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?

Reply to
ItchyWool
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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.

Reply to
BSAKing

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.

Reply to
Rodan

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