Thank you in advance to all who may help. I have a 98 Grand Caravan AWD 3.8 V6. I have had it for roughly eight months. Two months after I bought it, I had to replace the battery and it has ran good up until now. Two weeks ago, a wire connected to the positive terminal on the distribution box had burned up. It was twisted together and electrical taped. This wire lead to the plug on the alternator. I cut the burnt part off and put on a new connector. Van fixed... well, two weeks later, my wife "breaks down" and we were unable to jump start. Had it towed home and put the battery on the charger over night. The next day, I put the battery back in and discovered many weird things happening... With ignition on, the ONLY things that appeared to have power to them were the dummy lights on the dash, the power windows, blinkers, hazards and brake lights, and they all seemed to work with "full" power. Nothing else was getting power.. headlights, door locks, dome lights, dash lights... nothing... No sign of weak battery. Battery posts are clean and free of corrosion. When I turn the key to turn it over, the only thing I hear is the relays clicking under the hood. No starter clicking or anything. Any ideas?

 

I would double check that battery and make sure it's good before you chase your tail. Have it load tested. Chattering relays are a sign of weak power. Lights turning on mean little. If your starter relay is clicking you just have to figure out why either the solenoid isn't getting 12vdc off the relay (open wire, week power, etc) or why the solenoid won't trip (change the starter). Once you get that hashed out and you're still having accessory and dash problems take a good look at the PDC connections. They are a corrosion magnet. Disconnect the negative battery lead before disconnecting the PDC. If that looks good you may have the dreaded cracked cluster solder joint problem.

 

Battery tested good. Relays are clicking as they would normally, not 'chattering' and I've checked all fused/relays in the PDC and they are all free of corrosion. I've also replaced all fuses to be sure. One other thing that I forgot to mention is that when I bought the van, the back windows worked and stopped working once I got the van home the first day I had it. I have heard that Chrysler vehicles are notorious for ignition switch problems, so I put the key in and jiggled a little as I was playing with the switches to the windows/locks. For a second, one of the back windows worked, but I was unable to get it to go back in. I have also been doing some digging around and alot of people are saying these issues are indicative of a bad BCM. What do you think?

 

I bought my 98 caravan brand new about 13 yrs ago, and after about 5 yrs the problems started. it was the computer (BCM). We paid about $1400 to have a new one installed and to this day we still have the problem. So DO NOT WASTE THE MONEY TO REPLACE IT! We have found that if you hit the dash above the steering wheel hard enough it will start. Sometimes it doesn't work but most of the time it does. I hit it while driving when all the gauges go to 0 and it goes back up to normal. Try that.

Also, I was told by a local dodge mechanic that it might be the computer that deals with the anti theft. Thinking about it it made sense, If a thief tried to start your car without a key it will not start, just like it is when we try to start the car with no avail. Right now my van is in the drive way, Ive been trying to start it for 4 days now, nothing is working. I still cant understand why they have not recalled this problem!! I am Callin Corporate today I will let you know what they say!...Good Luck!

this is how i feel about this
Michelle

 

BCM? Could be. They often go bad. Before you go there try the free fix. Pull the instrument cluster out and retouch the solder joints securing the connector to the circuit board. Also check the HVAC panel connector for heat damage. These are the most common fail points for the CCD data bus. The cluster solder joints crack and the HVAC panel plug melts pulling the contacts apart opening the circuit. No start and dead gauges are two of the most common symptoms. This is a well known problem area on 3rd generation vans.

BTW - The BCM supplies the line voltage to the data bus. The BCM and PCM work together as your anti-theft system.