Not sure if anyone can give me a solution to what is going on, but if I can get a good idea on how to go about finding the issue that would be great.

Everyonce in a while my key fob does not work and only once the radio received no power. It is 100% associated with the fuse panel under the dash. This is true because when I apply pressure to the panel with my feet the key fob comes back for a while. Same with the radio. Lost power to it once.. Opened the panel, messed around with the wires and it came back no problem.

The radio thing only happened once, this is why I no longer open that panel. But the other day my girl thought she was a race car driver and like a wuss I applied pressure to the panel and lost the fob. Go home applied some pressure and it started working great.

There are no DIC's because when this happens I get RFA NO COMM. and I also lose my TPS as well. I get no readings from all.

 

Sounds like you have a bad connection from the I/P fuse box to the RFA. When you step on the "box" it is pushing a connection apart/together.

First thing I'd check is the fuse for the RFA ... maybe it is not making a good connection until you "step" on it. It should be Fuse 27, a 10 AMP fuse. However, since Fuse 27 also supplies the HVAC I'd think you'd be seeing problems with that too if the fuse was the problem.

Next, take a look at the BIG connectors feeding three big wire bundles to the I/P fuse box. I'd recommend disconnecting the battery before messing with these. They are color coded BLUE, GREY, and GREEN. The GREEN connector is the one that contains the wires for the RFA. Inspect the connectors for corrosion, as the I/P fuse box sits in an area that can get wet if the drain in the cowl above is blocked (look in engine compartment for drains)

If there is signs of water having caused problems you will probably have to pull the connectors to clean the connections.

The GREEN (C3) connector has an ORANGE wire in pin position B7 (Curcuit #540) .... (Top row of pins are A1 to A12 and bottom row is F1 to F12 ... so go down one row and over 7 and you should find the wire) which is the power feed for the RFA. Check that the wire is seated correctly in the connector, isn't loose, frayed, whatever. Also check the BLACK/WHITE wire at A12 (Curcuit 851) as it is the GROUND wire returning from the RFA.

That's all I can think of, other than sending a PM to Bill Curlee and ask him to review this post for his thoughts.

 

Steve

You covered it 100%

richieice

Your just going to have to dig in and see what wire or connector is having issues. Its NOT as hard as it looks!

Once you get into it you will say,,, " Man,, why did I wait so long to fix this!!!"

bc

 

Well this is the first step. I have all of the shop manuals but understanding something like this...well if it was written in a different language it would be just as useful. Not that I have an idea about what I am looking at/looking for it should make a lot more sense. Next question, I know about the drain "utters" on the drivers side (right above the wiper motor) I was unaware they were on the pass side as well. Am I looking for the same things on the pass side or is it a different draining system?

 

I just removed the utters to empty them out because the previous owner NEVER emptied them, so they were nearly full

 

Dont feel bad, I was that confused when I first got my 98. Remove the battry and you will see the ONE SINGLE DRAIN. Dont remove the entire thing. Just detatch it from the cowl and blast it out with a garden hose:



If you remove the tube, its a bitch getting it back in.

Here is the tube removd"



The end of the hose:



BC

 

Richie,

Hopefully this will help you understand how to read the electrical diagrams in the manual ....

You know the problem is related to the RFA (also known as the RCDLR - Remote Control Door Lock Receiver) and also the I/P fuse block.

So go to the section of the manual called "Keyless Entry" (since your key fobs aren't working) and that section starts with the wiring diagrams. There are two diagrams, one each for the left and right hand doors. Doesn't matter which one you use ... look for the RCDLR in the diagram and look for the I/P fuse block.

Note the connections between the RCDLR and the I/P fuse block, where the wire goes into the fuse block. You should see the following data listed where the wire connects the two at the fuse block....

B7 C3

and below that

0.35 ORN 540

the B7 C3 is telling you that the connection is on pin B7 on connector C3 and the 0.35 ORN 540 tells you the wire is 0.35 mm diameter wire, it is color ORANGE, and is assigned circuit number 540.

Also note that the Fuse that powers the RCDLR is Fuse 27, write that down too.

So WTF ... how is this useful ??

Write down this information and now turn to the section of the manual called Wiring Systems ......

Look for the wiring diagram called "Power Distribution Schematics (Instrument Panel Distribution Center Fuses ... 27 .. (and others) ...depends on year)) and you will see everything fed off of Fuse 27 ... which you will see includes the HVAC system.

Finally, still in the Wiring Systems part of the manual, turn a few pages later to the part called "Power and Grounding Connector End Views" and look for the diagram labeled "Fuse Block I/P C3" and look for either Pin B7 or Circuit 540 ... Note that at the top of the table it says .... 12177205 - 68 way F metric pack 280 series GRN ..... you now have the part number (12177205) if you need to order a new connector, and you know it is GREEN (GRN).

Hopefully this will help you in understanding how the wiring diagrams work .... and sorry in advance if I've caused more confusion ....

 

I'm posting this seperately as it is basically irrelevant ...

Sometimes moving between the wiring diagrams in the paper manual ... I'm reminded of the old "Laugh In" skit when ZIP codes were first introduced .... (Yeah .. I'm that old) ...

The skit had two postal workers in it .... a supervisor sitting in a chair eating a donut and the other worker is a "new hire". The supervisor says to the new guy "Get a letter from the In Box and read me the first ZIP digit" So the kid gets a letter and says "It's a 4". The supervisor points to a wall covered with sheets of paper and says "Go to sheet number FOUR and look up the next number ..." The kid looks up the next number which directs him to another paper. which takes him to another paper ... etc.

After about 3 minutes, the kid gets to a final paper and says "Wow .. this letter is going to Cleveland" and the supervisor says "So put the letter in the bag marked "Cleveland". The kid looks at the envelope for a few seconds and says ..... "But it already says Cleveland on the envelope" and the supervisor says "Give me that ... you might be onto something important here ..."

 

The info everyone provided is awesome. I am going to take care of the utter that I never knew about first to see if that is causing an issue. Just to let you know, about 8 mos ago I had to change the cover to my wiper motor due to the third utter I did not know existed (all the way in the rear). If the one on the pass side is anything like that I now know what I am dealing with. As for the wiring under the dash... I will be going to my uncles next weekend and would like to get him involved. He is an electrical engineer from Bell labs and with the manual, the knowledge from this posting I should not run into any difficulty. I am real good with starters, waterpumps ect.. Electricity in cars clueless. I will keep all posted. Thanks again!