BrownSugar

Hi,
 
Have you changed the engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT)? You say that once warm it starts up fine.
 
I was having the opposite problem... started fine when cold, then when hot it wouldn't fire up, just turned over and over.
 
The ECT tells the Engine Management Unit whether the engine is hot or cold, then the EMU decides whether to go into cold start or hot start mode. If the ECT is knackered it will be giving the wrong information... it's like starting an old car without using the choke when cold... or using the choke when it's hot.
 
The Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) sensor is quite cheap, available from your local parts store, and is an easy swap (ten minutes). See if it works... it did for me.
 
Open the hood, remove the plastic cover and the sensor is on the top of the right bank about half way down... see pic below.
 

Update time, if anyone is interested   
At cold start (now on warmer days), voltage has again started fluctuating up & down & there is now a sqeaking noise that sounds like it's coming from the alternator. After a couple of minutes, the noise goes away & voltage stabilizes.
So it's not the brushes or any weak electrical link, it's obviously the alternator bearings......so new alternator it is then

Let me know how it goes. As I said, without access to the old fashioned ramp with shaker plates I would never have tracked the issue down. The faulty one was on the passenger side and when under pressure, on a standard hoist, everything was tight so the pry bar was useless as all bushes appeared good with no movement. These new lifts may save space but they don't meet all of the needs and so stuff slips through the net. I had stripped the entire front suspension out and replaced everything that looked iffy and as I told you had drilled, taped and die'd, fitted grease nipples replaced rubber for poly and still that knock persisted. Now had three years or so with no knocks of any kind. I have to offer a word of caution regarding fitting 22 inch rims, you may introduce further knock problems! Not confident that the off the shelf parts fitted to the car are up to the extra weight involved ! Be lucky..  

New Moog drop links were ordered last night, awaiting delivery. I put Moog polyurethane bushes on the anti roll bar last summer.
 
Hope you get your beast sorted. Everything can be fixed, it just takes time and money.
 
Stay safe mate.

Go to ebay and put "000 905 61 02" in the search. There's hundreds on there.

Hi,
 
That main dealer price for the ECT is daylight robbery. I ordered mine from my local parts store in Stevenage and it was less than five quid.
 
It's an easy swap... no need to disconnect the battery! It is in a slightly awkward place but no issues. Just be careful with the wiring... don't twist or stretch and pull.
 
Don't drain the coolant either.
 
When you find the sensor you will see it's held in place with an elongated circlip. Use a flat end screwdriver to release the circlip... careful you don't drop it. The sensor then pulls out. Disconnect it from the wiring and replace with the new one. The only fiddly bit is getting the circlip back on, just don't drop it.
 
For info NEVER disconnect the battery on these cars unless you absolutely have to. The result is loads of warning lights on the dash needing a diagnostic computer to reset them. There are lots of posts on this forum where people have had problems due to flat batteries or replacing old for new.
 
 

Good shout Brown Sugar, wish I'd thought of it when my starting troubles began. Now have one on order, just in case, you can never be underprepared. 

Hi,
 
Have you changed the engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT)? You say that once warm it starts up fine.
 
I was having the opposite problem... started fine when cold, then when hot it wouldn't fire up, just turned over and over.
 
The ECT tells the Engine Management Unit whether the engine is hot or cold, then the EMU decides whether to go into cold start or hot start mode. If the ECT is knackered it will be giving the wrong information... it's like starting an old car without using the choke when cold... or using the choke when it's hot.
 
The Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) sensor is quite cheap, available from your local parts store, and is an easy swap (ten minutes). See if it works... it did for me.
 
Open the hood, remove the plastic cover and the sensor is on the top of the right bank about half way down... see pic below.
 

Right.
 
What a muppet. Looked up codes and it was pointing towards a leaking air intake so today I took a good look at the T pipe mod. It turns out it was fine but I tweaked it anyway.
The problem was when I did that I replaced the O rings in the intercooler pipe. The big U shaped clip that holds it tight to the resonator hadn’t engaged so it had popped off slightly.
 
Fitted everything back together and double checked.
Took out for a spin and all is well

Hi, I got the vinyl off Ebay, mentioned earlier on in this thread.

Well, I bottled out of any more soldering as its costed me two boards already.
 
I thought about sending my controls upto the 300c custom shop who do a refurb for a decent price.
 
But I came across a brand new heater control unit on an auction site which was cheaper than a second hand unit!
 
Issue I had with it, it was from China and it was cheaper than a 2nd hand unit.
 
In the end I chanced it and it arrived and I fitted it to the car and now all the lights work and the air direction goes to the area of the car I want it to......happy days

i Had same issue a few years ago with the three Lights because they stopped my sat nav from working too. Code reader pointed to the off side rear wheel sensor. Changed sensor but still no better. Same code pointing to that sensor. Changed sensor again but same code. Changed both reluctor rings on rear, same code. 
Decided enough was enough. Took car to the local main dealer and they found a broken wire that feeds the sensor just under the carpet in the boot. Fixed wire and been perfect since.
 
Just thought I'd mention it.

Mate that's mental.
 
Now that it's sorted why don't you put your new stereo back in and see if it's still okay?
 
My battery died a few months back. When I fitted a new one I had loads of lights up on the dash and the MyGig went completely awol, I had to replace it with a Sony.
 
Well done for fixing it though and especially for posting the cure. I'm sh*t scared of going anywhere near that damn battery on this car.

Wow... that flat battery has caused you some problems mate.

 

Never heard of that problem (thankfully) and sorry I have no knowledge of Scottish mechanics. However, some time ago Briscoe76 put the below tip on these forums. I followed his instructions and it has solved several electrical gremlins for me. I used to have the speedo needle waving about wildly, indicators would sometimes miss a flash, the alarm would set itself off and the parking sensors would bleep randomly, but since following his tip they have not re-occurred... fingers crossed, don't want to tempt fate.

 

Definately worth a try.

 

Briscoe76's tip:

 

Hi, did you get this problem sorted at all?

 

If you didn't, then its an easy fix. Open the bonnet and, and find the washer bottle. Next to that, bolted to the drivers side wing, you will find a black box. Unplug the box, and hey presto, the fault will vanish. It will also cure a few other faults, such as indicators that miss a click, rear wipers wiping on their own, reversing sensors firing up when your driving forward.

 

The box is the HID translator module. All it does is let the ECU know when a headlight bulbs blows. If you can live without that function then you can cure all the rest!! The HID module develops a fault, and effects lots of other things down the line.

Definitely buy it mate.
 
Get rid of that granddad Rover 75 that's costing you money. When was the last time a ten year old kid turned his head at that old thing? Go on, treat yourself to the 300c, you'll be the boss cruising in that and you'll have to get used to the attention it gets.
 
Now, I'm not gonna tell you it's super reliable. But you're throwing cash at that old 75. Get rid and spend the cash on the 300c. You say it's up for less than three grand? That's no money mate.
 
But don't buy the first car you see. There are plenty around, a quick internet search will bring up loads. In my opinion, a 300c has to have 20 inch alloys at least, 22s would be better. 18s look too small on such a big car.
 
Treat yourself Jamie, you owe it to yourself.
 
Dooo it, dooo it, dooo it

JAYCE...
 
Have a look at the topic called "Abs/esp Lights On After Dead Battery Swap" - similar problems are being discussed on there.
 
You'll probably have to get it on a diagnostic computer and get the error codes deleted.

It's a nightmare, it took me less than a minute to disconnect and remove the old battery and then connect up the new one.
 
Next time I change the battery I'm gonna get a second one, wire it up to the terminals so that when I disconnect the battery the car still has power. The canbus obviously doesn't like being starved of power even for a few seconds.
 
Gadge... you're gonna have to take it to a friendly mechanic and get a code reader attached to clear the error codes mate.

Hopefully this will be of some use to someone if the same happens, which sadly I believe it a common thing .
 
I've had the resistor in place for a week now, and its been working perfectly. About 300 miles covered faultlessly. It was playing on my mind about the whole thing being held together with electrical tape, so I decided to buy the ready made part from the chaps at www.custom300cshop.co.uk
 
Its the second time Ive used them, and they are really helpful, with fast deliveries.
 
The part I ordered was the swirl flap emulator
 
http://www.custom300cshop.co.uk/chrysler300c_swirlportemulator.html
 
Its basically a resistor fitted into a purpose made, and very high quality plastic casing, which fits perfectly into the swirl flap plug. This should take the worry out of the electrical tape melting or degrading over time. It was £40, which some may say is a lot for a bit of plastic, however the fact that they have had these specially made, they fit perfectly, and they are a damn sight cheaper than a new swirl flap motor, I think its good value for money.
 
Pictures below if you fancy a look.
 
Cheers
 
Matt.

Afternoon all.
 
I thought I would share a bit of a story that happened to me this weekend, in the hope that it will help some others if the same thing happens to them.
 
The model it concerns is any 300C with the Mercedes 3 litre V6 diesel. I'm guessing the newer models with the VM diesel will be totally different.
 
So there we are, on the way to Wakefield from Essex where we live, merrily trotting along the motorway. All of a sudden the dashboard starts to chime repeatedly (as if i've left the headlights on and got out), the engine cuts out completely, and on the dashboard are the engine management light, and the red lightening bolt, with a reverse bracket either side (see attached photo).
 
We coast to a stop onto the hard shoulder, and i try to restart the car. It turns over and over, but refuses to fire up.
 
The missus gets on the phone to the RAC, and we're told there's roughly a two hour wait, so this gives me a bit of time to do some Googling before the patrol arrives.
 
Now then, if you refer to the handbook, it clearly states (even in the diesel supplement) that the lightening bolt light indicates there is a fault with the "Electronic Throttle Control". This is utter nonsense. As it turns out, on the diesel models only, this light refers to a fault with either the Swirl Flap Motor, or the Turbo Actuator. Annoyingly this isnt listed in any of the handbooks that come with the car. Poor show Chrysler!
 
Whenever you turn the ignition on in the car, you can see the arm of the turbo actuator raise up. So if this is the problem, then its very easy to diagnose. I tried this little test, and sure enough, the turbo actuator arm wasn't popping up when my wife turned the ignition on, so naturally I thought this was the problem. Sadly I was wrong.
 
What had happened to my car was this....
 
Over time, the seal around the air intake on the front of the turbo degrades. This allows a small amount of oil to drip onto the swirl flap motor, which is situated directly below. (very poor design). This oil had eventually seeped inside the motor, causing it to short out. This short had instantly popped fuse number 15 under the bonnet, which in turn had caused the engine to shut down while doing 70mph to protect itself. I didn't have the handbook in the car with me sadly, so searching on the internet just have me fuse diagrams of the petrol models, which on those shows its for the injectors. Again as it turns out, fuse 15 in the front fuse box does completely different things on the diesel models. It protects the following.... A/C Clutch, A/C Pressure regulator, Crankcase Vent Heater, EGR Valve, Engine Control Module, Fuel Pump, Glow Plug Module, Swirl Flap Motor, Oxygen sensors..
 
So I replaced the blown fuse with a spare 20 amp, and the car fired straight up. It was now in limp mode, and showing the EML and Lightening light, but it was drive-able up to about 80 mph, albeit a bit slow getting there.
 
By this time, the RAC man had arrived. Now there is nothing worse that someone interfering when a pro is at work, so when he arrived, I left him to it, and he plugged the diagnostics in, and it threw up a ton of errors all related to things connected to this fuse. All except the swirl flap motor. He was a bit confused at first, but then I mentioned that I think it might be the swirl flap motor. He hooked up all his testing gear to it, ran a load of tests, and sure enough confirmed to me that the motor was dead.
 
He then cleared the ECU codes, started the car, and only then did it throw up a specific Swirl Flap related error.
 
HE gave me some spare fuses, and after a quick road test, we were on our merry way albeit in limp mode.
 
Now to fixing it.
 
The cheapest place I could find to supply and fit a new motor quoted £575 plus VAT. The motor is just over £100, but the labour involved is a joke. Anything that is situated inside the VEE of the engine (Swirl Flap Motor, Oil Cooler) etc needs major open heart surgery to fix it. Annoyingly both the motor and the cooler seals have known faults, so they couldn't be in a worse place!
 
If you fancy forking out all that money to have the motor replaced, then that is no doubt the best way in the long run, however there is a quick fix for £1.99 and YES it does work perfectly.
 
Get yourself some 4K7 resistors off of ebay, they are £1.99 for 50. Remove the engine cover, then remove the intake pipe that runs from the airbox to the front of the turbo. Right below the turbo, you will see a black box. This is the offending motor. On the right of the motor is a multi plug held in with a grey clip. Remove the metal bracket above the plug, and pop the plug off.
 
Grab a resistor, and bend the legs in such a way that they will fit snugly into the two centre holes in the plug. Theres 4 in total. Once you have put the resistor in, and you can confirm its in there properly. Tape it up with electrical tape so the resistor wont fall out. Replace the metal bracket, and the air intake pipe, leaving the plug sticking up so you can get to it again in the future if you need to. Then start up the car, and stand back in amazement as both the engine management light and the lightening bolt lights extinguish, and the car comes back out of limp mode.
 
Take the car for a drive, and you will see that it drives as good as new.
 
What you have done here, is fool the car into thinking the swirl flap motor is working again. WHen in fact its now disconnected.
 
You shouldnt notice any difference in performance or fuel economy at all. The emissions may be up slightly when cold is all.
 
So to summarise, if your car cuts out with the lightening bolt on.
 
1) Coast to a stop
2) Curse, swear, have a fag, but don't despair
3) Check fuse 15 in the front fuse box, and replace
4) Start the car and drive home in limp mode - The car will do upto 80mph
5) Order your resistors from Ebay, making sure they are the 4K7 type
6) Still use your car while you are waiting for them to be delivered, remembering that it wont pull away as quick as usual
7) Fit the resistor at the weekend in the rain
8) Stand back, chest puffed out, hands on hips, telling the neighbours you've just saved almost 700 quid :-)
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sadly I think that's the case.
 
Don't want to teach you to suck eggs, but earth yourself before touching the board. Also, how big is your soldering iron? I also had to replace those lights so I bought a soldering iron with a very fine end. You don't want to get that solder anywhere other than where it should be.
 
But what a ridiculous set up those lights are! Every other car I've had the instrument lights that either screw in or are bayonet fittings. Having to get solder out is just stupid.   

Was it all working fine before you took it apart? If so then it has to be your soldering fix mate. Those circuits boards are very delicate things. Static electricity from your fingers, too much heat can fry the chips.
 
Your best bet now is to buy a second hand heater control on ebay. Try these boys https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/chryslerfennsbay
 
 

Definitely buy it mate.
 
Get rid of that granddad Rover 75 that's costing you money. When was the last time a ten year old kid turned his head at that old thing? Go on, treat yourself to the 300c, you'll be the boss cruising in that and you'll have to get used to the attention it gets.
 
Now, I'm not gonna tell you it's super reliable. But you're throwing cash at that old 75. Get rid and spend the cash on the 300c. You say it's up for less than three grand? That's no money mate.
 
But don't buy the first car you see. There are plenty around, a quick internet search will bring up loads. In my opinion, a 300c has to have 20 inch alloys at least, 22s would be better. 18s look too small on such a big car.
 
Treat yourself Jamie, you owe it to yourself.
 
Dooo it, dooo it, dooo it

Sorted, I checked the circuit board inside the heater control panel and it was damaged, sourced a second hand unit and hey presto all the lights gave come back on,

Google is a wonderful thing:
 
http://www.autorepaircentre.com/garage-services/Chrysler-Repairs-Newcastle_upon_Tyne.html
 
I have found mechanics happy to work on the 300c, but then again I also found mechanics who won't touch it. What seems to scare them are the electrics. Chrysler took the Mercedes-Benz electrics but messed about with them creating a Chrysler/Merc mongrel. I get the excuse "...my diagnostic computer can't read it..."
 
You'll find someone mate.

Hi, did you get this problem sorted at all?
 
If you didnt, then its an easy fix. Open the bonnet and, and find the washer bottle. Next to that, bolted to the drivers side wing, you will find a black box. Unplug the box, and hey presto, the fault will vanish. It will also cure a few other faults, such as indicators that miss a click, rear wipers wiping on their own, reversing sensors firing up when your driving forward.
 
The box is the HID translator module. All it does is let the ECU know when a headlight bulbs blows. If you can live without that function then you can cure all the rest!! The HID module develops a fault, and effects lots of other things down the line.