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Question: 1994 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 85,000.  The gauges have been working on and off for about three months. The dealer's mechanics have not been able to find the problem as the car is in the shop for the third time. The problem seems to get worse over time. If I pull the battery cable, and replace after a couple hours, the problem will go away for a while. I have even seen the gauges pegged when started, and come to life after about ten seconds. They have replaced the module on the transmission and they think it may be another. At about $160/parts per try, I am getting desperate. The problem will occur when the car is cold or hot, sometimes the ignition has to be turned on and off for over twenty cycles before the gauges will work. The air bag light will also come on whether the gauges work or not.

Answer: Intermittent electrical problems are the most difficult to find. Your gauges have circuit boards with hundreds of solder joints. If there is just one joint that has moved and cracked the solder, it could cause the problem you described. In addition, an improper ground connection anywhere in the system could be the culprit. We wish we could help you more.

Follow-up: Well, the dealer's mechanic finally found the ground problem. It was a wire in the ignition harness. At least that was what they told me. The ignition and wiring was replaced, $400 and the car is running great. It took them a while but they found it. Hope this helps others out there, I feel this problem is very wide spread. Thanks!

Question: 1994 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 100,000. When I start the car the gauges; gas, odometer stay pegged below empty or zero. As I drive, the transmission doesn't shift out of starting gear (automatic transmission) and suddenly the car jerks a bit and the dash lights blink and the gauges start to work and the transmission shifts. It is an intermittent problem mostly when the car is cold. I took it to a Dodge dealer and they said it would be very costly to determine. My husband, a mechanic, thinks it has to do with the computers not talking nicely. Any ideas? If it's process of elimination, where should we start? The air bag light sometimes stays on if there's a connection.

Answer: The electrical system is the culprit. With a voltmeter, start checking the main power wires that feed various components. Somewhere along the line, you may lose voltage due to a bad connection. Do the same thing with ground wires. Of course, when you find the wire that has either a drop in voltage or no voltage you have solved your problem.

Question: 1999 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 93,461. My car jerks two to three times when just about coming to a stop. This is intermittent and only happens when slowly stopping and is sometimes very pronounced.  It feels like the transmission incorrectly shifting but dealer says there is nothing wrong. It is worse when car has been driven for longer periods of time. What can be the problem? No codes indicating transmission problem.

Answer: Your car has a lock-up torque converter in the transmission. It locks-up only in high gear. It is supposed to disengage at lower speeds. Yours is not disengaging. There is probably a valve in the transmission “hanging up”. The valve body will have to be removed and cleaned paying special attention to the TCC solenoid. The TCC solenoid may have to be replaced.

Question: 1995 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 86,000. I have reason to believe that I need to replace my Crank Sensor. How do I locate this under the hood?

Answer: The crank sensor is located on the passenger side of the engine towards the bottom. It reads off the flywheel.

Question: 1994 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 58,000. The problem is front wheel vibration, normally while braking. The discs and pads have been replaced and also the left hand tie rod, which had a defective bush at the steering rack, end. Any other ideas, what else can cause this?

Answer: It sounds like the brake rotors may be causing your problem. Try re-machining them. Also, do not over tighten the lug nuts.

Question: 1997 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 70,000. My car is overheating. I already changed out the thermostat but it is still overheating. Checked the tension of the belt and seemed to be ok. Fluid levels are ok to. I am running out of options. Any ideas?

Answer: A partially plugged radiator may be causing your problem. You can have the radiator “boiled” out at a radiator service center or buy a brand new radiator for about the same cost.

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Question: 1997 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 72,000. This is my girlfriend’s car. She recently broke down and we took it to the Chrysler dealer who informed her that the camshaft was cracked and that it had to be replaced, fortunately, she had the extended warranty. My question is, is this a regular thing and what do you think could have caused this? Also, are there any other surprises that we should be aware of.

Answer: Your camshaft may have been defective. We have not heard of any other problems like yours. With regular maintenance, it should be a dependable car.

Question: 1996 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 75,000. When I changed my spark plug wires and spark plugs there was oil covering two of the spark plugs. Could you please tell me what is wrong?

Answer: The valve cover gaskets may be leaking oil onto the plug wires and spark plugs.

Question: 1993 Dodge Intrepid 3.5 mileage: 115,000.  The engine dies at any speed. Most times is hard to restart but at times will restart by itself while coasting to stop. Both computers and cam sensor and coil replaced, did not fix the problem. The engine dies cold, hot, and in-between. The dealer checked these things and others including ignition switch and wiring. Water pump and timing belt and battery replaced.

Answer: Your stalling problem may be cause by the fuel pump. Replacing it and the fuel filter should fix your problem.

Question: 1997 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 54,000. I have a hissing noise coming from the dash area and the air conditioning and heater are not working properly. The dealership put some dye into the a/c system and told me to bring the car back in a week. For $15.00 worth of dye, it cost me $88.50 for labor. In addition, they put two units of R134 refrigerant in the system for an additional $45.00. My question is this, does the dye need to stay in for a week and why put more refrigerant in the system if it’s leaking anyway?

Answer: There is a method to their madness. The air condition system must be charged with Freon and the dye to find the leak. Think of it a putting air in a flat tire to find a leak. They want to wait a week so the dye can escape and stain the problem area.

Question: I have a 1995 Dodge Intrepid. The car runs great when it cranks. I have replaced the ignition coil and plug wires, but every now and then, the car will quit running while driving down the road or won't crank! If I wait a little while it cranks (sometimes waiting for five minutes or up to two hours). I don't believe it's starving for gas because the tank is full and when it runs, it runs great! I had a friend who is a mechanic and he put some type of equipment on the car, which would show any error codes. It showed nothing! Is there anything you can recommend checking?

Answer: The intermittent problems you described are hard to diagnose. If possible, the car should be checked when the problem is present. When your car stalls, check for spark at the spark plugs, to isolate trouble in the ignition system. Next, test the fuel pressure to eliminate fuel pump and pump relay problems. You said you replaced the ignition coil; you should replace the ignition module and the crank angle sensor as well.

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