Add group to favorites
Back to post list
Send new message to group Search:
Post Subject:
Caravan starting problems
Caravan starting problems
Several months ago my wife drove our '96 Dodge Caravan to a friends
house. The van would not start when she attempted to leave. It turned
over, and all the lights worked but it just wouldn't start. The engine
would just turn over, it wasn't catching at all. It seemed like there
was either no gas or no spark.
I had a local repair shop tow it to his business. It was the same guy
I had purchased the vehicle from a couple years ago. He said that he
saw that there was some corroded wires and that he was in the process
of replacing them. At one point he said there was no way he could
charge me the labor that he put into the vehicle. I asked him on
several occasions how much I owed him and he just continued to say
that he wasn't going to charge full labor and that he would be done
with it in another week. Weeks turned into months and the van still
wasn't running. I wasn't pushing him at this point because my wife
lost her job and we didn't have the money to pay for it anyway.
We recently rectified the money/job issue and have resumed pressure on
the mechanic. several weeks ago he said that he needed to replace the
computer so I picked one up on Ebay to save some cash. He put it in
and he said that the van started but cut off after about a minute.
This is all it would do. He tried another computer and it did the same
thing. The mechanic is now telling me that he believes there is some
kind of security system that has been enabled by changing out the
computer and he needs to figure out how to disable it.
Could this be the case? If so, does anyone know how to disable the
engine shut off? If this is not the case then what else could it be?
Several months ago my wife drove our '96 Dodge Caravan to a friends
house. The van would not start when she attempted to leave. It turned
over, and all the lights worked but it just wouldn't start. The engine
would just turn over, it wasn't catching at all. It seemed like there
was either no gas or no spark.
I had a local repair shop tow it to his business. It was the same guy
I had purchased the vehicle from a couple years ago. He said that he
saw that there was some corroded wires and that he was in the process
of replacing them. At one point he said there was no way he could
charge me the labor that he put into the vehicle. I asked him on
several occasions how much I owed him and he just continued to say
that he wasn't going to charge full labor and that he would be done
with it in another week. Weeks turned into months and the van still
wasn't running. I wasn't pushing him at this point because my wife
lost her job and we didn't have the money to pay for it anyway.
We recently rectified the money/job issue and have resumed pressure on
the mechanic. several weeks ago he said that he needed to replace the
computer so I picked one up on Ebay to save some cash. He put it in
and he said that the van started but cut off after about a minute.
This is all it would do. He tried another computer and it did the same
thing. The mechanic is now telling me that he believes there is some
kind of security system that has been enabled by changing out the
computer and he needs to figure out how to disable it.
Could this be the case? If so, does anyone know how to disable the
engine shut off? If this is not the case then what else could it be?
Re: Caravan starting problems
On May 6, 1:46 pm, ItchyW...@gmail . com wrote:
> Several months ago my wife drove our '96 Dodge Caravan to a friends
> house. The van would not start when she attempted to leave. It turned
> over, and all the lights worked but it just wouldn't start. The engine
> would just turn over, it wasn't catching at all. It seemed like there
> was either no gas or no spark.
>
> I had a local repair shop tow it to his business. It was the same guy
> I had purchased the vehicle from a couple years ago. He said that he
> saw that there was some corroded wires and that he was in the process
> of replacing them. At one point he said there was no way he could
> charge me the labor that he put into the vehicle. I asked him on
> several occasions how much I owed him and he just continued to say
> that he wasn't going to charge full labor and that he would be done
> with it in another week. Weeks turned into months and the van still
> wasn't running. I wasn't pushing him at this point because my wife
> lost her job and we didn't have the money to pay for it anyway.
>
> We recently rectified the money/job issue and have resumed pressure on
> the mechanic. several weeks ago he said that he needed to replace the
> computer so I picked one up on Ebay to save some cash. He put it in
> and he said that the van started but cut off after about a minute.
> This is all it would do. He tried another computer and it did the same
> thing. The mechanic is now telling me that he believes there is some
> kind of security system that has been enabled by changing out the
> computer and he needs to figure out how to disable it.
>
> Could this be the case? If so, does anyone know how to disable the
> engine shut off? If this is not the case then what else could it be?
I had exactly the same problem and it also cut out the odd time when
it was running. Cranked like a bandit, but would not start. Other
times it would work perfectly.
I heard the same story as you and..... . it turned out to be a relay un
the fuse/relay holder. I swapped it with others there that are the
same (try the horn) and away it went.
I bought a new relay for $20 and have not had the problem since. Mine
was a 2001 caravan.
On May 6, 1:46 pm, ItchyW...@gmail . com wrote:
> Several months ago my wife drove our '96 Dodge Caravan to a friends
> house. The van would not start when she attempted to leave. It turned
> over, and all the lights worked but it just wouldn't start. The engine
> would just turn over, it wasn't catching at all. It seemed like there
> was either no gas or no spark.
>
> I had a local repair shop tow it to his business. It was the same guy
> I had purchased the vehicle from a couple years ago. He said that he
> saw that there was some corroded wires and that he was in the process
> of replacing them. At one point he said there was no way he could
> charge me the labor that he put into the vehicle. I asked him on
> several occasions how much I owed him and he just continued to say
> that he wasn't going to charge full labor and that he would be done
> with it in another week. Weeks turned into months and the van still
> wasn't running. I wasn't pushing him at this point because my wife
> lost her job and we didn't have the money to pay for it anyway.
>
> We recently rectified the money/job issue and have resumed pressure on
> the mechanic. several weeks ago he said that he needed to replace the
> computer so I picked one up on Ebay to save some cash. He put it in
> and he said that the van started but cut off after about a minute.
> This is all it would do. He tried another computer and it did the same
> thing. The mechanic is now telling me that he believes there is some
> kind of security system that has been enabled by changing out the
> computer and he needs to figure out how to disable it.
>
> Could this be the case? If so, does anyone know how to disable the
> engine shut off? If this is not the case then what else could it be?
I had exactly the same problem and it also cut out the odd time when
it was running. Cranked like a bandit, but would not start. Other
times it would work perfectly.
I heard the same story as you and..... . it turned out to be a relay un
the fuse/relay holder. I swapped it with others there that are the
same (try the horn) and away it went.
I bought a new relay for $20 and have not had the problem since. Mine
was a 2001 caravan.
Re: Caravan starting problems
<ItchyWool@gmail . com > wrote: ( '96 Dodge Caravan )
My van quit working. All the lights worked and the engine would
turn over but it just wouldn't catch at all. It seemed like there
was either no gas or no spark.
The guy who sold me the van two years ago runs a repair shop.
I had it towed to his shop and he said there were some corroded
wires he would replace at no charge for his labor. The new wires
did not help. After having the van for several weeks, he said
the computer was bad. I bought one on Ebay and he installed it.
He said that the van started but quit after about a minute. He
tried another computer and it did the same thing. Now he thinks
some kind of security system in the new computer is the problem
and he needs to figure out how to disable it.
It has now been in his shop for several months and there is no
end in sight. Could a security system cause this problem?
If so, does anyone know how to disable the engine shutoff?
If not, then what else could it be?
_____________________________________________________
It could be a million things. Go back to what you originally
thought: no gas or no spark? Ask a competent mechanic to
answer that question, then proceed with troubleshooting by
working backwards toward the cause of the problem. When
you have a better idea of the nature of the problem, re-post
here at the rec.autos.tech newsgroup for enlightened help.
Good luck.
Rodan.
NOTE: If you still want to blindly throw parts at it, try an
ignition module or TFI module, if your van uses one.
<ItchyWool@gmail . com > wrote: ( '96 Dodge Caravan )
My van quit working. All the lights worked and the engine would
turn over but it just wouldn't catch at all. It seemed like there
was either no gas or no spark.
The guy who sold me the van two years ago runs a repair shop.
I had it towed to his shop and he said there were some corroded
wires he would replace at no charge for his labor. The new wires
did not help. After having the van for several weeks, he said
the computer was bad. I bought one on Ebay and he installed it.
He said that the van started but quit after about a minute. He
tried another computer and it did the same thing. Now he thinks
some kind of security system in the new computer is the problem
and he needs to figure out how to disable it.
It has now been in his shop for several months and there is no
end in sight. Could a security system cause this problem?
If so, does anyone know how to disable the engine shutoff?
If not, then what else could it be?
_____________________________________________________
It could be a million things. Go back to what you originally
thought: no gas or no spark? Ask a competent mechanic to
answer that question, then proceed with troubleshooting by
working backwards toward the cause of the problem. When
you have a better idea of the nature of the problem, re-post
here at the rec.autos.tech newsgroup for enlightened help.
Good luck.
Rodan.
NOTE: If you still want to blindly throw parts at it, try an
ignition module or TFI module, if your van uses one.
