EATX SHUTDOWN RELAY AND THE ENGINE CONTROL FUSE

ABELC

MEMBER
1996 DODGE INTREPID
196,000 MILES

I HAVE THE 3.5L V6 AND WHAT I WANTED TO ASK IS WHAT DOES THE ENGINE CONTROL FUSE (B) RUN BECAUSE I OBVIOUSLY HAVE A SHORT SOMEWHERE UNDER THE CAR AND I CAN'T SEEM TO FIGURE OUT WHERE IT'S AT. I KEEP BLOWING THE EC FUSE. BUT WHEN I TAKE OFF THE EATX SHUTDOWN RELAY, IT DOESN'T BLOW IT. I'VE DISCONNECTED THE VREAR O2 SENSORS ALREADY, BUT STILL NOTHING. I JUST WANTED TO FIND OUT IF I COULD WHAT IS IT THAT THE EC FUSE AND THE EATX RELAY RUN PLEASE? THANK YOU SO MUCH.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

A simple trick to finding a short is to replace the blown fuse with a pair of spade terminals, then use small jumper wires to connect them to a 12 volt light bulb. A brake light bulb works well. When the circuit is live and the short is present, the bulb will be full brightness and hot so be sure it's not laying on the carpet or against a plastic door panel. Now you can unplug electrical connectors and move things around to see what makes the short go away. When it does, the bulb will get dim or go out.

The closest I have is a '97 service manual but it should be the same. The automatic shutdown, (ASD) relay, transmission relay, Engine Computer (PCM), and Transmission Computer, (EATX), are fed by that fuse. If you use that light bulb and it gets bright for one second after turning on the ignition switch, then goes out or dim, the short is on the line leaving the ASD relay. You can pull it out to verify that. The ASD relay feeds the ignition coil pack, all the injectors, the alternator field, and the oxygen sensor heaters. On some vehicles people have found the wiring harness fell down onto hot exhaust parts and the heater wire going to the oxygen sensors grounded out.

There is nothing common related to the transmission relay circuit as far as things that will cause the fuse to blow.