KNREB:

wow, this is awesome, I have been experience the same for about 6 months with my 1997 Plymouth Grand Voyager.... particularly when the weather gets hot and hot sun beating down on the dash. On occasion when it won't start outright, I would bang the dash and she would fire. Here are my precise symptoms, tell me that I just need to do what you did and I will be fine...! (my wife's car, and she always gets stuck at grocery store on hot day after short trip with cold groceries.. I get the call)

1) correlated with temperature, when hot sun on dash or just very hot (interior hot after sitting parking lot), the car will initially start and turn over, but then die after a few seconds, and not restart. Battery stays good, power windows, lights OK.
2) Sometimes can solve problem with fist to top of dash above instrument panel (ala Han Solo and the M. Falcon), but not always.
3) Instrument panel will go blank occasionally on highway, all gauges dead... using number 2 above to restore... sometimes. Engine still runs fine, cruising along with no instruments kinda spooky
4) Car starts reliably when instrument panel removed...

Initially too I was convinced that it was anti-theft system somehow interfering, but that doesn't explain ability to crank and sometimes run for a few seconds.

The other thing that had me confused is why is a no-start connected to instrument panel fault, when unplugging the whole darn thing makes it start??? !!!

Thank you so much, hugs from my grateful wife (if you meet her this side of heaven)

I'll get out the continuity tester and soldering iron tonite.

Peace JD

 

UPDATE: Since my last post, my spouse has had two start failures, one in warm weather one in cold weather, but slapping the top of the dashboard solved them both... temporarily. She refused to drive the van calling it "unreliable" and took my Jetta instead ... not happy. So I rolled up my sleeves today..... 27 Dec 07, a couple of days after Christmas. BEFORE I FORGET: disconnect the negative side of the battery while you are working on anything electrical, pop the hood and do this first thing.

I FINALLY got the time to pull the instrument cluster assembly out... several layers of dashboard moulding has to come out first, start by the left hand side where the door meets the dash, and work your way to the right and up, removing screws and popping out panels. You'll have to unplug 3 plugs near the headlight switch to remove the main panel and set that aside. Then four screws to remove the instrument cluster. Then, tip the cluster forward, with two hands slip behind the top of the cluster an unplug the plug, there is a tab on top of connector you have to lift to release, but then it slides off and then you can remove the entire cluster assembly. Look at the harness and identify the green and black (ground) wire and remember where this goes in the connector...

I took it inside on the kitchen table (since it was a breezy 55 degrees here in Phoenix today, a bit of windchill!) On the backside of the cluster is a a cardboard protector, remove 6 screws and set aside. Then 8 screws are removed which hold down the circuit board, 2 are adjacent to the red male connector. Once you have the screws off, gently wiggle the circuit board upward and it will release from 4 prong sets below. Now, flip it over and look closely at where the pins from the connector are soldered into the board. SURE ENOUGH!, the pin that corresponds to the green/black wire on harness, which KNREB has identified previously, had a COLD solder joint, with a hairline break in a circle all the way around the pin, JUST AS DESCRIBED BY KNREB! Was I pleased to see the same problem! I used my kid's magnifying glass for a better look, but if your eyes are good it is pretty obvious. I then connected my ohmeter to the pin and another solder joint downstream on the same track to check the continuity.... as I wiggled the pin it would read from 0.4 ohms (closed) to infinity (open)!!!! Makes sense that the temperature would effect this .. and it is the ground, the main reference for all the other voltages! I heated up my soldering iron to 750 degrees, coated all the pins with some flux, and re-flowed all the joints on the connector.

Then I reversed the steps above and put the whole thing back together. Actually, as soon as I installed the instrument cluster, I reconnected the car battery and cranked her up, just to check. It runs fine, and I am confident I have fixed the problem, thanks to KNREB post previous. I'll let you know if ever I see the problem again, but this forum really saved me, in retrospect we have had this problem for YEARS, in hot (Arizona) and cold (Wisconsin) weather, and I finally believe I have identified and fixed the root cause. Best to all and Happy New Year!!!!

 

hey guys i have a similar situation, but when i crank it start for 2 seconds then die, no lights at instrument cluster, dealer told me is the board of the instrument cluster, any help, it's a 98 Grand Caravan 3.8 with 168,000 miles

 

so your van starts and dies, and the instrument cluster is dead? Is the cluster totally dead or do some things still work.

 

it's the board in the instrument cluster if that helps.