Weird minivan electrical problem...

ruger270man

My boss at work has a 98 voyager or caravan, not sure which one. Anyways, all her electrical stuff works fine when the key is in the on position, and you can turn the headlights on. If the key is turned to the off position, the headlights stay on. But once they are turned off, they cant be turned back on in the off position. Nothing works without the key in the on position, no dome lights, no headlights, nothing. It also loses the radio station each time the car is turned off. Car starts up fine, definitely not a bad battery.

I was thinking the ECU? Any ideas?



www.awbansunset.com

kingjoey

Probably the ignition switch, on the Voyager/Caravan it is a large, expensive monstrosity that is often tempermental.



SUPPORT THE I.N.S. , THE COUNTRY THEY SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN

Travis Hallam

Might have some Harley parts to prevent you from getting out of speeding tickets or defending yourself in a hit in run with a .223 deer rifle. Sound about right[?][:D]

Remind me to take your advice next time and not test the waters. Geez!![;)]

Mad Dog

IAMACLONE_2

ITEC module controls all the goodies, door locks, radio,headlights,etc..Usually mounted under the console or under the front seat.
The reason I say this, beacuse Mitsubishi uses the same module and Chrysler/Dodge used the same module, failure rate was about a 2% occurance.
See the dealer, I think, dont hold me to this, the part was either $380 or $1,100 from the dealer??
Junkyard if they did not know what they had $50 upto $500.
There is also a company that has rebuilts for about a 1/3 of dlr cost
cant think of there name but they are located in New Jersey.
Walte

nord

Guesses are great. They're easy to make and usually worth about what one puts into them. Consider...

Chrysler, Ford, GM, Nissan... You name it. Each and every vehicle has a switched and a static electrical system. The function of the switched system is security mostly. The basic design either supplies or denies power to critical components. Then there's the other half of the system that's non-keyed. It's on if there's a battery in place and that's where your problem lies.

Let's look at what works and when... Key out - Nothing. Key in and ignition on - Everything. What might that tell you?

In a nutshell here's what I suspect:

The ignition part of the system is just fine, but the "static" part of the system has failed. This would seem to indicate that the direct connection from the battery to the static circuits has been cut. My guess is that the problem will be in the "master" electrical box under the hood. I'll even go so far as to guess a relay, but I don't have the prints to be sure.

Assuming a relay, then when the ignition is switched to an "ON" position the contacts transfer from static to switched mode and the vehicle comes to life. Contacts on one side work. Contacts on the other side have failed.

If not a relay, then a fuse or fused link has gone bad (Other than physical damage I can't be aware of). The ignition switch merely allows current to backflow into the dead part of the system when it's turned to the on position. This would be unlikely due to the current draw that I'd expect. Chance wouldn't favor the wire involved being big enough to handle the load... But it's possible.

In either case the obvious place to look is in the master box under the hood. A simple meter will tell the tale. If you don't have one, then you might find a whole bank of relays that can be interchanged. Don't hesitate to try. And don't forget the fuses. Pull them and have a look. They'll show a burned spot if bad. The links will require a meter or tester of some sort.

Now my guess... BAD RELAY. If I'm right, then dinner's on you.[:)]

Nord

dcon12

Disconnect the battery for a few min. Then hook it back up and retry.

"Right is Right, even is everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it"

rcrxmike_2

does it have the 'doggy' chrysler security sys?quote:Originally posted by ruger270man
My boss at work has a 98 voyager or caravan, not sure which one. Anyways, all her electrical stuff works fine when the key is in the on position, and you can turn the headlights on. If the key is turned to the off position, the headlights stay on. But once they are turned off, they cant be turned back on in the off position. Nothing works without the key in the on position, no dome lights, no headlights, nothing. It also loses the radio station each time the car is turned off. Car starts up fine, definitely not a bad battery.

I was thinking the ECU? Any ideas?



www.awbansunset.com



JOIN PETA! (PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS) I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to have a salad and spring water!

madmarc0

Guaranteed fix: Remove the Gas cap, Drive another minivan under it, replace gas cap on new minivan. There, Fixed!

I measured it and cut it twice, and it's still too short!

Flathead

Had a van at work that did some of the same things, It took about ten trips to the dealer to get it fixed. It turned out to be a bad ground.

bigdaddyjunior

Nord has it right I believe. Under the hood there is a black box under the cover of which are a number of heavy duty fuses and relays. I think it is a 40 amp fuse on the standing electrical side and a 60 on the running side. There will be a diagram and labels on the lid of the box anyway.

Big Daddy my heros have always been cowboys,they still are it seems