I imagine it is like a green board with little things soldered to it. Like the RCM? Or that part the guy was soldering on. I have absolutely no knowledge or interest in how these things work. Once carbs and points and stuff like that disappeared I knew I was a dinosaur. I used to think a Mallory ignition was state of the art on a flathead. If a voltage regulator or generator crapped out, you got a new one - or a rebuilt - at Napa. Made lots of trips with those cars with the manual or power tops down, girlfriend nearby, never got stuck. This stuff with all the sensors and FI and electronic systems is far too complicated for me to cope with. I can't figure out why I would want a lock system like this or a system that shuts off the motor at stop lights or steers for me when parking. I even pulled a hydromatic out of my '50 Olds convert and replaced it with a LaSalle floor 3-speed when I was in high school. Good shifting with Sally next to me..... Those were the days - down with consoles. Sure, the tops leaked and the radios were elementary, but to my mind Those Were The Days.

 

Those were the days.
The SKREEM insides.

 

I wish there was a solution, but I must say, I do not see this going anywhere. Chrysler has almost ZERO reason to put any effort into this, and given the B.S. in the evolution of the car and the merger, and then the breakup, this may not be as easy as some of you insist that it is (I mean for them to resolve this). Yes, of course I could be wrong; but in electronic manufacture is it NOT always as easy as grabbing an item off a shelf. There were patent and other considerations here - there were odd issues with cars being stolen in Europe at the time and in order for insurers to keep insuring them, the car had to be "un steal able" - this from Clink Spevak (retired engineer from Chrysler, he was in on the airbag/ABS/TPMS system). I am not clear on what changes were made and when they were made as the SLK320 faded into the sunset and the Crossfire was made; Clint started to get into that and got interrupted. (This was at our last event...)


BEST I can think of to do is what I am doing ---- take steps to protect your SKREEM as a part of maintenance. For those with a nuked SKREEM, I know it's too late, but for most of us, it is not. Personally, I've owned three Roadsters in ten years, driving them a total of over 100,000 miles, never had a SKREEM problem. No one individual in my vast personal Crossfire circle that I can think of has had a failure. But it DOES happen.

I've thought about what could nuke the little module that Dave (180) has shown you a photo of. After more than thirty years in electronics, most of which is aftermarket automotive electronics (I work as an R&D engineer for Kenwood), I suspect that I have a clue or two as to why they are failing. But I do not KNOW for sure; I look at the electronic issues we have with the SKREEM, RCM, Fan Modules, etc., and compare them to the battles I fight at work to keep our products reliable and I think I see some ways in which we as owners can possibly protect what is apparently a vulnerable item in the electronics of the car. No guarantees here, friends, but after thirty years (the first 20 were in repair at the component level, where you learn a LOT but earn NO money) I do have guidelines I follow myself.


Anyway, to that end, I have done and I'd recommend the following:

1) Do this cheap, easy, $20 modification to your car, it will stabilize the ground reference between block/alternator and chassis/battery. This is a VERY good idea in general. Note James has one way of doing it, I have another. Take your pick.
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...le-engine.html

2) When storing your car for MONTHS on end, remove the battery and put it on a maintainer/charger. My point here is that connecting 'maintainers' or chargers of any kind opens the car's electrical system up to any oddities in the charger/maintainer. Some of these products are half-assed, cheap, poorly designed, poorly regulated devices. Connecting the known-fussy and sensitive electronics of a Crossfire to one of them is simply ignorant and foolish. (I can hear it now, "they are designed for this...." Yea, ask me about that sometime; ask me about Chinese engineering and quality non-control.)

3) On Convertibles, do not put the top up or down without the engine running. The spikes from the motor switching on and off are pretty vulgar, having the alternator charging creates a situation where the battery is "floated" above nominal charge and actually helps with filtering.

4) At 48 months, replace the battery - weak batteries are not as capable of filtering as described in 3) above. I did not listen to my own advice and let my SEs battery go over four years. I need an airbag module now.
While on this topic, and this is a part of item 1) above, keep a good eye on the battery terminals, posts, clamps. They need to be CLEAN and TIGHT at all times. A resistive connection (caused by lose clamps or corrosion) represents resistance and that decreases the effective filtering of the battery.

5) FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, DO NOT jump start a Crossfire with another vehicle. And do not use a Crossfire to jump start another vehicle. Use a "booster battery" or "starting battery" instead.

That is the best I can think of for now. The above are general things I do anyway, even with my Ford Ranger truck - due to the fact I have lived in the aftermarket auto electronics world for so long.




Mark Christopher
Field Applications Engineer
R&D | Communications Sector
JVCKenwood USA,
Irving Texas

 

,


It may also be a precursor to the inability to be able to work on your own vehicles. 5, 10, 15 year future plans (and for past how many years?) car manufacturers have been trying to lock all electronics (tractor maker John Deere as well), to have proprietary electronics installed to thwart the aftermarket route. This may have been a future plan to long term service dept revenue that has backfired. Suffice to say they (Chrysler) and Benz may not want to co-operate to fix this (anyone remember how the breakup of Benz and Chrysler went?

HUGE props to all who are or were trying to solve this, I do know many have swore off the Chrysler brand because of the way they have treated their customers. From the Takata airbag issue, to the damned SKREEM issue, and many more, they want to divorce themselves of Chrysler withl Benz/Fiat co-operation (remember it isn't just Chrysler anymore!). IMHO...

I know whoever does successfully figure this out will make huge amounts of $ unless they are an owner along the lines of tighed1 and many more, who we all know are dedicated XF owners and generous people


.

 

The plot thickens. When I wrote to FCA CEO Manley I got a response from a nice sounding gent who said he had been asked (cajoled, threatened or instructed) to look into this matter and - I understood - to solve this snafu, and would get back to me. Well, one week, nothing heard from him, I called, and was told it was in the works and he would get back to me in a couple days. Of course, that didn't happen, so I called again, same story, will get back to you in a few days. Again, nothing heard, so I called again, today, and was told that I should pick the dealer I wanted to get this part from, and give him the contact and he would call him and tell him how to order and get the part. PROGRESS!!!! I thought. Then the parts guy from my local dealer called. He told me he had been in touch with Chrysler guy, and the following:

You can order the part, need to pay $540. or something like that, in advance, clear understanding it is non refundable, and estimated time of delivery is now Jan. 15th, maybe. So I should finance the dealers parts inventory on the assumption that sometime, some where, maybe, they will get a SKREEM Module for my car, which has now been sitting since last October, blocking up my garage, totally useless and worthless, unless you want it for a lawn ornament. This is Bullshit.

Since my car is useless and without value, thanks to Chrysler's inability or refusal to provide this part (which MB dealers have) I'm going to trailer my car to Detroit, rent a high visibility space somewhere in Auburn Hills or along Woodward, have a big sign made, and hopefully get the Detroit Free Press, Autoweek, C&D, Motor Trend, etc. to cover it. Maybe Michael Moore could invite Manley to visit and video his comments. Like the man said, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore."

 

Personally, I am grateful someone here has the guts and capability to do what I dreampt about during the Takata fiasco. I got the same runaround, promises promises and other options that would have cost me hundreds of dollars. Huge props to you sir!


.

 

I'm getting the idea that there will be no more SKREEMS.
My suggestions, in order to protect the SKREEM (and in general, the rest of the electronics of the car) are the following ideas that are my general rules for any vehicle manufactured after about 1995:

1) Keep battery cable connections TIGHT and CLEAN. Replace the battery at 48 month intervals; do not buy cheap off brand batteries.

2) Do either one of these $20 mods TODAY:
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...le-engine.html

3) Convertibles: Do not put the top up or down without the engine running.

4) Do not jump start a Crossfire with another vehicle, use a 'booster battery' only. (And of course, do not use a Crossfire to jump start another vehicle.)

5) Do not connect battery tenders or chargers with the car's battery cables attached. Disconnect the car's battery cables so as to completely isolate the car's electrical system from what ever 'tender' or charger you are using.

 

I need to do the grounding mod....and I guess I need to stop hooking up the battery tender while the car's battery cables are still attached....

What about adding your guide for safely disconnecting/reconnecting the battery. I like it.

You previously posted these instructions:

1 Shut engine off.
2 Turn high beam headlights on, if you have fog/driving lights, turn them on as well.
3 Disconnect battery ground cable.
4 Disconnect battery positive cable.
5 Cover battery positive post (just a caution, if not just be careful to not lay tools across posts of battery - the spark can ruin your day).
6 Clean, with a wire brush, the inner contact surfaces of the battery clamps.
7 Connect positive cable.
8 Connect negative cable - some minor sparks will fly from post to clamp, do not be concerned.
9 Turn lights off.
10 Spray anti-corrosion spray on the posts and terminals

 

Why we can't get the SKREEM modules we need from FCA?

It’s because the company, led by a CEO who purportedly was trained as an engineer in GB, and just doesn’t care about loyal customers who bought the cars Chrysler designed, built and sold. We get that - no one at FCA cares if we are stuck with cars that can’t be used and have become essentially worthless. But then telling us we can “order” and pay an inflated price, in advance, for a part that does not exist and who knows when will become available is a whole new step in the wrong direction.
The U.S. Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used?

 

Ha. I suppose if I love this car enough I would find a shop that specializes in fabrication and in particular drivetrain transplants. I'd love to see if a GM LSx and tranny would somehow fit. Then the PCM and whole weird chain of electronics could go in the pile with the "adequate" 215 hp engine and its 8.5 quart oil capacity sump. The car is a beauty and it handles better than anything I've ever owned so I'd seriously consider investing 15 to 20k in fixing for good this crazy security fubar fiasco.

 

Sorry i'm late to the party and if this has been answered already. Why cant a skreem be purchased from MB and then programmed by a chrysler dealership/someone capable?

 

They won't sell a "virgin" SKREEM...they only come already programmed to the specific VIN. MB won't program/sell one with a Chrysler VIN.

 

I believe these are virgin parts however I don't know of and Chrysler dealers left that could or would program them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Mop...A/223576786595

 

Dear sir you are our idol .
To do this would be amazing perhaps you have the means to do this like many of us who are making it month to month. I hope you get this problem remedied . Wishing all the positive light and progress to this unbeatable problem. You are a fighter I want to be on your side . to bad there was not a complaint we all could sign inline to help with your complaint. Like with my Key issue and many who have their cars sitting in their driveway or had to sell or give their cars away to a salvage yard due to unattainable parts. As you say this problem can happen to anyone at any moment. I hate to think that I am soon to get my car on the road and with one key or a skreem could fail scares the hell out of me !! Thank you Wolfstalker you are the man !!!

 

For those who wish to change engines on their Crossfires there is a guy on YOUTUBE his screen name is driveway he took a cheap Crossfire and rebuilt it with the Chevy LS engine it may be of interest to those who may consider doing this. He is his own fabricator way outta my league but it can be done .He paid I think $600 for the Crossfire it had low miles a few ding and dents silver blue in color check him out. Hes not the most excited youtuber but he does get things done. wish I could afford to do this and create a Crossfire hybrid . if we don't get this figured out soon all our cars will end up in the junk heap one by one .

 

I just think that Chrysler or FCA just has zero relationship with MB. When I bought a key like 7 years ago the sticker on the bag showed it came from MB in Ft Worth. Right now they seem to be trying to find someone else to do the programming for keys and SKREEM and I doubt they will find anyone. I know it is cheaper to order from MB for a lot of the parts. So many parts that Chrysler says are NLA are still stocked at MB. At this point it seems they don't even buy parts from MB either, partially because there probably isn't enough demand for a lot of the parts.

Here is an example where they talk about ordering directly from MB USA. http://starparts.chrysler.com/sprint...Specifying.pdf

 

.


WHY would anyone allow a large current spark at the neg battery cable when disconnecting said cable? A large current spark (from having headlight switch turned on) could cause burns physically AND melt the lead post or cable some. Even if the causing of burns part is flamed by members, what benefit is gained by dumping all that current through the lamp system (remember ALL the lights are lit)? Every vehicle I have owned with an airbag system says just remove the neg cable and wait 15 minutes. I am pretty sure that is sufficient to protect any other system in the car, I have seen many suggest turning on the headlight switch after removing the neg cable (takes time to move from battery to dash switch) . OK techs/experts, this is a serious question, support by facts in a reply please?


.

 

I emailed these guys and they said they are genuine new parts and would work, but need to be programmed by a Chrysler dealer - more on that in my next post

 

Today's adventure: I found a link to a department at FCA and emailed them to ask some questions. Amazingly a nice young man called me back in a few minutes and told me he is the one that has been involved in this situation for several years. He explained to me what is going on - roughly as follows:

Mercedes wants nothing to do with Crossfires - as we know. They -he says - control the system because the coding of the SKREEMS is done on some system - hardware and proprietary software - and they don't want to let Chrysler use it anymore. When SKREEMS were ordered in the past, the orders came to this young man, and he sent the part and or the code - which is proprietary and controlled solely by Chrysler - to someone at Mercedes who did it - then sent it back. I don't think was an actual physical transfer of the actual SKREEM module, but somehow done online because I think he said it was done in Stuttgart! (See the messy situation we are in?) Benz won't sell the parts from their inventory to Chrysler. He said he only has a Skreem case he uses for a paperweight on his desk - no real ones. He said - because this unit is used in the Sprinter vans where they fail too, he has 600 vehicles on his list that need and have ordered one - but can't do anything for them as he has no parts to allocate.

He told me he has been in meetings about this issue constantly. LAWYERS for both sides are arguing about it - MB has the system rights sewed up but Chrysler controls the codes - as I thought. He realizes it is bad for customers - wants to solve it, and has what he called an important meeting about it tomorrow, but didn't want to say anything about it together my hopes up. I felt he really cares since he called me right back within minutes of my email, but nothing too hopeful and no promises. He said Chrysler was trying to get modules from another supplier, but the hangup was Mercedes not allowing their proprietary system to be used, Discouraging, at best.

However, within an hour of my sending the stuff about getting Michael Moore involved and trailering my car up there to shoot a video, I got a call from my other contact, the gent I believe was assigned by Manley to deal with this. He did not seem to be aware of how this antediluvian system has been working, but has been back in touch with the dealer I wrote about yesterday. He said that when he called the dealer the Parts Manager said, "Yes, he (me) was here yesterday but did not order the part." I told him what the dealer said - as have all the other dealers I contacted - that I could order the part, must pay for it, about $540., non-refundable, and no estimate of when it would be provided. I told him I had already done that with Needswings, but that the ETA for the parts kept moving forward - now mid-January - and I was not going to pay up front to a dealership for some part they know nothing about and can't tell me when they will have it.

He said, he would call the dealers parts manager back and tell him to order the part for me from Chrysler and he would pay for it! And that he would get back to me about further news. I don't know if he understands what the system or the bottleneck is, but we'll see what happens.

You know what I know. I'm trying to solve this. Today was better than yesterday, because at least I know a little more about how this works. Trying to unravel this nightmare.

One last thought. If this doesn't get fixed so that the 600 plus waiting for a properly coded SKREEM have the confidence that if another unit malfunctions they can get their vehicles fixed both Sprinters and crossfires have sharply diminished values. I know the people who don't have a problem may not be impressed with the immediate seriousness of our situation, but the truth is, without access through the dealer network to these properly coded modules, any of our vehicles are living precarious lives. Values of the Crossfires are already depressed, perhaps Sprinters as well - I don't know that market. But knowing what I now know, I wouldn't be interested in buying one. Who would.

Chrysler has had similar problems with the 2.7 V6 motor. The design has some serious flaws that have caused catastrophic engine failures in hundreds or thousands of cars and are well documented. My own Sebring convert with that engine just went over 100K, a point where many of them have had water pump failure that causes coolant to enter the engine and ruins the timing chain system, causing the engines to self destruct. When this happens you need a new $6000 engine and the coin to get it installed. On older cars it is usually not worth fixing, so those owners need another car. If you want to preemptively do a new water pump, you need to do the timing chain setup as well - so the bill is about $3-4,000. Situations like this destroy a manufacturers reputation - just look at the comments online about that engine. But in a way, our situation is even worse, because, at least those situations are fixable. The Skreem situation is not. Maybe we are lucky that the Sprinters are also being infected with this bug, and that volume of sales may cause them to fix this - somehow. I'll keep you informed as to what transpires. I can't afford to just junk my flowerpot, and I assume many others are in the same situation. I need this fixed now - as I am not getting any younger or newer. So far, my recovery from the colon situation is going great, but still, I'm pushing the actuarial stats. FYI, my father came home from his Pharmacy, took a lie down while my mom was fixing dinner, and twenty minutes later she found him dead. Massive coronary He was 38 and I was nine. So you never know. I do't want to and will not leave this issue unresolved.

 

FYI - This is the way the system works now. No need to contact this group - I'm following up with them and will post all info learned here.

Sprinter / Crossfire Module & Lock Parts Group Update

If you have installation or programing issues, please go to Dealer Connect and / or call your Tech Advisor. They will provide assistance. STCMW only deals with shipping and or part verification.

When a dealer places a part order for Sprinter / Crossfire key, Key cylinders, Key lock modules, SKREEM / Gateway modules or WSP modules within GPOP or Dealer Connect, a confirmation statement of order and an estimated shipping date is received. At this point, the dealer order is transmitted to the Daimler Order / Paragon system for the Daimler key and cylinder parts.

Once the order is placed the order CANNOT BE CANCELLED .The dealer will be billed for the order. Please make sure that the part is needed as at this time the order WILL be processed and shipped.

Unfortunately, the message concerning the actual shipping status provided by GPOP or Dealer Connect is inaccurate on MBUSA / Daimler Parts and does not represent the actual status of the order.The Daimler Order / Paragon SAP system does not have the ability to “communicate” back to GPOP orDealer Connect, once the order is received on their end and/or provide an actual order status. These parts are usually shipped within (24 hours).

These specific locking type parts are usually programmed and/or cut during the same day the order is transmitted to the Daimler Order / Paragon SAP system. Orders received by 11:00am (Eastern Time) usually ship the same day. The estimated arrival time on these orders is 24 hours for domestic and 48 hours for international, Canada & Mexico, dependent upon there being no issues with the initial order.

If at any time you do not receive your order within these estimated times, please direct your inquiry to the Sprinter / Crossfire Module & Lock Parts Group at STCMW@chrysler.com . This group will verify and monitor the dealer order, as well as communicate with Daimler regarding the order. The group will then provide feedback to the customer regarding their order.

DO NOT RE-ORDER or attempt to contact the Expediting Hot Line. They do not have access to the Daimler Order System and will forward all dealer requests back to this email address.



So I guess you all understand that. Yes, repeat no. Good thing I speak German.

These security parts are NOT RETURNABLE.

If there is an issue with the part, example wrong cut or not coded correctly DO NOT RE-ORDER as you will be billed once again and you may receive a wrong coded or cut part again. Daimler / MBUSA willNOT PROVIDE CREDIT on any part once the order has been processed even if the part is coded wrong.

You only have (2) WEEKS to place verification claim once the order is received. MBUSA has the right to decline any claims after (2) WEEKS. Contact STCMW as soon as possible for claim process.


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Daimler / MBUSA only do exchanges once certain steps are taken to verify the order. Please contact the Sprinter & Crossfire Lock and Key Group for assistance. These parts once cut and or coded cannot be reused as they are coded to the individual Security Code on record for the VIN used on the order.

DO NOT MRA the part as the claim WILL BE DENIED. Please contact the Sprinter & Crossfire Lock and Key Group for assistance.


STCMW Key & Lock Group


[img]blob:https://www.crossfireforum.org/9c431a2a-3df5-42bf-b473-60ac247188b9[/img][img]blob:https://www.crossfireforum.org/5b33dd10-02e4-4d91-a225-0fa5f56eea85[/img][img]blob:https://www.crossfireforum.org/483338d8-d33c-438a-acdf-b5d168e0fc37[/img][img]blob:https://www.crossfireforum.org/8bb1a688-bfa2-40fa-877c-0c73eee0a392[/img]