94 dodge caravan ignition coil

Intermitant problems are the worst. You may not want to throw parts at it as that can get expensive. Your best way to diagnose the problem would be with a scan tool that is capable of reading all sensor values. You didn't mention what engine you have but you need to be able see if you have a signal from the cam and crank sensors or distributor pickup to the ECU. You also need to see if the ECU is firing the coil. You may also be able to check all that with a meter and wring diagram but that would take a while.

It could very well be a moisture problem, I live on the CDN Wet Coast too. My suggestion is to clean and replug all exposed connectors under the hood. A blower canister for electronics circuits is good for the cleaning. I've found that dirt collects on these connectors and leads to problems in wet weather, such as today.

I am surprised you didn't get an engine check light. If you do the sequence of ignition key "on, off, on, off, on" may give you a code. They are two number sets, with "5 5" as the last one.

I had a similar problem on three different caravans from 1988, 1989, and

1990. What happened was that the wiring harness had an internal failure at a fusible link, leaving the ASD relay unpowered. The wiring diagram showed that this relay is supposed to be supplied with 12 volts directly from the + battery terminal at all times. In all there cases, the wire broke internally.

My chosen repair method was to permanently install a jumper wire between the battery and this relay, which made the vehicle operate as it should. I don't know if the 1994 model is wired the same way, but it's worth looking at. What you want to do is wait for it to fail again, and then check to see if the ASD relay has 12 volts on the terminal that is connected directly to the battery. Now that I'm thinking about it, my

1989 had this problem intermittently.

Thanks everyone, I tried the key on offf on off on thing and nothing. Wasn't sure if it worked on my year of Caravan (94). Was thinking of getting my hands on an OBDII and doing some testing myself. By the way the engine has the 3.0 V6. I was wondering about the bank of fuses and relays on the drivers side wheel arch. Is the ECU under this bunch? I suppose with this engine it has a pickup unit within the distributor and not on the flywheel.

I bought the van as a work truck for $1800 from a local school teacher. He said it had just had the heads rebuilt and never gave him any trouble. 24 hours after I bought it the head gaskets went and he wasn't prepared to give any money back. I was hoping I could get the shop he took the van to to warranty their work and I was told the the auto teacher at his school had done the work. What a joke! Half of the head bolts were at 40lb/ft instead of the recommended 80lb/ft. The heads were warped more than 0.020" and were junk. The water pipe in the valley had been redone using RTV sealant and many of the nuts, bolts and clamps were only finger tight. My guess is that the students did most of the work. I've since rebuilt the engine from the bottom up as one of the centre pistons suffered hydraulic compression and bent a rod!

It does.

Your van isn't OBD2 equipped, so that would be a waste of money.

Yes, left front corner of engine bay right next to the battery.

Two pick-ups in the distributor. You may want to disconnect the battery for a few seconds, reconnect it and then try starting the engine, then cycles the key three times and check for a code 11.

So, was the intermittent stall/no start there before you rebuilt the engine?

Hi, thanks for the individual responses. I did all of the engine work before Christmas and this problem of the engine just stopping has happened twice in the last month. Under the hood all the wires look pretty ratty but when you really take a look it's just the cloth wrap that Chrysler used that's deteriorating. Also, with this van I have replaced the tires, all brakes, front wheel bearings, inner/outer tie rods, heater core flush, muffler and resonator, front struts, rear shocks and replaced the front motor mount that was stick welded back together after by the looks of it someone tried to jack the vehicle up on the part! Ah well, I'm the dummy for not nit picking through the vehicle before I bought it! By the way, what is code 11?

Ian

Code 11, IIRC, is something like "Battery was disconnected".

Holy sheep dip Batman! You paid $1800 for this thing, and you did ALL that to it??? I bet you spent double what you paid for it.

Sorry bud, I have never been a fan of the 3.0 Mitsubishi engine. If the heads blew, I would have either dropped in a 3.3, or pushed it off of the nearest cliff.

Don't get me wrong! I had a 1994 GC (with the 3.3) and I loved it. I did plenty of repairs to it over a 5 year period. And if some 16 year old punk with his "learners" license had not blown a top sign and totalled it, we would still be driving it.

I guess hind sight is 20/20. All I can tell you for sure is - in the event of an accident - do NOT expect to get one single dime for all the money you sunk into it for repairs! You MIGHT get 10% over "book value", but that is it. And our insurance company would not even consider anything that had not been done in the last 2 years are contribbuting to the vehicles value! So my head gasket repair and trans rebuild "did not count"?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hope you find the problem.

On. =EF=BF=BDMy

Pickup coil in the distributor.

Bob AZ

Pickup coil in the distributor.

Or crank sensor.

Ted

No crank sensor on 1994 3.0L Change distributor

Claude

Before you dive into a distributor replacement you ought to be sure whether there is power to the circuit. You guys could be right, but if it were my van I would wait for it to go out again and check to see if the fuel pump has power.

"ian marsh"

Yes.

Starter still work?

Intermittent electrical problems are going to be where connectors make contact - and that's pretty much that. I've just never seen a wire break somewhere in the middle. People love to blame things they can't see. Sensor issues generally get flagged by the computer and will throw a code. In one case, on a 1994 Caravan, the power, signal lines to the distributor needed to be resoldered. I pulled the metal pins from the plastic connector body, dripped in some flux and added some new solder. Hot solder. I could never "see" the problem with a meter, etc, but I suspected the connectors. The resoldering ended my problem. I'd tried different anti-corrosive greases to no avail. That often works, though, but not this time. I've heard a few stories of people ordering entire new engine wire harnesses on these Caravans to correct intermittent problems. I'd say you don't know what's going on and/or have given up if you order a new harness, but I've heard a few stories. The factory manual or a $15 subscription to alldatadiy.com will get you your wiring diagrams. As someone else mentioned, the ASD is also something to check via the fuel pump operation - ie, your starter works, you hear the fuel pump cycle, the engine cranks, but no spark - your ignition ckt is probably to blame. If no fuel pump, I believe, then ASD ckt is prime suspect. If no starter, then look at relays ckts.

- D