Aloha All, I pulled to a stop sign and my van died. I had it towed home. Autel AL619 and BAFX OBDII will not link to pcm but will link to abs and air bag. All fuses check good. Break lights are working. Battery checks 12.6 volts. Jump start from other car failed. Removed transaxle shift cable and manually shifted the gear range to park. Removed alternator wires and tried both open and closed circuit. Unplugged the transaxle connector. Removed the TIPM and wired the battery terminals together over night. All the electrical inside the van works. Any thoughts? Thanks, Lee

 

The TIPM (engine bay fuse box) is the go-between for the PCM and the rest of the communication network. If your scan tool is connecting to the air bag and ABS but not the PCM, the TIPM (and related connections) is suspect. Remove the TIPM from its mounting bracket so you can inspect for corrosion and damaged wiring underneath it.

 

Thanks for the response and the sound advice.

 

Learning how this forum post works.

 

I just bout this van last week. I did not have my scanner with me when I bought it. duh I tried to check for codes when I got it home but the scanner would not link to the pcm even before the engine died. As soon as my depression subsides I will start tracing wires out. Maybe a beer will help.

 

Vehicle electronic diagnoses can be misleading and tricky don't put you faith in the cheap version handheld scanner today vehicle PCM have 2 or 3 data link bus to communicate with all the various electronic control units that controls the whole system. I would get the van scanned with an advance scanners that the dealers and pro mechanic shop uses those scanner can read each data link separately identify each control units and control each one individually if you have a data bus failure it will identify which one right away and able to tell you if the problem is within the wiring, TPIM or the PCM.

 

Thanks Mopar340,

I was just looking to see if autozone had rentals. No dice. My friend said he could get a better scanner from his friend. Hopefully this can be resolved without paying the big money or another tow fee. I took the TIPM apart and did not see any burnt traces or components. Do you know a good source for wiring schematics?

 

I can’t speak to the specific capabilities of a Dodge factory scan tool, but a generic pro level scan tool (at work we use an Autel MaxiSys) is not capable of telling you why a module isn’t communicating. It’s easy to tell which ones aren’t communicating because the screen displays a message that no communication is established, but diagnosis of a wiring or module problem still has to be done. To a certain degree, the scan tool can assist in that, but it’s still up to the person using it to know what direction the diagnosis points in.

The PCM in particular for his van only communicates on the high speed network via the TIPM, so even with a pro level scan tool, if the data circuit between the two is down for any reason, communication with the PCM can’t be established because there’s no secondary data network for the PCM.

 

I was messing with the key fob, to stop the horn from sounding when I lock the doors, and the security light went out and the van started. I went thru the gears, up on jack stands, and when I pushed the breaks in drive the van died again with the same symptoms. I messed with the fob lock and panic buttons again and the van starts again. Any help on which components I should replace? For this anti-Theft lock out issue?

Thanks , Lee

 

I was messing with the key fob, to stop the horn from sounding when I lock the doors, and the security light went out and the van started. I went thru the gears, up on jack stands, and when I pushed the breaks in drive the van died again with the same symptoms. I messed with the fob lock and panic buttons again and the van starts again. Any help on which components I should replace? For this anti-Theft lock out issue?

Thanks , Lee