Hello, everyone:

This is my first post here, and I have to say that I'm very happy to have found this forum.

I have a 2001 Caravan SE. Within the last week I've noticed that many of the electronic parts in the dashboard of the van have started cutting out on me. It appears as though something is shorting them.

Here's what happens: When I first turn the key, the radio, front windshield wipers, power window switches and climate control system are all inoperable. I will say, though, that the lights on the climate control work fine. The tiny LED-style lights on the power and A/C buttons function properly, and have never caused problems. Everything will randomly power up, though, and then just as randomly power back down. Sometimes they will come on and stay on for the duration of the drive, and sometimes not. There is seemingly no rhyme or reason to how long they will stay on. It could be 2 seconds, 5 minutes, or 3 hours. Additionally, I've found that, just as randomly, the reverse lights in the taillamps will turn on and stay on, even when the vehicle is in park or drive.

I've experimented with a few other things in the vehicle and found some things that do seem to initiate proper functioning, though. For instance, if I turn the rear wiper on, the radio will intermittently go on and off. It will turn on when the wiper arm reaches its maximum travel point, and just before it begins its return movement the radio will drop back out again. I've also noticed that, occasionally, all of the above units will cycle on and off if I turn the a/c unit on. If I turn the a/c off, however, everything stays off. This, however, tends to be a sporadic occurrence as well. Additionally, I've found that putting the vehicle back into part will often spur them into life, and turning the key back to the accessory position will always do so. Turning the vehicle back on, however, just starts the whole process all over again.

Lastly, I've noticed that, if I am sitting in park or as I'm moving the transmission to drive, the needle on the speedometer will bounce around wildly, oftentimes to the point of pegging the needle at the 5:00 position.

I am not enough of an electrical genius to make any kind of guess as to how much of these problems are inter-related, but my first guess is that there is apparently a short, or possibly a loose wire, somewhere in the vehicle. My problem is going to be finding it.

Am I better off taking the vehicle to my Dodge dealer, or would fault tracing for a problem like this be only moderately difficult? I'm not an experienced mechanic or anything, but I am familiar enough with the vehicle that I'd feel comfortable working on it myself. I have a 1979 Fiat that I work on all the time, so it isn't like I'm inexperienced with respect to vehicle maintenance.

For what it's worth, I will point out (in case this may be part of the problem) that I had an aftermarket trailer hitch attached to the van about 6 weeks or so ago. Thinking that something had been miswired, I clipped the wires coming from the taillights and going to the harness on the hitch, but there was no change in the situation.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

 

Grounding sounds like a problem.
Clean and inspect the battery and all major connections for cleaning.

A low voltage from a loose internal battery cell can drive the electronics crazy.
Maybe have the battery tested.

Check the engine ground strap to the body. There should be a strap on the passenger side of the engine.

Pull the IOD fuse (listed inside the fusebox's top)to reset BCM computer.

It may end up being the wiring harness to the BCM or the BCM itself.
Both are located under and behind the radio.

Try these ideas in order. You may save a bunch of money $$$.
Hope its not the BCM...Its costly.

As a last guess, wiggle the ignition key a little when you are having trouble.
I had a ignition switch go once. And the bouncing from driving turned things on and off.

Also run the standard diagnosis program to see if you tripped any trouble codes.

Good Luck,
Tom

 

Thanks, Tom. We have been having some issues with the ignition switch not turning when we insert the key lately. We'll have to remove and re-insert the key 2 or 3 times before the cylinder will turn. This, too, is sporadic, though, and I never thought to consider that the two problems could be related, especially since the lock cylinder has been a problem longer than the shorting has been.

I'll check into the other stuff when I get a block of time tomorrow.

Thanks again. I really appreciate the info!

Chris