1994 Chrysler Le Baron

TRACEYTAY2004

MEMBER
1994 CHRYSLER LE BARON
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
86,000 MILES

I bought this car from an older man and three days later the transmission went completely out on the interstate. When I got the car it had 5 fuses out one of which was the fuse that went to the rpm gauge. I am wondering what exactly happened and if the replaced fuses could have caused the problem, or if there is a possibility that the guy pulled the fuses on purpose to hide the problem. Mind you that it was driven on the interstate the day before it broke down but I could not see where it was shifting at because the rpm gauge did not work. Did I get played? Could it have been a computer thing?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,728 POSTS

What does "completely out" mean, the transmission fell out of the car? What exactly are the symptoms?

Replacing fuses will not cause a problem. They are safety valves for electricity that prevents damage to wiring when something else has a problem. Five blown fuses suggests the possibility someone jump-started the car or replaced the battery and hooked the cables up backwards. Which things didn't work on the car when the fuses were blown?

Did you mean the fuses were removed or blown? Removing fuses is one way to look for the cause of a drain on the battery. Is it possible the previous owner allowed the car to sit unused for long periods of time? If so, the battery is only expected to start the engine after sitting for three weeks. The memory circuits of the multiple computers drains the battery over time. There is one fuse that is supposed to be removed when the car will be in storage for extended periods, but most people aren't aware of its existance. It's called the IOD fuse, (ignition off draw). In some vehicles it's the air bag fuse or the interior lights fuse.

It's not likely you got ripped off if the car ran fine for three days. If the fuses were blown or missing when you first looked at the car, there should have been things that were not working. Did you question why there were so many inoperative things? Pulling fuses won't hide a problem, it will CAUSE symptoms.

Caradiodoc