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i just bought a second hand chrysler grand voyager 3.3 grand se.
the next day in the morning it would not start i used my starter cable and the neighbour started it with his car battery,it took a few tries before it worked. after that it worked the whole day without a glitch.
next day worse, i try to start it battery is dead again?
i tried to start it turned it of completely after unsuccesfully having tried and then al kinds of strange things happen while turned of. the window sweepers front and back start sweeping without having been turned of i hear a strange fast clicking electrical sound and the headlight seems to be moving up and down at the same time and the clock went on and of. when finally a neighbour came to jumpstart the car again the problem stopped. day 3, oops there it goes again, i am now charging the battery or trying and the charger goes from 0 to full every 30 seconds. can you please help?
ps. when trying to start the all the dial go carzy and turn around
The instrument pane went dead, the radio went dead, the minivan would not start using the ignition key. The interior lights could be turned on using the dimmer switch.
I called the AAA for assistance in towing the minivan home about 4 miles away. While waiting, my daughter said she smelled a burnt smell. I open the hood and could not find anything obvious. I checked the wires and the fluid levels and they seemed to be okay. I could not find any source of burning.
While waiting for assistance, I then checked all the fuses in the fuse box and found all of them to be okay.
When the tow driver came, he asked what the problem was and I explained to him what the problem was. He asked me to try and start the engine with the key. No response. He then thought it might be a dead battery and tried to jump the battery. No response. He then came out with a voltage meter and tested the batter and said that the batter was good, 13.3 volts. He felt that the problem is electrical near the battery pole.
Well, we were towed home. My mechanic neighbor and his family had arrived at his home but he was not at home. I opened the hood and re checked the engine compartment and found a red insulated wire that had two tiny holes in it. I felt the wire and found that you could feel one side of the wire with wire in it then there was a break or gap, then you could feel more wire through the insulation. The wire was located in a thick bundle of wires on the engine driver's side.
I studied my two manual, Chilton and Hayes, and felt that it might be one of those fusible links. I had to use a magnifying glass to look at Chilton's wiring diagram for the year (93) 3.0 Grand Voyager. I looked at Hayes electrical wiring diagrams and didn't find to much useful information other than how to replace the fusible link and to be sure that the negative pole of the battery was disconnected.
The next morning I had my mechanic neighbor checked what I had discovered and he agreed that that was the fusible link wire and that I should replace the wire with the same amperage or gauge with of 10 amps. He told me that there was art to solder the wires together.
I started to read as much information about this problem as the manual had said that you should not rely on fixing the fusible link only without searching for the underlying cause. I had asked my mechanic friend if there was any computer codes that could solve the problem as to the source. He said the problem could be anywhere and that you would need to know which circuit was involved by removing each fuse to see if that would isolate the source.
Since that was a much bigger project than I could do without having some special instruments and lacking a detailed electirical diagram for the model year, I decided to consider looking for professional advice. I spoke with my new pastor as he had some recent electrical work done with replacement of an alternator how did he like the result with the new mechanic. He was pleased with the results.
So I decided to get the fusible link link from NAPA in our town and also get the butt wire connectors as well. I had planned to solder the wires but the parts person said that you could use the butt wire connectors with just as good result and to use electrical tape as well.
I decided following this to visit my pastor's new mechanic for a consultation. I presented my problem to him and wanted to know if he had any experience with a fusible link problem. He told me that sometimes a circuit could be over loaded for some reason and the problem self correct and not occur again. He asked if I had used the air conditioning. I told him that the AC was not working for years and we never used it due to a microscopic leak in the evaporator that could not be fixed without incurring a large cost. I told him of my plan to repair that link and asked him if I could bring the minivan in for evaluation. He said if the fusible link solves the problem there would not be any computer codes available as there was no check engine light that came on. He said if there was a recurrence in a few days or several weeks to bring the minivan in and they would check it out. He said if the problem reoccured several months later, it would be more difficult to pin point the source.
I re studied the available electrical diagrams on the two manuals this evening. I noticed that someone had mentioned going to the library and looking at the electrical diagram on the Mitchell's manual. I may just do that before installing the fusible link.
I was even thinking of going to my old mechanic who had worked on the car for many years and asking his opinion.
I would like to have some suggestions on this challenge that I am facing as to what anyone would suggest solving this problem?
Thanks
Ronald
abs and check engine lights come on, gas gauge, odometer, speedometer,'etc
do not work. After a few days the ABS light goes off, the check engine light stays
on and the gauges pop back on. Normally after I drove the car for a while the
engine light would go off and everything would be normal. Then the cycle
would start over. The cycles seem to be coming more often now. I wrote down the
sequence and gave it to a Chrysler service advisor who showed no interest, charged
about $90 to use computer diagnostics and told me a controller board MIGHT help.
My gas gauge pings and fluctuates sometimes with the sequence but not every time.
I also have the wayward wipers that I have seen several dodge/chrysler owners write in about at several websites. They sometimes have life of their own but
especially like to swipe at least 3 times when I use the turn signal. Lately they
have not been wanting to shut off and sometimes stop at the sides of the windshield instead of nesting at the bottom.
I am really sorry that Chrysler products have these types of aggravating frustrating
idiosyncrasies because the van drives, runs and rides great otherwise.
As I have been reading at several sites I have found that many owners seem to
have these and similar problems and there seem to be as many solutions as
there are drivers with problems....replace the clockspring, replace the BCM,
check the fuses, check the wiring, do a complete re-set....what should we do
to solve these problems,,which one is the best, simplest and longest lastng
fix?
I did read at one website that an owner of a 1996 caravan was having the same
abs light on/gauges off problem and he said he found a fuse in the fusebox under the hood and #1 from left to right was broken.
If anyone can give a consistent affordable fix to these problems (short of trading the dodge in for a toyota) I am sure all of us kindred spirits would love to hear it..
Sorry to go on so long but I am just so relieved to find out I am not the only one
with this quirky set of dodge problems.
In closing I have but one final word..HELP.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Shipo
Thanks
Best regards,
Shipo
Any ideas?
Thanks, ndiss
The interior lights stay on from the moment i unlock the doors.
After locking the doors they only stop after 15 minutes (security)
outside lamps function properly but the chime is ringing when i open the door even if they are shut down.
Only the rear interior lights stay on, the front interior function properly but dont turn on automatically when i unlock the doors.
Well if you have some helping ideas they are welcome
Cheers,
Will
Thank You.
. I fix it in the fuse box is on the hook, the cable going into the box
is filled with corusion and clean w-4 and a brush.
Es el cable que va hacia la caja de fusible esta al lado de la bateria la caja de fusible y es el cable que se conecta a la caja de fusible limpialo con w-4 y un sepillo y quitale toda la corrusion
The battery was bad, replaced, rolled over the fuse box and cleaned the connections under there. Any thing else I should try b4 taking it in?
Thanks for any help
Jim
Historical info: no custom modifications to the van; 100% stock. Newer battery, about 18 months old. 100,000 miles. Severe Maintenance Schedule followed in terms of fluid/filter/ignition replacement.
-Ty
The terminals on the harness side plugs actually come apart for proper cleaning so pay observation on how the colored wires are arranged in their reseptacles when putting them back together. The plug terminal with the heaviest wires situated on the bottom corner is the main power feed and may be the primary culprit so clean that one first and see if it corrects your problem.
Use petroleaum jelly (Vaseline) which has no minerals present and is non conductive and moisture preventative for re-attaching the plugs.
If a thorough cleaning of these components does not resolved your issue be prepared to spend some money. The electronic Front Control Module (brain) which attaches onto the end of the IPM (with 4 machine screws and 2 hidden metal strip clamps) may have issues. This FCM may need replacement to solve your problem. The IPM may have internal corrossion as well and may require replacement.
In Canada these are dealer service parts only and there is no warranty whatsoever on these electronic components. The IPM and FCM are over $300 each. A dealer is going to charge close to $ 90 an hour. They will tell you the job should take about an hour if everything goes well but be prepared to pay up to 3 hrs. on labour. I took my time and it took me 3 hrs. to clean and change the IPM and FCM before my issues became resolved. - Good Luck!
-Ty
I have already checked for lose wiring cabling on the driver-side door as well as behind the steering column, but everything seems to be tightly connected.
Any suggestions as to where the problem may be hiding?
p.s. The battery is just a few months old and the connections are clean and solid.