jjeffri

I just yanked mine this past weekend. There was one wiring harness going to the starter. Out of that harness came a large wire, that should give power to the starter motor, it was actually bolted to a lug/stem for electrical contact. The second set of wires looked like 3 wires that went into a plastic connector that plugged into what I will assume is the starter solenoid. This harness should (I'm guessing here) be responsible for energizing the solenoid, which I believe engages a pin to allow current to flow through the main starter motor. I would think that the clicking you would hear would be this starter solenoid firing (and moving its pin), but since you don't get any action from the motor, maybe the motor part actually went kaput. I've heard you can hit it with a hammer to get it working again. I think the hammer thing works on the solenoid, not on the motor, so maybe that could troubleshoot your problem. It's not that hard to take out, it just takes time and you get dirty doing it. It's two bolts to remove (on a 1996), one wiring connector, one bolt to remove the power cable, and then 30 minutes (4WD) to get the little son-of-#### out from all the surrounding parts. Before you hit it with a hammer, I would recommend waiting for some of the veterans who really know what they're talking about

If nothing is wrong, or the light came on and the problem fixed itself, then the light will go out after some number of "driving cycles" I think this amounts to like 15 trips or so, but the actual definition of the "driving cycle" would best be proposed by one of the veterans. If you know it's OK and the light is just ticking you off, you can unplug your battery and that'll reset the ECU, of course, the ECU may need to retune some of its internal parameters after it's effectively rebooted. Best bet is to have someone read out the codes and see what the problem is, assuming you haven't done so already. You can actually buy a code-reader for reasonably cheap (say around $100) if you are finding that you need to check your indicator frequently. Good luck.

Switch on the dash doesn't light up, but it never has as long as I've owned the truck. I'll try to find some electrical connections to the compressor. I'm guessing that a wiring harness would extend back to the relay box on the driver side? I'm guessing that if I push the switch inside the cab, then the "green wire" would show 12V, correct? Where is the pressure switch? That sounds like something good to check also...I don't mind taking this into an A/C guy, but I'd like to have a better idea of what's wrong before a mechanic suggests that I replace every element of the A/C circuit. Thanks for the help.

I had the oil changed about 8 months ago and the technician at the lube joint said that I had sufficient charge of coolant. It hasn't worked for about a year now, but I'm getting tired of sweating while I sit in traffic.

Howdy folks, My air conditioner is not working on my 1996 Pathy. When I push the A/C button in the cab, nothing happens; in fact, the engine doesn't even respond and there is no "click" from when the A/C compressor clutch engages. To the best of my ability, I can't see the compressor clutch spring out to engage the shaft to the pulley. I've checked the fuses and relays, and they don't seem to be the culprits. Any other thoughts?

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I had an autoparts store check my battery, they said it was good; and, since I've heard so many folks suggest the starter as the problem, I just bought a remanufactured one from the store. I first pulled the old starter to avoid the $100 Core fee, then turned in the old one and picked up the new one. Cost near $160. I have a 1996 Pathy, and y'all were right, that's a bear to get out, found it above the oil pan on the passenger side. I finally unbolted it, which is hard enough given all the other stuff in the way, and then wrestled with it to get it out for about 15 minutes. Finally, it just kind of fell out, I had no idea what rotations and contortions I did, but it fell out, so yay. The new starter went in relatively easy and seems to work. I haven't had time to drive far enough to really get the engine warmed up, at least not to the degree that I was experiencing problems before. Again thanks for all of the help.

There is corrosion on the battery terminals, although I'm not sure what the temperature dependence of that would do to starting the engine. I suppose if the alternator is humming along just fine while the car is running the current can just overpower the corroded contacts. I may try cleaning off the battery. Haven't checked the starter. I think I have to get under the car to do all of that, and so far haven't had the time to borrow a buddies garage. Thanks for the suggestions.

Howdy All: It's been a while since I posted in here, mostly cause my Pathy has been doing pretty well for the past year. However, as the stars have aligned to give me car troubles, I am back to request help from the experts. The problem: I drove my Pathy down the freeway for about 1 hour. I parked, turned off the truck, and went inside for about an hour. When I came out to drive away, I couldn't start the truck. When turning the key to "Start," I simply heard a clicking sound (like a relay), but the starter didn't engage. I tried jumping the truck, but nothing, the same clicking noise was the only indication that the key was getting to "Start." I called AAA and the tow truck driver came out after about an hour (about 2 hours since the engine had last been running). He asked what it sounded like, so I stuck the key in the ignition and voila, the truck started; pretty embarrassing. I drove the truck home, another hour up the freeway, and when I stopped the truck, I turned off the engine. I tried to start it a few seconds later, and nothing, just the relay clicking sound. I've toyed with it enough to find out that it systematically doesn't start when the engine is "warm." It cold starts just fine, like in the morning or after sitting for a couple of hours. Any thoughts? Maybe a problem with the starter solenoid or starter itself? I suppose the transmission interlock could also be faulty, but I wouldn't expect it to be so temperature sensitive. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I got it, good luck with moving the Forum.

Well, I ordered the Equus Innova 3100 Code Reader (~$100 from Midway Auto Supply). It is not a bad little reader. I easily hooked it up and read the codes and then erased them. The codes that returned where Knock Sensor and EGR Flow problem. I will probably try to get the Check Engine light to return and run the codes again. I don't know why the EGR would cause sputtering and lack of power.

90seven-I have heard that you can sometimes rotate the belt to get it to stop squealing. I guess it has to do with any misalignments and glazing of one side over the other.

When the SES light comes on it won't go off again for a certain number of "driving cycles." I believe a driving cycle is defined as a cold start, warm up, and then operation at running temperature (or at least something to that effect). It takes something like 10-20 driving cycles without the PCM registering any errors before it will turn off the SES light. If you can get the codes read for free that would be a great idea. There are all kinds of little emissions sensors that can fail, break, or trip codes for some other reason. I would agree, as previously stated, that it might be the O2 sensor. Those things seem to be the first component to fail on a Pathy.

Tire underinflated? Tire crappy? I see no reason why there should be anymore load on the front tire causing cupping unless you added some weight up there, like a bumper.

It could be the fan or the fan clutch. The fan is attached to the waterpump, with luck that is your problem. Replacing/Fixing the fan would require significantly less effort than the waterpump. -J

As stated above...that is all there is to it. I use an old 7up bottle for storing the old fluid, but that is because I didn't have a glass jar. Make sure you get a length of tubing long enough to go from the bleed valve to your storage container, that stuff will eat your paint up so it is best to keep it very well contained. Save yourself the money, don't buy a kit; instead, buy a 6-pack of beer and split it with your buddy who helped you with this task, sit down, and watch some baseball. You might need a 12-pack if it is a SD Padre game.