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2008 T&C stalling without reason

205 messages,  Last post on Sep 18, 2012 at 12:04 PM

You are in the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chrysler Town and Country, Van

Messages Page 10 of 21

#87 of 205 Re: 2002 town and country wont start. intermitant problem [zookey] by ctcowner

Apr 25, 2008 (9:05 pm)

Replying to: zookey (May 22, 2007 10:14 pm)
My T&C has a similar starting problem. Sometimes won't start after running it on a hot day, especially in stop and go traffic or after it's been idling for a long period. Doesn't happen when outside temp is below 50 or 60. That's half the year here. The other half I use the following workaround: I open the hood and rock the fuse box gently from side to side, close the hood, jump in, turn the key and it starts every time. I'm not a mechanic, but I believe my T&C shorts-out due to extreme heat around the fuse box. Also, the computer module is attached to the fuse box. Hey Chrysler, engine compartments are not good environments for computer chips and circuit boards! Hope this helps.

#88 of 205 Re: 2002 town and country wont start. intermitant problem [ctcowner] by roymarko

Apr 28, 2008 (7:54 am)

Replying to: ctcowner (Apr 25, 2008 9:05 pm)
You might have the fuel pump pressure tested. When they begin to go bad, they loose pressure. Under normal driving and in cool stop-n-go...they work fine. BUT, when it gets hot, in stop-n-go traffic, with heat build-up in the engine compartment, it will 'vapor lock'. Because the fuel pump does not have enough pressure to keep the fuel circulating and thus keep it cool, preventing vapor lock situation. This happened tome on my Astro Van. Well, just another 'real' possibility.
roymarko

#89 of 205 2003 Town & Country by judger1

May 01, 2008 (1:32 am)

Recent purchase from a dealer. Car was running great. Several days ago, the engine would not turn over. All other power functions seemed to work. Mechanic sayes he thinks I need main computer control module, but it is pretty expensive if that's not the real problem. Mechanic also said it started for him after tow but cut off and would not start again. Reading the postings, it seems that the computer control module normally is not the real problem? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rob

#90 of 205 Re: 2003 Town & Country [judger1] by tedebear

May 01, 2008 (10:25 am)

Replying to: judger1 (May 01, 2008 1:32 am)
Did they test the fuel delivery system? It could be something like a defective fuel pump or maybe even a simple and inexpensive solution like a dirty/clogged fuel filter.

#91 of 205 Re: 2003 Town & Country [judger1] by mismaili

May 01, 2008 (5:51 pm)

Replying to: judger1 (May 01, 2008 1:32 am)
Check my earlier postings, after replacing the main computer module, battery, starter, and a dealer recommended BCM (body control module) which i did not due. I researched it online like you and found 3 others with the starting problem and the final resolution was the circuit board behind the instrumentation panel.

#92 of 205 Re: 2003 Town & Country [judger1] by delaisla

May 20, 2008 (2:55 pm)

Replying to: judger1 (May 01, 2008 1:32 am)
I purchased a 2007 town and Country and I had the same problem the day after we picked up the car from the dealer. My husband was driving the car and it shut down while he was waiting at a red light and my child was in the car. We brought it back to the dealer and they said the issue had something to do with the automatic starter that they installed and the ignition. Now we are having the same issue again. This time we brought it back and they said their was a problem with the charger and they replaced the battery. If this is a common issue shouldn't Chrysler be issuing some type of recall. It is my understanding that the body of the town and country has been the same since 1997. Does this hold true for the engine and circuit boards?

#93 of 205 2003 GrandC stalling in reverse... by caravanaholic

Jun 11, 2008 (6:27 pm)

I've been all over this forum looking for a final solution to a similar stalling issue... MISMAILI posted a great answer for cars not starting and 3X lockout issues in post #69. See http://ingriddijkers.com/CaravanPics.html
 
My problem is stalling in a 2002 Grand Caravan. It's got 105K miles and dies at stop lights, going around corners and sputters when you put it in reverse. In neutral, the car maintains a constant 1000 RPM. Slide it into drive and apply throttle and it sputters (light surge and bucking) and then stall. It's fine if you press the accelerator (to keep the RPM high) while holding the brake and then slip it into drive. No problems on the highway. No observed decrease in MPG.
 
It's been in the shop (local shade tree mechanic with 30+ years under the hood) and he's baffled. He's gone thru extensive diagnostics and replaced thermostat, manifold pressure sensor and given it a chemical fuel treatment. NO significant difference. It seems like some sensor is not working... not permitting sufficient fuel to flow when the transmission senses a load on it.
  
Like all problems, it's tempermental and does not always act up when Mechanic is chasing the problem. It's been acting up since mid May... about 30 days of which it's been in his shop for 15 days.
 
It's been a solid van.... but at 105K, this might be trade-in time. Any help is appreciated.

#94 of 205 Re: 99 T&C - Flashing lights on the rear wiper buttons and AC bu [francin] by mjparisi

Jul 10, 2008 (2:46 pm)

Replying to: francin (Aug 13, 2007 6:13 am)
The flashing lights does not mean that your AC is going bad. You can reset this without replacing your AC system I did it a couple of years ago and haven't had any problems since. They told me the same thing and I found out how to do the diagnostic test and it reset the system. You have to hold down the buttons in a certain sequence and it puts the system into a test mode, afterword reseting the system.

#95 of 205 Re: 1998 Dodge Caravan Sport [francin] by mismaili

Jul 11, 2008 (11:44 pm)

Replying to: francin (Aug 13, 2007 6:40 am)
Hey francin ,
 
Do yourself a favor and get the instrumentation panel, ie... circuit board, its about $400 and make the dealer program it for you. Without a charge, since you have already paid for services/repairs that were not needed.
 
Fortunately, for me, I had my mechanic do it for free. He happens to work for a Chrysler dealer.
 
My starting problem has not occured since I changed the board. Good Luck
 
Miz

#96 of 205 99 Chrysler T&C Limited by mjparisi

Jul 14, 2008 (9:15 am)

This is going to be somewhat long so for the faint hearted you may turn away now.
 
  I have owned a 99 Town & Country Limited for about five years now, which I bought from a family friend with less than 50,000 miles on it. He was selling it because his wife had died and he had no use for her vehicle anymore. I bought it for what the dealer was going to give him on a trade for his new car. I have always had reservations about owning Chrysler products due to the horror stories that I have heard throughout my life. I decided to purchase this vehicle due to the immaculate condition of the vehicle and knowledge of the owner and ownership history. It was a local car and was completely serviced by our local dealer. On the day I went over to pick it up from our family friend, it started and stalled numerous times. It finally wouldn’t do anything so we had it towed to the dealer and was fixed under warranty. Needless to say this problem persisted time after time, sometimes not reoccurring for months, each time the dealership stating and reassuring me that, "They found the problem this time", each time tying it to a different part that they would replace under the warranty. The problems were always the same, the car wouldn’t start at times, the dash lights and gauges were inoperable at times, the car would stall or want to die while driving, and numerous times the entire dash would go completely blank. Then my warranty expired. I was now the recipient of each consecutive problem, diagnosis, and replaced part to the tune of Thousands of dollars, not unlike the stories that I have read on many blogs throughout the years. Believe it or not I still own the car. My thought was to get it running right and sell it with a clear conscience. I would never want to sell a car with this problem to someone else. I spoke to the dealership and the owner of the dealership who knows the car well and they stated that I should trade it in with them for a new vehicle. He also stated that he wouldn't be able to give me anything for it with its history. I was amazed that he would acknowledge this to me personally, the Owner of the dealership. He did say that trading it would be the best way to handle this situation. The only problem with this is that I wouldn't own another Chrysler product. As I have been sitting here reading through all of the blogs looking for an answer to my problem, I see my vehicles signs and symptoms duplicated over and over. I have thought about all of the people out there who, like me, have spent thousands and thousands of dollars of their hard earned money, not fixing anything, all with one hope in mind...That the car they bought in good faith would just do what it was designed to do, get them where they need to go. I, my wife and our now four children have been stranded, terrified and bilked out of much of our precious time and money. I have tried to resolve this issue with the dealership and with Chrysler directly. Chrysler either refers you to the dealerships, which are all independently owned and operated, or just hangs up on you. I have documented all of these instances with emails, phone calls, and recommendations from my own mechanic who is probably one of the best mechanics that I have run into in my personal 25 years of owning cars. He had to take it to the dealership himself because he couldn't figure out why the car would stay running after removing the entire key and ignition from the vehicle. He told me that the power to the ignition is back feeding itself from one or more locations for this to even be possible. He also stated that in all of his years of being a mechanic, he has never seen this. I have replaced the PCM, ECM, the fuse box, control panel, instrument panel gauge set, battery, ignition, wiper motor, and clock spring, sometimes more than once, and had the vehicle evaluated numerous times. My mechanic said that the wiring harness should be replaced, but stated that he is not sure if that would ensure the problem would be fixed due to the numerous electrical abnormalities that he has found with the wiring of the vehicle. I believe that Chrysler is well aware of these problems and refuses to acknowledge them due to the ton of revenue that it produces for them on an annual basis from each of us, and the insurmountable amount of money that it would cost them for the recall. I would love to find an attorney firm or group who would be willing to take the case and a thousand or so helpless victims that would band together and get what we all originally wanted...a vehicle that would drive with normal maintenance and the average occasional item that would go wrong that needed to be repaired. If anyone reads this and would like to send me your information, I will reciprocate and maybe we can get something done for everyone of us who has been misled, misdiagnosed, and overcharged for parts and labor we never needed and so ultimately our voices can finally be heard. For all of those who think they have fixed their vehicle because it’s been running fine for 6-8 weeks, I have had a month or two, sometimes three between shutoffs and stalls and now after five years it will just stop whenever it feels the need. They call it an intermittent electrical problem that they are “unable to duplicate”, however, they always get their diagnostic and parts and labor fees, even when they can't give you a diagnosis, and haven’t fixed the problem. How crazy is that. Could any of us run a business like that??? Best of Luck to all of you who seek a remedy to your continuous ongoing problems.

Messages Page 10 of 21

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