95 van drove home fine, was parked overnight (temps dropped to 10 degrees but never had cold weather issues in the past) and would not start in the morning. Gas was low so I added some gas and heat to have over a quarter tank now. After testing for spark I discovered I DO NOT have the 12vdc to the coil with the key on. Took off negative cable to reset computer. Tried moving steering colum, park & neutral, wiggling key, turning steering wheel, etc.... Changed Automatic Shutdown Relay. Yes it turns over fine and can hear the fuel pump when ignition is turned to on. I am getting codes 12-Batt disconected in last 50 key cycles, 24-Throttle position sensor exceeded 5volts and 32-EGR valve (comes up twice). I can not see where any of these codes would cause a no start/spark condition. Read about some electrical dash issues but everything on my dash appears to be working. I am guessing it may be the ECU (Computer Module on Left Fender) or Neutral Start Safety Switch. These don't make any sense though that they would go bad overnight while the van was parked. Where is the Neutral safety switch located (to right of fuse box by brake pedal)? Could I still have a dash issue? Because the gas was low and the temps where low could something of froze up cauzing a fuel pressure problem that would lead to a no spark condition and code 24? Any help or ideas???? Thank You!!!

 

does it start if you jump 12v to the coil ?...I would guess a bad fuse or relay, but I am new to these vehicles

 

I have a PDF file for code 24, TPS either too high or low. If you want me to send it to you. All i need is a email address to send it too.

 

Much like the fuel pump, the coil only powers up for a couple seconds with the key on. The PCM needs to see cam and crank input before it energizes the ASD relay. Does it turn over fast? Are you sure the timing belt didn't crap out.

 

The timing belt should be ok. I have distributor rotor rotation when turning the engine over. I also checked the wiring off of the ignition lock cylinder. I was told there was a recall where the wires melted together on the 7pin flat connector. All fuses and relays are ok. I replaced the ignition coil. The top wire on the ignition coil has continuity to the positive battery post and the other wire is open to ground and positive. I am assuming then that the PCM/ECU is suppling a 0vdc signal to the coil & Zline positive voltage at engine crank. I can hear the fuel pump prime. I have no spark. Even though I am not getting a code 11, I am wondering if the crank sensor is bad. This is a 1995 3.0l Caravan and the crankshaft sensor is NOT located on the top part of the bell housing by the firewall. Yes I am sure. There is not even a wiring harness close to this area for the plug of the CPS. I think the Crank Position Sensor, Ignition Module and Pickup are all in one in the distributor for this year and engine. Can someone please verify this for me? Is it possible for this to go out without a code 11 (yes I took off the negative cable to reset PCM/ECU)? What voltage should I be getting at the Ignition Coil when the engine is cranking over (same as battery Vdc)? Thank You for your help!

 

3.0L didn't have a crank sensor because you have a distributor. The crank sensor is used to find #1 cylinder so you don't need it. Are you checking for spark right from the coil? I remember back in the day, we used to put our soldering gun next to the pickup plate and pull the trigger and the induction would cause the pickup to fire the coil.

 

I have a Sun testing system with an induction pickup for the sparkplug wire. If I had spark there is a LED that flashes and the RPM would read on the meter. I did check directly on the coil wire and also on a sparkplug wire. To make matters more confusing the relay for the fuel pump is engauging when I crank the engine over so I am assuming the PCM/ECU is giving the Zline voltage to the coil also. If I have that voltage to the fuel pump I should have it at the coil also. I checked continuity between the coil wires and the PCM/ECU and they are ok. The fuel pump relay should not engauge if the ignition module in the distributor was bad because the voltage splits between the fuel pump and the coil (what they call the Zline voltage) when the engine is cranking. This may not be true for a 3.0l with a distributor though, but all the research I did seemed this is the way the voltage to the coil is generated. Is it safe just to jump the coil directly to the battery terminals to see if I have spark? I am checking the coil voltage with a multimeter with the positive and negative leads in the wiring plug at the coil, is this the correct method (1 wire is +vdc and the other -vdc)? Anyone have a wiring schematic they could please email me for a 1995 Caravan 3.0l 2WD? I need to see if the ignition module in the ditributor is receiving the vdc and sending the voltage to the PCM/ECU. I assume this is ok because I do not have a code 11 and the fuel pump relay is working but I would like to verify this by checking the voltages.

 

When the ASD relay is actuated, it supplies 12v to the DG/OR wire at the coil. The PCM grounds the BK/GY wire of the coil to make it fire. Ground the meter and use the positive lead to check for the power at the green wire. Put a test light on the other side when cranking and the light should flicker or get dimmer as the PCM grounds and ungrounds the wire. If you have power to the coil and power at the other side and it doesn't flicker or get dimmer when cranking, the PCM is not grounding the coil. At this point you would need a scan tool to check for inputs and to see if you can force the PCM to actuate the coil driver.

 

You can check the pickup plate for the 9v feed at the orange wire. The TN/YL wire is the distributor sync wire, the BK/LB wire is the sensor return wire and the GY/VT wire is the distributor reference wire.

 

Thank you very much for the information!!! This should definately help me track down my problems with the information you provided. Will update later when I get a chance to test the coil and ignition module.