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5K views 39 replies 3 participants last post by  Cntrollerfanboy 
#1 ·
Just got my 16 yr old son a 13 SXT with the 2L. Been doing car forums since 1998 so while I'm a newb here I'm not new to forums. No better place to learn about a car than from guys who are enthusiasts. I have a bunch of questions but I'll start with searches and see how many answers I can find there.
 
#3 ·
Thanks. I did a little research before buying it and knew the 2L auto was the better way to go. I've found some stuff searching already but haven't found everything. It's a 7 year old used car so has some minor issues...couple we've fixed but a few left. Has the AGS code and I'll address that next as soon as I look to see if it's the motor or shutter that's bad. There are a few things though with the car that aren't adding up. Other than Carfax I know nothing about what it's been through and looks like it's been through more than I thought when we bought it. Some minor but some major.
Didn't have a rear view mirror and has a big bolt mount which after looking online I assume is for a set screw twist off type mount like this...
I took the top console down and there's no harness there for a mirror but I find it hard to believe there wasn't one at some point for at least an auto dimming mirror.
Also doesn't have a fob but a lollipop type key that I also assume someone had made so a fob is on the list to get but I'm not paying $300 at a dealer. Haha

Major thing that doesn't add up is either the trans or engine has been out of the car at some point I suspect. After I got it home and on the neighbors lift where we could look at it I started seeing stuff that makes me suspect that. Bell housing bolts that have had a wrench on them and things like that. If either was out I suspect it was a tech doing the work because all the stock fasteners are still being used and I haven't found a single zip tie on it. What I'd like to find is a vin on the block to make sure there hasn't been a motor swap but haven't found the vin yet. Doesn't really matter too much at this point because it runs/drives fine with no leaks so we'll fix whatever we have to. I'd just like to know more for just myself than anything. My son loves the car and if he gets a few years out of it we'll all be happy.
 
#4 ·
I am not sure if that is exactly how the mirror is. I know I took mine off because I installed a dash cam behind it, and mine actually came with the automatic high beams, so there was originally a camera there. But it only works with auto headlights on, which I never do (just a weird preference) so I tore that out and put my dash cam in it's place. It's hidden and looks OEM and love it. Back to the topic - when I took the mirror off it was just a big bolt and I am pretty sure we just turned the mirror to the left and it unlocked from it (kind of like a light bulb) and went on the same way. You should be able to find a mirror and just bold it up IF the bolt is still on the window. I know my friend's Dart had the mirror fall and the locking head in the window also was gone. Not sure if that is what situation you are also in or not, but sounds like you still have it there. Here are some pics from when I did that
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If your son's Dart is an SXT, it might not have come with auto dimming or any other features in the mirror. As you can see in my pics, that white block by the bolt (not my ez pass) is the harness. However, I had a lot of stuff in my mirror. Mics for BT, auto dimming, auto high beams, my auto wipers sensor is near there too. So obviously I have a harness, but some lower end SXTs didn't come with BT, handsfree, or auto dimming. If it has BT, then something happened and they took out the harness with it, but it's possible it was just a basic one.

Yeah the lower modes did come with those style keys, but I don't think the SXT did. As I continue reading, it sounds a lot more like this is an SE, (which only came in 2.0) but I will just assume someone got the spare for it. Even SE's came with the fob but some LOW LOW LOW level SEs came with only the key. Those are really rare tbh unless ordered that way. A very active member on here I believe uses that style in his SE's. Regardless, yes they are way too expensive at the dealer. I believe you can buy a pair on ebay or something and find an advanced locksmith that might have the software to do it. Dealer will say it can't be done, they have to do it, but they are full of it - as always.

Glad the major issue is only suspecting it's been worked on. It's possible it had an engine problem and needed to be replaced. Which is rare for the 2.0. The 2.4s...not so rare. lol But that auto transmission is also very solid. Much much better off than the manual (which I own) and the DDCT. The DDCT which has been coming up a lot more frequently here with MAJOR repair bill stories because now all the Darts are starting to get out the 5 year powertrain warranty. People are finding out this new "tech" that everyone seems to be putting in the new cars and saying they are stronger, shift faster, more reliable are now dumping the cost of a NEW transmission in repairs just to replace the clutches. Hell the dealers don't even know how to work on them as many people have been told they are not serviceable, which is completely false.

A word of advice for your dart. Spart plugs on the 2.0 are due at 100k but I would do it before that. Irridium NGK or Champions is what they use, I believe the NGKs are better. I would honestly just do a whole tune up on it if it's reaching that mileage or at least check them. It's stupid simple on this car - right on top. The Trans fluid is due every 50k miles. This goes against what is said in the book as it says it's a sealed transmission and no maintenance is needed. LOL yeah then when it blows up they charge you for a new transmission... Anyways, I have a master tech friend in the Mopar dealers and he said this is the new protocol and it should be changed every 50k. They might have updated in the newer manuals, but not sure. So I would probably get that done as it was not. There are a few threads on here regarding the procedure. Ummm check the wheel bearings and struts. People tend to go through those often on here. check your Strut tower for any rust under the caps in the engine bay. For some reason the 13s were bad with this. Coolant is OAT so it's specific and can't just add any green stuff too it. Prestone does make an OAT coolant that meets Chrysler MS number but I cannot think of it off the top of my head. There is a big big thread about that that Youngsmith made, or maybe in his giga post with all the info he made a section about it. Keep a look out for his old posts, very informative but I haven't seen him in a long time.

Other than that keep on driving it and good luck with it!
 
#5 ·
Thanks for all the info...very helpful and why I prefer forums over just web searches. I got the option codes printed from the dealer using the vin when I went in and asked about the fob. They will program a fob for $70 but won't guarantee it. My neighbor is a tech and has a guy at work that'll do it for a case of beer. Meanwhile I'm looking at alfaobd and I think I can do it with that but not positive. I have an 06 Cummins that I was hoping it would also work on but it looks like it won't. That stuff I'll figure out eventually.
Yes...the bolt is still there and it did come with just a day/night mirror. Seems pretty silly to me to have the uconnect and not have the bt or mirror options but it is what it is.
Tune up is on the list and a good way for him to get in some wrench time on his car to learn. We replaced the upper radiator hose that had a leak....yes....I know it's shocking that plastic T didn't last forever haha. Should've just did the plugs then but it's so easy to get to them I wasn't that worried about it. I use a "global" type antifreeze in all our stuff that works on foreign and domestic. We currently have 2 dodges, a Hyundai, and my 98 formula so I just use the same in all. Dart is just at 75k miles so getting due up for most maintenance.
Put tires on it last weekend for him and tire place had trouble with lug bolts so we brought it home and took tires off on neighbors lift to put new bolts in. I noticed then that the hubs were extremely rusty which is another unknown with the car. Nothing else is rusty but hubs look like they've been sitting in water for a year so I imagine those are in our future at some point.
He also said today that the blower motor for the heater stopped working at some point and came back on so that's moved to the top of our list. We'll get it all. It's a good opportunity for him to learn wrenching and some good father son time for us. Blower motor issue, active grill, and small stuff as we get to them. That's the plan.
 
#6 ·
If you run your build sheet at:
You should see this if your Dart came with a key fob:
Keyless Entry with Panic Alarm
You should be able to program a fob if your Dart had that listed. If you get the 4 digit PIN, you can use alfaOBD with the ODBLinkMX bluetooth scanner and an android device.
Program key fob:
Start alfaOBD. Select Dodge/Ram, select Dodge Dart (PF), select Radio Frequency Hub (RFH), select control unit radio frequency hub. Select the Fiat open hood icon. Under the select procedures to start pull down menu, select Program Ignition Fobiks Baseline System. Enter your four digit number. You then remove your original key from the ignition node and insert the new key into the node but leave the ignition position to OFF or Lock and press Start. After a few seconds, it will say Completed.
Check the build sheet to see if your Dart had bluetooth. You should see:
Rear View Mirror w/Microphone
If you don't have the harness, it's possible it was removed. You might be able to get that section of harness from a wrecked Dart at a self serve junkyard.
The mirror uses a button glued to the windshield:
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#7 ·
Thanks for the info.

It does have keyless entry but day/night mirror. So now I just have to dig up a day night mirror with that mount. Pretty sure that mount in the link I posted will work. We mounted him one on there but those stick on mounts never last in my experience.
I'm getting a better picture at least of features. It didn't come with an owners manual although I found one to download online that I sent to him to keep on his phone. We're getting there.
I do have another question....it has the stripe...was that factory or added by someone? I see a few here and there with the stripe but not sure if it's a graphic people are adding or part of a package. I didn't see it listed individually on the build sheet.
My upload to imgur keeps failing and I'm too tired to mess with it but I'll get a pic of it on here tomorrow. Thanks again for your guys help and info. Saves me a ton of time hashing through the internet for stuff.
 
#9 ·
I believe I have seen that stripe on other darts come from the factory. There were a few options available for it, but it's also possible it was added at the dealer or aftermarket. Hard to tell. If it doesn't have any bubbles in it and looks like it's quality, it might be a Mopar application.
 
#10 ·
It does look like a quality install whoever did it. Leading edge isn't perfect but I'm guessing that's bugs. Ordered a blower motor resistor module for it last night. Fairly certain that'll fix his intermittent blower issue. Going to supervise and let him put that in.
The paint on the car is in excellent shape. It's been detailed recently and someone in general has cared for it. We'll pull it in the garage soon and clean it and I'll teach him the proper way to detail. That black will look like a mirror when we're done with it haha
 
#13 ·
He got the mirror mount adapter on so he's good to go there. Next up is the blower motor relay. We have that just have to get the time to swap it out this week between his school and work. After that is the ags code then key fobs. That should have him good to go for awhile I think.

I think I saw in another thread where you're in Ohio....where at? We're in Lancaster about 30 minutes southeast of Columbus.
 
#14 ·
Ah I have been to Lancaster a few times. We used to actually have one of the biggest dart meets down there. I am from the north though near Cleveland. But we would go to Mopar Nationals and bring the dart squad in heavy. Then our friend who was from Lancaster had a good amount of land so we would all take our cars there and then camp out there. I might have some old pictures from back then, but they are probably on my old computer lol
 
#15 ·
This is the only one I could find from my Instagram from years ago. This was taken at his house. Man I miss these times. The group has pretty much disbanded and we don't do this anymore. However, I met a lot of close friends from this group and some of them have become life long friends that I actually hang out with all the time. Even if some of them now have different cars. We used to do what's called the Midwest Dart meet that became bigger and bigger every year. I think our biggest was 2016 with almost 100 cars from all over the country. It was a tight knit group. :) 3rd Annual Midwest Dart Meet!
 

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#16 ·
Well...I thought I got lucky. We did the blower relay module tonight and while it was in the garage I looked at the grill shutter. I found the white/red wire broke so fixed that but light is still on. I reached down and tried to move shutters manually but couldn't get them to move...not sure if you can even move those by hand with motor in place. My code reader is in my wife's car and shes at work so I can't clear the code until tomorrow. I'm assuming though that those shutters would've cycled if that fixed it.

Next up is to pull the whole thing out and see if I can find what's wrong. That'll have to wait until after this weekend being Superbowl weekend. I have people over all weekend for that. Someone has worked on that shutter before though. Found some wires zip tied up and electrical tape around the wires.
 
#17 ·
Because of the location of the AGS connector, it's fairly easily damaged by parking curbs. Make sure the pinout is correct.
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#18 ·
Thanks for the diagram...that'll come in handy. I notice right off it says it's a 10a fuse but this link shows it being on a 20a with them injectors if I'm reading that correctly??? Doesn't make sense it and the fuel injectors would share the same circuit though.

I'm going to pull it back in the garage and check fuses.
 
#19 · (Edited)
That's fuse 19, 10 amp, in the PDC or what Auto Genius calls the Integrated power module and it's part of the AC clutch circuit. It's the underhood fuse box. It has nothing to do with the injectors. Probably they listed it there because ultimately, the PCM controls AGS.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I saw it was 19. Fuse was good and I'm able to move shutters by hand so shutters are good. The wire that was broken was the Lin bus wire. I'm currently reading on that since I know diddly about it. There was green corrosion at the break but I cut it back to good wire. I'm wondering if that motor is good but not sure it would throw the u11e9 code for a bad motor since it's a communication code but I suppose it could. I'm guessing before this is done I'm going to know far more about active grill shutters than I ever wanted to know haha. Next step is to check for power at the plug. If I have power there then I'll jump the motor with 12v to see if it moves.
 
#21 · (Edited)
U11E9 makes perfect sense if the wire was open. If you disconnect the negative battery terminal for about 5 minutes, it should reset. Just loosen the terminal nut, no need to remove it and possibly lose it.
See this link about splicing wire:

28 - DTC-Based Diagnostics / MODULE, Powertrain Control (PCM), 2.0L / Diagnosis and Testing

U11E9-LOST COMMUNICATION WITH AGS

When Monitored and Set Conditions

When Monitored: This diagnostic runs continuously when the following conditions are met:

•With the engine running and battery voltage between 11.0 and 16.0 volts.
•Ambient Air Temperature or Engine Coolant Temperature above -7°C (19.4°F).

Set Conditions:

•The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) does not receive a valid LIN BUS message from the Active Grill Shutter Assembly for 2.6 seconds.


Default Actions:

•MIL is illuminated on the second consecutive trip that the diagnostic fails.
•If AGS detects a LIN bus error it will default to open position.


Possible Causes

LIN BUS CIRCUIT SHORTED TO GROUND
LIN BUS CIRCUIT OPEN/HIGH RESISTANCE
ACTIVE GRILL SHUTTER FUSED B+ CIRCUIT OPEN
ACTIVE GRILL SHUTTER FUSED B+ CIRCUIT SHORTED TO GROUND
ACTIVE GRILL SHUTTER GROUND CIRCUIT OPEN
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the post....that'll be helpful. Doubt I'll get to look at it this evening...youngest has indoor flag football. I will however check those codes and clear them to see if it's the same code and how quickly it comes back. I have a feeling I have some wire chasing in my future. This isn't my first rodeo with electrical problems but I hate those about as much as any....they can drive you nuts.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Looked at that wiring again....that plug is done. I have to do some hunting but initially it looks like it's going to be hard to find that pigtail. I just did some quick searches out in the garage and called a couple dealerships. Discontinued so I have to figure out how to Jerry rig something in there probably.

Edit: found it on ebay...at least one that says it's the same part number so hopefully that's it.
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#24 · (Edited)
There was a thread about sourcing that connector:
Problem is there are minimum quantities. I did find this:
There might be others if you google the aftermarket part number, 13593465, looks like a Aptiv Delphi number.

Have you tried your local self serve junkyards for wrecked Darts?
 
#25 ·
I found that mouser link somewhere....sold in multiples of 300 with a 15 week lead time haha. I'll give the eBay one a try. I also plan to defeat those shutters doing the screw mod I think. Only takes 1 parking block and I'm trying to find another one.

Also notice looking at those pics the plug on ours is missing a piece. Makes me even more hopeful this will fix the issue so I don't have to keep trouble shooting. Notice ours doesn't have the white piece I see on the other plugs.
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#26 ·
When you get the pigtail, try not cutting any wires. The connector should disassemble. The white part spaces the terminals and also covers the tiny tabs that lock the terminals. If you use a tiny screwdriver on those tabs the wires should pull out the back. The new connector should also disassemble. If there is a wire broken, then you should cut that wire and make sure to splice with solder and adhesive lined heat shrink tubing.
 
#27 ·
Did some work tonight....not good news. Replaced that plug for shutters and no luck. Start chasing that white/red wire back and found it's green inside at least 2 feet from motor. Going to guess it's green all the way back. Also an orange/white wire I found green in. Passenger side fog light isn't working so probably that. My neighbor is a dealership tech for Toyota. Going to get on all data and print me a schematic. Looks like I have some wiring in my future. I also have to figure out the violet/red wires going to shutter motor. I wasn't seeing any voltage at those but not sure if they're supposed to be hot at the plug or if the Lin bus switches them hot. Hot at the fuse and ground is good...that's about all I know for sure right now. Just tackle it a wire at a time...starting with the white/red wire.
 
#29 ·
Thanks. I'd looked at that bottom schematic when you posted it earlier. That looks to me like those vt/Rd wires should be hot at the plug...if I'm reading that right. I have nothing there. Someone has messed with those wires before for some reason...maybe trying to fix the shutters. There's a couple mystery wires. One is a terminated red/BLK in the fuse box that looks like it could be factory terminated and another on the outside that's unhooked that I've yet to figure where it went....looks like 1 someone added for something. It disappears behind the fender liner. One of the perks of a used car I guess. Looks like that orange/white is for that fog so I'll be fixing at least a couple wires.
Terminated wire:
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Owner added:
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