Expert: Roland Finston - 7/14/2011

Question
Hey there i have a 2001 crylser neon it has been well cared for only recently serviced but the last 2 weeks the engine light has been coming on and off. The air bag light is doing the same. And the speedometer and revs and going from nothing to normal and back again on and off. What could be causing this? Is it serious?

Answer
Hi Sarah,
I would begin by looking into the electrical power supply to the instrument cluster. There is fuse 11 in the box located behind the left end cap of the dash. Take a look closely at that to see if there might be a subtle crack in its internal wire which is opening/closing the connection spontaneously. Change the fuse if that might be the case. Similarly check fuse 13 in the power box under the hood at the front left side corner. There is also a ground wire for the cluster that is under the dash and if that were loosely attached it could also cause the intermittency. It is black/orange and is attached to left side of the vertical panel you will see if you look under the dash from the driver side.
You can also verify whether you actually have an engine problem by turning the ignition switch: "on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less elapsed time. Then watch the odometer window to see the mileage reading change to show either 'done' or 1684 which would be normal. Let me know of any other numbers.
If you don't notice the engine itself to falter when the flashing on/off occurs, then I think this is purely an issue with the cluster power supply/ground.
Roland
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