Hi there.
I am not a pro mechanic at all by any means, so please bear with me. The girlfriend has been using my 2001 caravan for her business and therefore I have not seen it in a bit, but she reported to me yesterday that several problems have cropped up. I had only several minutes this morning to verify the problems, and am getting ready to tackle them - probably this weekend, and thought I would get 'up front advice' if possible. This group has proven invaluable before in helping a relatively inexperienced person along with problem resolution.
- The rear tail lights are out. Headlights come on, 4 way flashers, brakes, and signals work, but not the rear lights when the headlights are on. I did quick check and I did not see any blown fuses in the fuse/relay tray near the battery in the engine compartment.
- are there more fuses elsewhere to check?
- I have not checked the bulbs, but sort of surprising both would be gone, but will check first.
- I remember reading somewhere about a poor ground on the rear lights being an issue with all sorts of lighting problems. I can't find the blasted link on that one for the life of me, but I will check that when I see if I can get access to the bulbs.
- If not any of those - any other things I can check? I read that light problems could be a body computer problem? (Again - just those 2 lights? And I sort of know what it is but darned if I know where to find it to check connections...)
- The van used to pump out heat in a few minutes. This am it ran for a bit and still no sign of heat.
- Check the thermostat to see if it closing and opening. Feel upper and lower rad hoses once running for a bit and see if both are hot?
- There must be a cable running into the engine compartment for that somewhere. I guess check to see if it moves or is broken/slipping?
- Other items if not the above?
Thanks and regards - just need to know if I am heading in the right direction to at least start with these repairs or if there are other fairly obvious items (to more knowledgeable people) that I should know about and check as well.