I need HELP NOW !!!!

[V10Nationals.com]

i HAVE STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF the road and I can't get my Viper started. I think that the alarm might have been tripped off.If you can help right NOW please call me at 352 223 8332 and I will call you back so you dont have to pay toll charges.


Thank you everyone!!

Steve

 

[V10Nationals.com]

UPDATE...

The Viper was towed safely to my home and although it still does not start, we are at least safe and sound.

If any of you know the EXACT procedure to reset the alarm for a 95 RT/10 please reply. I will try this tomorrow. It is now 4:20 and I am going to bed!

Thank you in advance for your help

 

[Doug Supercharged Vipers]

Steve -

If you need, you may call me at my shop and I will walk you through the diagnostic procedure.

Best of Luck,
Doug Levin

 

[99 Sidewinder]

I had my 99 stall out while driving about 25 MPH. The car just died. It would then turn over but would make no attempt to fire. I had the car towed to the dealer and it ended up being a bad crank sensor. Good luck.

 

[getbit]

Same thing happened to me with my 1999 GTS. Bad fuel pump!

 

[V10Nationals.com]

Hello everyone,

Well, Chuck Tator help me out yesterday afternoon and with his guidance I found a blown fusible link. THANK YOU SO MUCH Chuck!!

I replaced the fusible link, which it was quite a pain and I was excited to try to get the car started. However, when I turned the ignition on before attempting to start the car all the instrument lights started blinking and I also heard a loud clicking noise.

I immediately turned the ignition switch off and I check the fusible link. It was quite warm but it had not blown.

I got a wiring map from the dealership and it looks that the fusible link connects to a red and white wire that leads to the “ASD RELAY” located at the “Right Toe Box” (the right side of the engine near the windshield) and eventually connects to the fuel pump relay.

So, I am thinking that the “ASD RELAY” or the fuel pump relay might be bad. If I can find out where they are and disconnect them I could turn the ignition on and see if the problems goes away.

Does anyone know where those relays are? Does anyone have any suggestions? Does anyone know where the fuel pump itself is?

I would be asking my Viper tech all these questions but he is out of town for Viper Days.

Thank you all for listening.

 

[V10Nationals.com]

I called the local dealership to see if they carry a replacement fuel pump relay and they said that they would need to order it. I also learned that the fuel pump is in the tank (daah).

So, no more attempts to fix this problem by myself. I will try to forget about it until Monday or Tuesday when my Viper tech will be back in town.

What ***** is that I would most likely have to have it towed again.

Oh well, I guess snakes get sick too

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Keep us updated on this. I'm curious to see what the problem is.

 

[V10Nationals.com]

Well, with Chuck’s HELP again I was able to slowly eliminate various components of the electrical system.

After several steps in the process of elimination, I narrowed down to the wiring around the engine. After close inspection of all the wires, I found one wire that leads on one of the cylinders had a very small section that was stripped. The wire was not touching any metal so I didn’t think that it should be the problem. Of course, I repaired it with some electrical and cloth tape.

I reconnected the wire harness to the engine and tried the ignition switch again. Every thing looked and sounded normal. I anxiously removed all the tools from the top and around the engine and I prepared to fire the engine up…it started right up!!!!

Now here is what bothers my mind. Was the very small section of the exposed wire that was causing the problem or was something wrong in the connection of the wire harness to the engine wires? That connector has 2 rubber seals and they were both broke and cracked but still in place. Could have been some sand in there that was causing the fusible link to blow?

The next concern is that now the car is struggling to maintain its idle. When I step on the gas in neutral and then I let go, the RPMS go to 0 and the almost stalls. If I turn the A/C one the RPM needle keeps moving between 0 and 1. If I tried to give it gas and then let it go it stalls. I made sure that the engine is warm so a cold engine is not the problem.

Here are some ideas of what might be causing that problem:

1) Since as part of my troubleshooting was to disconnect the battery (what a pain that was!!) maybe the computer module needs to be remapped/tuned. I have installed smooth tubes and S&B filters and I also have a cat-back system.

2) The battery is weak since when I first broke down I tried several times to start it. The battery meter on the console shows that there are about 16 volts or more so I am not sure about this. I am afraid to drive it so the battery can get charged until I know that everything is OK. I have a trickle charger but I don’t want to have to take the tire off again. Could I connect the charger to the jumper post without burning up the computer?

Anyway, thank you all for listening and THANK YOU CHUCK of all your help. If any of you leave near Chuck you own it to yourself to take your Viper to him for service. He also passes discounts on all the prices on mopar parts to the Viper owners. I ordered a new dashboard myself since he had one in stock and he confirmed that it does not peel like my original does.

If you know the answers to my questions above please post a reply.

 

[Mike Brunton]

Steve,

I can tell you my '98 GTS had a battery that was failing and it would act the EXACT same way yours would. It would idle erratically and when I pushed the gas in, it would usually stall. I had to "coax" the RPM's up, and it would often stall. My battery guage read fine, but the battery itself was dying.

I talked to my dealer and they told me that I COULD connect a charger to the terminals under the hood rather than removing the wheel.. but this was on a GTS so it could be different I guess.

 

[Viper Wizard]

Steve,
You are Welcome, it's my pleasure! If I can get someone up and runing 1200 miles away, that makes me happy!

Yes you can hook up your trickle charger to the jump start points.

As for you Idle: Go take a drive!

It will get better!

 

[V10Nationals.com]

Awesome!!

Thank you for your replies Mike and Chuck!

I am worrying less and less by the minute! Only if I knew what caused the problem to begin with.

Chuck, do you think that the small bare area of the green/orange wire by the headers connected to one of the cylinders could cause the problem even if it wasn’t touching anything?

I am afraid that I might have just moved some faulty wire and the problem will re-appear the next time I take the car out.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Sounds like my battery might be starting to go. Occasionally lately, it has needed a throttle bump to bring the idle back up. It's a 98 with 45K and the stock battery.

Since we're on the subject, and it's been a year or so since asked, is everyone still recommending the Optima? Or is there a new battery that fits better?

 

[motor602]

i sometimes have the same problem chuck. the idle will drop to about 100 rpms but with a good rev they will return to normal. the car is an 01 RT with 3400 miles on it. The battery did drain once ( cuz i left the lights on

, but i jumped it and everything seemed to be fine, but now i occasionally need that throttle bump. could my battery be dying so early?

 

[V10Nationals.com]

Well,

I just came back from an hour ride and everything went well!!

Still not sure what the problem was. I am now thinking that some moister and/or sand could have entered the big plug on the right toe box of the car (right by the gills). I remember not being too careful when I wash it the day before and I also found quite a bit of sand on top and near the plug when I was troubleshooting the problem.

I am just thankful that with Chuck Tator’s help I was able to fix the problem. Without Chuck I would have had to tow the car and who knows how much I would have had to pay for the mechanic to find the problem.

Once again thank you Chuck. Also thank you to all of you for your input and thank you Doug Levin for offering your time to help me out (I called you first but I got an answering machine…then I called Chuck).

Now I am ready for the next ride with the Jax Vipers since I missed the one yesterday. Hey I even got a new dashboard from the whole deal.

I tell you, the Viper community is like a big family!! Who would have thought that by buying the most thrilling and excited car in the world would even going to make you a member of such a nice family?

Thank you all,

 

[Mike Brunton]

Steve,

As for what happened, if that wire was partially stripped, it could have been grounding out and draining your battery. The Viper acts just like you mentioned when the battery starts to go - and it seems the alternator can't really recharge it.

Obviously Chuck knows WAY more than I do about this, but if you're looking for why this happened in the first place, that would be my guess.

When the computer is 'reset' it does take a while to idle smoothly. Also, if your battery isn't at 100%, it will idle a bit on the jumpy side. Monitor this over the next few weeks... if it starts to do it again, put it on the charger over night. if it fixes it, it was your battery.

I noticed I got less and less time out of my battery. At first it was like 2-3 months before it would do this... then it was a few weeks, then a few days. Finally it would happen every time I started the car - it was the battery slowly dying and holding less and less of a charge. When they took off the battery box, there was white crusty battery goo everywhere.

 

[genXgts]

yikes, I'm on the original battery on a 97, time for a new one maybe? a little preventive maintainence?

took it out and cleaned up the area, everything looked good so back in it went with a full charge.

 

[Steve Miehe]

Chuck:

Is the stock battery in your '98, the original battery? If so, sounds like you have gotten GREAT service out of it! Just curious......

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Steve Miehe:

Is the stock battery in your '98, the original battery?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yup. That's why I'm starting to get concerned.