad wiring, my wife's VW has a left

Reply to
Dennis

I have the same problem with my 2002 concorde. I have 12 volts at the connector in the trunk, but the unit does not activate.I believe I used to hear the BCM click ( a relay in it) when the trunk did work. The car is out of warranty, if the BCM is bad aprroximatly what does it cost in the US? Lloyd Levitt East Windsor New Jersey.

Reply to
Lloyd Levitt

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