Hey all,

I have a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan with only 72,000km's (~44,700 miles). My wife recently went on a road trip and called me to complain that the CEL came on, and the van didn't seem to have as much power as normal.

A couple days later when I met up with her I used the ignition trick to check the codes. Came back with a P1684 (battery disconnect) and P0303 (misfire on cylinder 3).

I pulled and re-seated the ignition wires, started it up, and went for a drive. CEL stayed on for about 2-3 minutes and then shut off and the van seemed to be running good again. This was after I had bought a pack of 2 new Champion double platinums (I had in mind that I would start simple, replace the one plug, and go from there..). Also checked the codes again and the P1684 was still there, but the P0303 was gone.

CEL has not come back on, but yesterday when driving I noticed the lack of power again. Checked the codes again and the P0303 is back.

As of right now, I'm planning on pulling that one plug, having a look at it, and most likely throwing a new one in. I'm hoping that the current plugs are still the factory plugs (RE14PLP5). If that doesn't fix it, I'll probably go to the wire next. Am I able to swap wires for troubleshooting purposes? IE - pull another one of similar length and swap the two completely? See if the misfire follows the wire? Or is this not recommended?

Any other ideas? I guess the next thing after plug and wire would be the ignition coil?

 

do a complete and proper tune up. then see what happens

 

definitly swap the wires with another cylinder. Misfire can come from many issues, worn or sticking valves, bad injector, etc.

 

Alright so I swapped the wires a couple weeks back when I posted this, didn't notice any change. Still showing the P0303 code and hesitating.

Tonight I ran out and swapped out the #3 spark plug. I had a pack of two so I figured I'd swap out the #1 as well while I was at it and get the hardest two out of the way. At least I think I've read they're the hardest ones..

Took the van for a drive around and the hesitation SEEMS to be gone (knock on wood). Came home and checked for codes and the P0303 code is gone as well. Here's hoping!

I'll have to change the other 4 spark plugs ASAP. Check this out:

Probably obvious, but the left one in the picture is from the cylinder that was mis-firing..







Seems like an awful lot of "wear" for spark plugs that are supposed to last 100,000 miles! These ones only have 73,000km/45,300 miles on them.

 

those are not 100,000 mile plugs. they look like the cheapest regular plug generally good for about 30K

 

They're Champion's, and RE14PLP5. Which is exactly what the new Champion Double Platinum's are. Which means they're most likely the original factory plugs? I think..

 

never seen a double platumn plug with that big of a electrode. huh, guess your van just has a hunger for plugs.

 

Yeah, I'm not too pleased. I mean, I don't mind replacing stuff at all, but when you read "100,000 mile life" a whole bunch of times, it's disappointing when they last less than HALF of that.

 

Just like most things today, they only last as long as they say they will under the very best controlled conditions in the lab. Like the clock spring in my 03 caravan died at 164K but they won't warranty it. They (dealer) wants 500% ($245) more on the price for the part than I can buy it for at any pro parts shop here in Canada for a max price of $49. Plus the labor

 

Replaced the rest of the plugs today.. turns out it's #5 that's the difficult one. Had them all done in about ~30 minutes I'd say (including the 2 last night). Was able to do them all from the top.

Van is running a lot better now.