My 2007 standard caravan fell into the hands of some unsavory characters (not stolen, but that is another story) who have disappeared and I am trying to figure out what they did to the fuses and whatall. First, there were two fuses left on the floorboard, a 40-amp that I *thought* was for the rear wiper motor (it won't turn on), and one for the horn (it won't honk). Both fuses were blown. My mechanic put a new horn fuse in and the horn blew. Problem #1 solved, but, overnight, the battery ran down, and I concluded that somehow there is a slow drain when the horn fuse is in because when I got the van back, the battery (new on april 2010) was dead. So my first problem is what kind of finagling could they have done to the horn so the fuse blew (when they had it), and why does it now drain the battery overnight? I notice some scratches to the steering column just underneath where the air bag is, which suggests to me they may have been trying to remove the air bag (to sell it - supposed to be worth about $700 or so). Could that have botched the horn mechanism so that it now drains the battery when the fuse is in? The horn works fine (responds when hit) if I leave the fuse in.

As to the rear wiper, my mechanic hotwired it to prove that the motor works, and the 3rd wire (which he thinks makes it go back to neutral when you turn it off) is always hot. The wire that is supposed to control the motor is never hot, even when we hit the dash switch. The wires to and from the dash switch are not hot either. The problem here is that there is no slot on the fuse box that is labeled "rear window washer". He tried a couple of open slots that have different names but they didn't fire up the rear washer, so, my 2nd question is: Where is the fuse for the rear washer located? My local dodge parts man looked on his computer and told me there was no fuse indicated in any of his diagrams for the rear washer. My mechanic is stumped.

Is there a fuse for the rear washer, and where could I find it. I am also without my owner's manual, and I am wondering if it would tell me that - if anyone has an owner's manual for the 2007 caravan se, see if it tells your where the fuse for the rear washer is located. It cost $30 to get a new owner's manaul and it takes about 3 weeks in the mail.

Thanks for any help anyone has to offer.

 

#1 slot is from your switch 2 is fused thru iso fuse and 3 is your ground.

 

I found the following link for both the owner's manual and the service manual:

http://www.4shared.com/file/FxK4ysCG...an_Servic.html

It turns out now that the horn is OK, and is not draining the battery. I found the fuse for the rear wiper and it is OK. The motor is OK (runs when hot-wired). The washer squirts water, so that is OK. The only question now is why the rear wiper won't turn on when I depress the switch (on the dash), which does light up indicating it is on. The wire going to the motor for power is not hot. The manual says it goes through something called a Body Control Module (BCM), and right away this is getting to be complicated. Has anyone else suffered a failed rear wawher like this?

 

Jumpdrive2,

I downloaded the service manual and saw the schematic you showed in your post - but, what does it mean? I don't know where this schematic is on the car? I know that the motor is good because we hot-wired it and it spins. How do I go about finding out what part needs to be replaced? The "fuse" box under the hood has a lot of components and the manual says the BCM (body control module) has pinouts for the rear washer, and also the Front Control Module (just below the fuse box), but, how does a saturday mechanic know where to start? When I push the "rear wiper button" on the dash, the light comes on but the rear wiper motor don't turn! So, where do I look and what do I look for? If I take to the dealer, he's going to charge me a fortune and probably replace the motor and who knows what all - and they won't let you be there with them to see what the hell they are doing. I just need to know what components to check and where they are on the vehicle (outside the motor, which I have already checked). PLEASE HELP SOMEONE!

 

Ok first off if your mechaniic wont show you what he's doing I'd go to another mechanic.
Mechanics arent sworn to the secret code magicians are sworn to.

Do you have access to a DVOM? you are going to have to trace current through the wiring to see where the disconnect is.

2 fuses you need to be concerned with #4 30A and #11 20A and have a look at the accesory relay (in the upper left of wiring diagram)
hope you can see this clearly enough

http://i53.tinypic.com/vopkcj.jpg

 

You are right about that. I could talk all night about cars.

 

The more I get into this, the further behind I get. I checked the manual again and I see that the rear wiper never operates continuously the way the front ones do, but, when "on", always operate intermittently, so, one can't just run a hot wire to the motor with a toggle switch - it HAS to be under the control of the Body Control Module #C2 (BCM c2, pin 32), which costs $275 to replace. The dealer says they don't fix BCM's, they only replace them. The dealer (where I bought the van) wants $90 just to hook up his Dodge computer to see what the codes are - NUTS! He also said that it might be the Front Control Module (FCM), and that costs $175. It could also be the dash switch, which it turns out cannot be just hot-wired either because, even in the "ON" position, it has a built-in resistor to lessen the voltage.

I assume a DVOM is a "digital volt/ohm meter", right? I don't have one of those, but I DO have a good analog volt/ohm/amp meter which I can use to check the dash switch (after I get the tools to remove the bezel).

But, as far as checking anything under the hood, I have NO IDEA what I am looking far. I found the Accessories Relay you mentioned, and it is a small matchbox size black plastic plug-in type block (probably an integrated circuit), but I have no idea how to find out if it is malfunctioning or not.

I am going to try to check the BCM as per the service manual (page 1007, steps 5 and 6), where it says to disconnect the "BCM harness connector". Does anyone know where that is and what it looks like? A photo would be so very instructive here. It then asks to check a couple of things with the "rear wiper motor control circuit" - first to see if it is above 5 ohms and then to see if a test lead to ground lights up. I need to know just exactly what it means by "rear wiper motor control circuit" - I think it means from the BCM harness connector (#32) to the rear wiper motor harness connector (#1), but, dunce that I am, I need to have it spelled out for me. Also, I don't know what they mean to check this circuit with a test lead to ground? I know it means to clip one of the test leads to the body of the vehicle (right?), but where do I clip the other test lead to? (#32 on the BCM harness connector or #1 or the rear wiper motor harness connector)?

Very confused. How do other folks avoid the exorbitant expense for what should be a simple fix? Is there a work-around to avoid such a large price for the "modules" - or do I just either live without my rear wiper or hold my nose and fork over the hundreds of dollars the dealer wants (what a racket!)?

 

ok deep breath, lol

an analogue meter is just fine for what we need to do.
you found that relay? good!
try swapping with another relay (same size) you should have a couple there you can mix n match em the front wiper ones will work. (see if that fixes problem)

Next question
is there voltage on both sides of the 20A fuse(#11) when wiper switch is turned on?


now some answers
The BCM is located under left side of dash I'll attach pic at bottom of post for you you can see what connectors are which

As for what other folks do believe it or not most just fork over the dough, but more times that youd imagine shops just throw parts at it (people dont diagnose anything anymore) so whos really to say they will have it fixed for X# of dollars chances are high that they will come back saying you need to replace something else now instead


if you got the patience and the time we can diagnose what has failed and save you a few bucks. other than the modules being a little pricey theres no reason why you cant find out yourself if they are ok and replace whatever needs replacment. (if you can plug something in you can replace a FCM or BCM urself)
The stealership is only in it to make money


http://

 

Thankyou for your good information. I am in awe of how you found that photo of the BCM and how you got it inserted in your post (please help me learn how to do that). I just now tried to insert the image of the IPM connector pinout (page 1282 of the service manual), but I can't tell if it took. This picture shows the access relay and several others like it, so, I will be chosing one to test-swap it with to try what you said. If you could share with me where you found that photo, I would surey appreciate it - I searched all through the service manual and couldn't find it anywhere.

Today and tomorrow (christmas), I'll be entertaining folks so I won't get to try anything else until Sunday. I assume these relay blocks just pull out (like with a pair of pliers?), if it won't come out easiy, then I'll go shopping for a removal tool (surely that isn't needed).
When I check for voltage across that Fuse #11, I assume you mean to first, remove the fuse, then, turn on the rear wiper switch, then check to see if there is voltage accross the pinouts (on the IPM) that the fuse goes into - right? The idea is that there should be 12 volts meaning that a circuit was completed to the motor - right? I'll check that this Sunday but I am pretty sure it will show no voltage because the motor doesn't turn at all.
I'll be posting again on Sunday afternoon - blimey it is COLD here in north Texas (burrrrr).

 

I just viewed my own post and I see my photo didn't take so I am copying the URL where I put it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5540394...5579/lightbox/

That is the IPM figure from page 1282 of the service manual.

Jerry