Please Help - 2001 Cobra Problems !!

[Gilbert navarrete]

I have a 01 cobra and it has what seems to be a a electrical problem ,wile driving the car my gauges act up the go all crazy my radio turns on and off my headlights power up and then power down its chaos ,I just replaced the ccrm and nothing ,if anybody knows what it might be please share your thoughts I appreciate it

 

[madspeed]

thread moved

 

[wmburns]

First thing. Have the alternator tested for correct output and excessive AC ripple (bad diode). No excuse to do this as almost all auto parts stores will do the test for free.

What is the condition of the battery and battery terminals? Clean and tight?

Have you made any "mods" to the head lights? HID's? As a reminder that the headlights are NOT powered by a relay. Power is through the mechanical head light switch. So unless modifications have been made IF the headlights power up, then either the DRL module is bad or there's a wiring fault.

Consider getting an "add a fuse". Use the extra fuse holder to power a volt-ohm meter that you can monitor while driving. This will give a way to monitor battery voltage with an accurate VOM meter. Note, the dash gauge is not accurate enough.

 

[Gilbert navarrete]

I'll have the alternator checked out,terminals are clean and tight, I'll post a video if I can on this website on how the gauges react

 

[Gilbert navarrete]

I forgot to mention while driving the car with any bumps the gauge cluster acts up needles go crazy theft light comes on and checkengine it's complete chaos it's getting to me now I feel like I'll never fix it. You think it might be the Ecu ? @wmburns

 

[wmburns]

Are you a "glass half empty" or a "glass half full" sort of guy?

If you are a "glass half empty" guy, then is it might be a bad PCM.

If you are a "glass half full" guy, then I suggest that your problem could be very simple fix. Or it could be a more difficult fix. Some possible examples include:

• bad/loose/weak center console ground. This ground is shared by the radio, GEM, Cluster and TONS of devices in the dash. This ground is frequently messed up during a radio install.
• Bad ground around the radiator core support
• bad CCRM
• Bad cluster. Common problem is a broken printed circuit board solder joint at the PC edge connector.
• bad ignition switch.
• wiring fault
• Bad PCM

Since the radio and cluster share the same ground, if this were my car, that is where I would start.

Trouble shooting electrical problems can be time consuming and complex. Proper trouble shooting involves performing detailed tests. The results will point the way to a possible solution. Do you have a Volt-Ohm meter and are you willing to use it? If so, there's a chance that "glass half full" guy can find and solve this problem.

In all seriousness, replacing a PCM as a trouble shooting method often creates more problems than it solves. IMO when in doubt rule out all other possibilities before replacing the PCM.