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I have a 94 T&C and the instrument clusted started blinking intermittently. It is getting worse and it appears to be more so when you put a load on the electrical system (ie. open a door (enterior lights come one), turn on the headlights, operate power windows, etc).
Lon Allen
Dave
It runs great, uses about 1 quart of oil between oil changes.
It always passes the annual smog check fine.
We drove it 1,300 miles last weekend on vacation and it was a champ.
I spoke to a transmission shop and the only advice they said was to
have the transmission serviced and they might be able to tell if there is
high wear based upon the fluid/sediment. The transmission seems to
be working just fine. Went up/down the Owayhee mountains and costal
mountains perfectly.
Thanks all. I'm still not decided.
We had a transaxle replaced at about 100K because the seal went bad,
it never made clicking noises when we turned (which is a common symptom
of CV/transaxle problems) or had steering wheel wobble, it just leaked and
was a bit messy. We just drove our van for 1300 miles up and down mountains
this last week on vacation, and the transmission seems to be in good shape.
I'd say that unless you have been pulling heavy things, that you probably are
good for a few more years, especially since it seems that you are going a bit
light on the miles per year. We are now starting to notice a bit of a wobble in
the steering wheel at up to 35 mph, which I think is likely a CV/transaxle. We are thinking about selling it now. Our shocks seem to be pretty well at their life too.
I am hoping to maybe get one more year out of it.
24 Throttle position sensor voltage to high or low
14 Map voltage to high or low
13 Slow change in map idle signal or no change in map from start to run
15 no veicle speed signal
51Oxygen sensor stays below center
11 No ignition reference signal
25 Automatic idle speed motor circuit
34 speed control colenoid circuits
From the above info, what could be the problem?
Replies to this message:
Thanks
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I am having the same problem with my 2000 Grand Caravan...It has happened twice and is currently in the "blinking light" mode you describe.
The first time I called my dealer service department after checking owner's manual (nothing) and online Chrysler Customer Service (no references). Dealer service guy had never heard of this problem. After several minutes on hold, he said he didn't think there was any reset button and that they usually just take the unit out and send it to the manufacturer,etc. Its hard enough to take time to schedule critical service I really didn't want to spend the time and money to take it in, just to find out it was something simple &/or easy &/or cheap that even I could have fixed if I had known (such as a reset button). I tried to find a way into the back of the dash or under the changer with no success. So I just enjoyed the magic of my iPod through the cassette or radio feed as those stupid lights continued to mock me with the constant blinking. I tried every combination of keys, buttons, and sequences ( such as pushing all the load/eject buttons at the same time, with the engine on/off/ , the radio on/off, the key in off/on/accessories mode), thinking it might reset like a cell phone accidently placed in "lock" mode (don't ask).
I finally concluded that a disc must be jammed in the mechanism. I took an old CD and place it just inside the feed slot and felt the edge of a disc. I gently nudged it up and down and in until the disc finally moved and it the unit began working. Not a very elegant or technical solution, but it worked perfectly for several months and then recently went out again. I tried the same technique as mentioned above but it has yet to work for me. In both cases, the problem occurred when the battery was low and the car and accessories almost - but not quite - started. I think the changer starts to shuffle and then the lack of juice catches the mechanism and you end up with a jam.
Anyway, I too am back to square one again with regards to the changer, and it took several hours of searching to find this site and your post regarding this issue. But there is an up side...those flashing lights keep my mind from focusing on the nonworking seat heaters that cost over $1200 each and appear to be a common problem with this vehicle, or the clunking right front suspension problem, or the dash board lights that dim or brighten for no apparent reason, or the driver door window that rolls down as designed, but occasionally won't roll up (like when your 16 year old daughter uses it for her driver's license exam in a February downpour). Fortunately, the dealer that has thoughtfully investigated these problems at $90 an hour nd has assured me that nothing is wrong (except, of course, the seat heaters at $1200 each), so I can relax and enjoy the new Lee Iacocca commercials:
"Remember, if you can find a better car... Buy it!
Please let me know if you find out any thing about the CD changer problem...I will do likewise. Good Luck!
-tgray">
P.S. This is my 3rd Dodge vehicle and 2nd Grand Caravan, so either I'm a loyal consumer or a slow learner.
P.S.S. I wonder if I can get the "Employee Discount" on the heated seats?
The ignition coil is (was) less than $50 dollars, and is easily replaced by anyone. All you need is a wrench to remove the coil. No adjustments, just remove and replace.
It turned out that the used BCM came from a caravan that was equipped with an alarm system (mine does not have an alarm). Although the original problem appeared to be fixed, the system was completely confused by the different BCM firmware. The dealer installed the correctly programmed new BCM, and the problem is gone.
Lessons:
1. My mechanic tells me that other mechanics have reported the exact same problem on Caravans, Voyagers, and Town & Country vans. Chrysler knows there is a flaw on these vans but refuses to acknowledge it.
2. Be very careful when replacing Caravan parts with parts from other used vehicles.
3. The BCM contains the odometer mileage memory.
4. Not all BCMs are identical. Replacing a BCM with an unidentical unit will cause lots of problems.
Best of Luck!
This van has been nothing but trouble from day one.
If you are keeping the van for a few years replace radiator. If not, use stop leak.
All cooling systems better be well oversized to take into account some worst case situations, like idling in the desert with the AC on and 115 degree F ambient conditions! Under all other operating conditions, this radiator would be considered oversized.
A partially clogged radiator may reduce cooling capacity, but unless you are under the most extreme conditions, it will not show up as inadequate.
Sam55 may have a pinhole leak that only leaks under pressure, and if it is at the top of the system, may only be spewing steam, thus no puddle on the ground. Any good shop will pressure test the cooling system and should be able to diagnose the problem.
It also could be something like the plastic overflow tank has a leak, or worse, a the headgasket problem allowing coolant to get into the oil or into a cylinder, but then you would likely have some other serious issues going on.
Once there, I got my money, consumed a half of a bottle of water and headed back up toward Mammoth Lakes. For those of you who don’t know the area, Bishop sits at something just a little over 4,000’ above sea level, and Sherwin Summit (the nominal half way point) is something over 7,000’, with my destination being a couple thousand feet above that. I was half way up the climb to Sherwin Summit and realized that I was, A) HOT, nearly out of water, and C) not going to make it to the townlet of Tom’s Place (just past the summit) without a considerable infusion of water. Just about that moment, a large motor home (with what can only be described as an enormous radiator) pulled off the road a few hundred yards up the road to cool off its engine. I quickly rode up to its side door, knocked and asked for some water. While talking to the couple who were vacationing from the mid-west I drank an entire gallon of water.
My thirst sated, I continued up to Tom’s Place where I stopped again, bought a quart of milk, two quarts of water, an ice-cream cone and a beer, all of which I happily consumed on the spot. ;-)
As for our two Caravans, the cooling system proved to be insufficient only once, and that was climbing a very steep, narrow, winding road up a mountain in 100 degree weather with the A/C blasting.
Best Regards,
Shipo
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It takes time to figure these things out.
I had serpentine belts last less that five miles. I bet I have use ten in two years. It started after a visit to the dealer to replace the alternator. It was under the warranty.
This is a 97 grand caravan 3.3 liter motor. I have no idea if this applies to any other year but I'd bet it does. Anyway...
The Alternator has a spacer behind it. This spacer is as thick as a washer. When the mechanic installed the alternator he assumed this was a washer not a spacer. What this did was offset the alternator pulley by one rib on the serpentine belt This moved the alternator 1/16 or so away from the engine and closer to the side of the car. What happened was the belt would ride up onto the edge of the alternator pulley and then shred. Dealerships are great huh? If you look at the car (if you still have it) you may find the spacer is just below the bolt head not between the alternator and bracket where it belongs.
Maybe the designer is the person who initially polished the Hubble mirror, it was a washer that screwed that up.
Hope this help
Thanks
96 grand voyager owner
Thanks,
Campdavis@charter.net
Because of the year and your symptom set, my suggestion would be to replace the battery. The unexplainable illumination of various instrument indicators is telling me the battery is marginal, a typical scenario on Chrysler products. I'm surprised your local shop hasn't run across this before.
Best regards,
Dusty
Connectors ok. Is there a relay I'm missing here somewhere? No mention of a relay under the cover in the fuse/relay box.
Thanks in advance for any advice,
Tim
mickey.breda@lincsat.com
To see the recall notices and TSBs for the Grand Caravan SE, go to http://edmunds.com and click the "Tips" tab at the top of the screen. On the next screen, click the "Maintenance Guide" link. Fill in the information about your vehicle and voila.
By the way, typing in all caps makes it look like you're shouting, so it's best to take your caps lock key off when you post.
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Any way, on my friends vehicle, the gauge went near H only while standing still, and it returned to normal once the car was moving. On his the harness that connects to the relay was bad, which i think was near the cooling fan. Dealer had diagnosed the relay to be working fine.
hope this helps.
KurtA
Sometimes the car will start but none of the gauges will work. My alarm light, seatbelt and ABS lights stay on and I get goofy readings from the trip computer.
Sometimes the car will start but won't continue running. The RPMs stay at 0 and then the car just dies. After about 12 hours it will crank right up.
One garage got some kind of sensor reading that the transmission was not engaging. So they disconnected it, drove around the block in the hope that it would reset and they got bupkis.
At other times, I may go over a speed bump and the car will just die but crank up again as soon as I put it in neutral and turn the key.
It's wacky and getting very frustrating.
BTW, this is a '97 T&C.
I don't, but I'm hopeful that one of the experts posting in this Forum will have some insight for you. I don't know if this helps, but it looks like one of our members hit on a solution to a similar problem last month, and other members found it useful. Click this link to read the post:
Re: 1997 Grand Caravan no power to instrument panel and gauges [dougt2] by phantom3 Jul 01, 2005 (10:30 am)
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Thanks.