I've got a 1996 Grand Caravan that I recently bought that suddenly started having a serious problem. It seems to have the usual radio gremlins, and the wipers only work on High... but until now it's been a great car. I drove it down to a store, got out - locked the doors with the key, went inside, and when I came out to start it up - I think the Anti-Theft system became activated.

Everytime I try to start it, the horn pulses, the lights flash, and it won't start.

I tried all the keys that came with the van, tried disconnecting the ground to the battery, and eventually pulled the horn fuse so at least I could try starting the van without the horn blaring. When I turn the ignition key to off - everything shuts off... when I turn it to the "On" position, I can hear a relay clicking up under the dash, and confirmed that the lights are flashing. It will turn over, and seems to just barely start to fire, butthen it sounds exactly likesomethings cutting out the ignition. Meanwhile the light's flash, the horn sounds, ect. Anyway, I managed to get a ride home, and thought I'd ask the resident experts for some suggestions, before I head back to see what else I can try.

What the heck can I do? Any suggestions would most appreciated.
Thanks!

 

this is a 96?? not a 2006?? that would rule out transponder key.. there MIGHT be something in the ignition switch itself causing this.. as far as the anti theft is concerned... unless the lock sensor in the door is sensing the door is still locked... if in fact it is.. this could cause the security to shut down... it thinks the van is being stolen.. other than that.. i would say it sounds like a pcm problem.. good luck man.. let us know

 

it is a 1996.
Itried replacing the batteries in the remote fob - hoping that maybe I could push the panic button or something, but that seemed to have no effect.

I also tried jiggling the various keys in the ignition, while rapping the steering column, in hopes that something would make contact - but to no avail. My next plan is to pull all the electrical connections on the PCM and clean the contacts... as well as do a bit of serious praying. I called the previous owner, and asked her, and she said that it did this one time before - she was stranded - and after about an hour of waiting for the tow to show up, she gave it one more try and it started right up... So I'm hoping that will be the result when I take another stab at it. It's hit a 106 during the day around here - sotroubleshooting mid-day is pretty much impossible.

If I do figure out conclusively what's wrong, I will most certainly let everybody know. In the meantime - again - thanks for any and all suggestions.

 

dishdude2k - You da Man! Your suggestion about the lock sensor got me thinking... that maybe there was some way to reset the alarm.There is... Here's what I did:

I disconnected the battery ground, unplugged the electrical connections to the PCM unit next to the Fuse Block in the engine bay, and reconnected them, hooked the ground back up to the battery, and then pulled the ICO fuse for about 10 seconds, and put it back in. The Alarm started going off again... and then I put the key in the Driver Side Door lock, and locked and unlocked it 3 or 4 times. Voila! The alarm reset, and she started right up!

Talk about relief! Anyway... I really want to thank you and everyone else that takes the time to suggest things to try.
I know sometimes it seems likea thankless effort... but it really is helpful. And to anyone else out there that runs into a problem... if you figure it out - please take the time to post a followup explaining what you did. You never know how that may quite literally save someone's life out there.

Thank you! Thank you!

 

AWESOME man.. congrats.. glad i could help.. i have learned.. these security systems can be funny on some of these vehicles

 

I have a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan with a similar problem and mine is intermittent. At times the engine just starts and shuts down after a few seconds. Whenever this happens I noticed the speedometer mileage indicators ,gear indicators and fuel gauge are not operational. At first a slam on the dasboard would bring on the indicators and the car would start as if nothing ever happened. Of late the slamming on the dashboard is not working I have tried disconnecting the battery, reseating the connectors on the body control module,and sometimes it may reset or if it doesn't after leaving the car for awhile it starts as normal. One other symptom i have is that the power locks/alarm system does not seem to work correctly. Whenever I operate the key in either the driver or passenger sides the door locks seem to have a mind of their own clicking either on or off. I am thinking that the door locks and the alarm system share the body control module and something is haywire there.
Any advice is highly welcome.
emclinc

 

My alarm was acting up (went off while I was driving...of course when I stopped to cut the alarm horn, my wife turned the car off...and it wasn't restarting because of the engine kill switch...I just yanked it out and reconnected the original wiring back up.

 

Hay had a dodge intrepid that the keyless door controlerswere lost. The antitheft was activated and the car would not start. In the door there is a pig-tail up by the key lock you have to remove the door panel unplug the pigtail connector and use a loop of wire or a paper clipto make a jumper. You connect the two wires with your jumper, turn the key to run (not crank) and in about 15 seconds the antitheft will deactivate. If this works for you a guy could make a push button to connect the two wires, being thatthisis a reaccurant problem for you. Caravans are probablywiredthe same.

 

this thread is over a month old.. and as stated.. the problem was fixed

 

I just cleaned the battery terminals and now my car will not start. I have a clicking sound under the dash board but the clicking stops when I lock the car. If I wait awhile, about an hour, the car still will not start but the remote will open the driver door but then once again become inactive. I have to work in about 8 hours and I need my car back up and operational. I cleaned the terminals to hopefully get enough juice to close my back windows.