04 caravan 3.8 L stalling

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by NotMe, Dec 28, 2010.

  1. NotMe

    NotMe Guest

    04 caravan 3.8 L (~ 85K) stalling (engine dies) after fill up. Restarts
    on the fits hit but continues to stall every few min. for several miles.
    Seems to be related to the full fuel level of the tank. Fill up is to the
    first click on the fuel hose and the problem is evident,

    If you stop before you get to the full click the stalling does not occur.
    Van is on a road trip and I don't have access to the error
    codes.

    TIA
     
    NotMe, Dec 28, 2010
    #1
  2. I have a 2004 Town and Country, and it does the same thing. I have
    looked tor an answer and had posted here with hopes of getting an
    answer. The following was found at
    http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_my_2006_town_and_country_stalls_after_fill_up_with_gas


    Engine stalls several times right after filling tank with gas,
    Chrysler Minivan
    Shops are reporting a problem with the gas tank on Dodge Caravan,
    Grand Caravan, Plymouth Voyager, and Town and Country vans. Shortly
    after refueling, drivers experience engine stalling. The stalling may
    repeat several times.
    The problem is the vapor/liquid separator valve located at the top of
    the fuel tank. The valve is designed to prevent liquid fuel from
    entering the charcoal canister/emissions system. When the valve fails,
    liquid gas can enter the line and fill the charcoal canister.
    After refueling the PCM on the vehicle detects a change in fuel level.
    Then, when the engine meets certain temperature and driving criteria,
    the PCM issues a purge command to the charcoal canister to remove the
    stored gas vapors. It's at that point that all the liquid gas in the
    line gets sucked into the charcoal canister. The PCM expects to see
    gas vapors entering the intake manifold and it is prepared to adjust
    air/fuel mixtures to compensate. However, it is not prepared to see
    liquid gas coming into the intake. That's what causes the engine to
    stall.
    Unfortunately, the ONLY fix is to replace the entire gas tank.
    Chrysler does NOT sell the vapor/liquid valve as a separate unit. Once
    the tank is replaced and the charcoal canister purged, the problem
    goes away.

    This is all that I have been able to find besides the advice about not
    filling up the tank.

    Hope this helps.
     
    everettcotton, Jan 2, 2011
    #2
  3. NotMe

    NotMe Guest

    Thanks, very helpful. Any place detailed info on the vapor/liquid separator
    might be found. I could pull the old one and reverse engineer the thing but
    no point in reinventing the wheel.
     
    NotMe, Jan 2, 2011
    #3
  4. NotMe

    NotMe Guest

    Tried something this morning just to see what happened. I let the engine
    run while I toped off the tank then drove ~ 5 miles and stopped the car for
    ~10 min. Restarted and drove down the road without incident.

    I'm also wondering if I put one of those bowel type (aircraft) fuel filters
    in the vent line to the throttle body if the bowel would capture the excess
    liquid until it come be vaporized and then sucked into the throttle body.
     
    NotMe, Jan 3, 2011
    #4
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