'96 Caravan stalls!

Hello. When driving at highway speeds, this vehicle starts to
"sputter" and eventually dies. After about a half hour it restarts and
may not do this again for weeks. We had it checked and there were no
engine codes presenting a problem.

It's a 3.0 liter with 162,000 miles.

Thanks,

dw

 

<Cue Twilight Zone music>

This has been my experience over the last 14 days. Mine is a '97 with a
3.8 liter. Mine only sputters and dies after it's fully warmed up and
an immediate restart will get it going again for random lengths of
time--1, 2, or 3 minutes, not much longer between stalls. I can drive
it cold with no symptoms.

I changed the cam position sensor and the crank position sensor
(there's a whole thread on the topic, check it out). I took it into a
(supposedly) skilled diagnostic technician who had the car stumble and
die while hooked up to his computer and it didn't generate any codes.
He threw his hands up in the air and told me to take it to a Dodge
dealer.

Took it to a Dodge dealer and they replaced the O2 sensor and the fuel
filter. No joy. Problem still present. It's going back tomorrow and
they will hook it up to a Co-Pilot diagnostic tool and drive it around
until it shows the symptom.

Where did you take your vehicle? A Dodge/Chrysler dealership or an
independent shop?

You might want to look at this. This is what I would call a worst case
scenario and a lesson learned. Scroll all the way down and read
upwards.

http://ibiblio.org/pjones/wordpress/index.php?cat=15

 

Hi,

I've got a '96 Grand Caravan LE with 115,000 miles (3.3 liter engine).
I have ongoing issues with the windshield wipers (not shutting off,
stopping when they should run, etc.) and was searching for answers for
that issue when I ran across this item on stalling.

Here's my experience with stumbling/stalling, which occurred at the
84,000 mile point. The vehicle started losing power on accelleration
(shuddering noticably) and running poorly at times, especially after
being fully warmed up.

I took it in to the local Chrysler dealer (closer than a Dodge dealer)
twice. No codes showed on the engine computer. The first time it was
in they replaced the plugs and plug wires and some other items I no
longer recall (it's been a few years). No improvement. The second
time they replaced two fuel injectors and a sensor on the engine
(again, I don't recall which one). The problem remained unresolved and
when I talked to the Chrysler dealer about their lack of success I was
told that their "head tech" was baffled and their next plan was to
replace the valve springs. This seemed an unlikely fix to me and I'd
alread spent over $1,200 with them at that point so I figured they
didn't need another sip at the well.

I then took it to a local independent shop and described the problem.
Without looking at the vehicle the shop owner said "I know what the
problem is and I can fix it today." He said there was a bad (as in
flawed) coil in the "igniiton coil pack" (three coils rather than a
single one on this engine) and it was breaking down/not providing
adequate spark under load. He replaced the "coil pack" and the problem
was cured. I don't recall exactly what it cost me, maybe $300. I
think the engine computer is supposed to catch some problems in this
area by monitoring power draw, but for whatever reason the problem
didn't flag itself.

It's been a while since I looked at this item under the hood, but as I
recall the coil pack was on the top of the engine in a location where
it was easy to get to, so I think it's something an individual might be
able to change out without taking the vehicle into a shop and paying
high labor rates. I don't know why Chrysler couldn't figure this out,
but in hindsight it seemed an obvious fix. Maybe the factory "techs"
have become so dependent on the diagnostic computer that they no longer
check the basics?

I don't know if we share the same coil setup since the engine is
different, but I suggest you have the ignition coil looked at very
closely.

 

Hi,

I've got a '96 Grand Caravan LE with 115,000 miles (3.3 liter engine).
I have ongoing issues with the windshield wipers (not shutting off,
stopping when they should run, etc.) and was searching for answers for
that issue when I ran across this item on stalling.

Here's my experience with stumbling/stalling, which occurred at the
84,000 mile point. The vehicle started losing power on accelleration
(shuddering noticably) and running poorly at times, especially after
being fully warmed up.

I took it in to the local Chrysler dealer (closer than a Dodge dealer)
twice. No codes showed on the engine computer. The first time it was
in they replaced the plugs and plug wires and some other items I no
longer recall (it's been a few years). No improvement. The second
time they replaced two fuel injectors and a sensor on the engine
(again, I don't recall which one). The problem remained unresolved and
when I talked to the Chrysler dealer about their lack of success I was
told that their "head tech" was baffled and their next plan was to
replace the valve springs. This seemed an unlikely fix to me and I'd
alread spent over $1,200 with them at that point so I figured they
didn't need another sip at the well.

I then took it to a local independent shop and described the problem.
Without looking at the vehicle the shop owner said "I know what the
problem is and I can fix it today." He said there was a bad (as in
flawed) coil in the "igniiton coil pack" (three coils rather than a
single one on this engine) and it was breaking down/not providing
adequate spark under load. He replaced the "coil pack" and the problem
was cured. I don't recall exactly what it cost me, maybe $300. I
think the engine computer is supposed to catch some problems in this
area by monitoring power draw, but for whatever reason the problem
didn't flag itself.

It's been a while since I looked at this item under the hood, but as I
recall the coil pack was on the top of the engine in a location where
it was easy to get to, so I think it's something an individual might be
able to change out without taking the vehicle into a shop and paying
high labor rates. I don't know why Chrysler couldn't figure this out,
but in hindsight it seemed an obvious fix. Maybe the factory "techs"
have become so dependent on the diagnostic computer that they no longer
check the basics?

I don't know if we share the same coil setup since the engine is
different, but I suggest you have the ignition coil looked at very
closely.

 

First thing would be to check for lose of fuel pressure or spark when
it does it.
What is the tune up history?
Any stored history codes stored in the PCM?
How are you checking for codes?