I have a 2008 Grand Caravan that we bought last year from a family member. Shortly after owning it, the dash started doing crazy things...speedo jumping around, warning lights flashing, headlights would flash and wipers would start. This happened when on vacation and I even video recorded it. Took it to a Dodge dealer and it happened to guy driving back to tech, but tech could not reproduce problem. AFter they had van for a week I left frustrated. I did have to replace EGR valve and while I was doing that I replaced new plugs and wires. Maybe by coincidence?? the problem never occured again. The family member we purchased the van from claimed he never had this problem, which frankly I cannot believe.

I started it this morning and every light on dash is lit, speedo and tach do not work, transmission indicator lights are all on, etc. It seems to be fully driveable otherwise. I did notice that the little red light (indicating anti theft??) stays on.

The best answer I can find is that it is a grounding problem. I find it very disturbing that there are many others that have complained, but unless a technician can connect a code reader to it, they can't seem to figure it out. It also seems to affect older vans as well, as I've noticed complaints from 2005.

The van has been a good family vehicle, plus I just sank $700 for new tires on it, so I cannot really afford to just get rid of it.

Has anyone had similar experiences and a fix that actually works? I appreciate any input!

 

Not all too uncommon. Reported problem areas are the TIPM (fuse box), the EVIC (your instrument cluster) and sliding door wire harnesses.

Your TIPM is much more than just a fuse box. It contains several circuit boards including microprocessors that control many electrical functions on the van. It has been a headache for Chrysler. You could try tapping/shaking it and the connections on the bottom to induce the problems to narrow down the cause. Disconnect the connections and inspect for corrosion or damage - disconnect the negative battery cable first. This link shows what the inside of a TIPM looks like on a Jeep wrangler. Your's is similar: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/o...study-1200238/

The EVIC contains CAN data bus circuitry that can effect any electrical system on the van.

The power sliding door wire harness in a cavity in the body next to the bottom of the door has been a headache for many. So much so 2010s had a recall on them for a possible fire hazard. In your case that harness has CAN data bus wiring in it that can effect the cluster and has been known to effect starting. The harness is in an articulating plastic channel that moves as the door moves. That puts a lot of stress on the harness leading to broken/frayed wires shorting to themselves or ground. Try opening and closing the sliding doors to induce the problem.

 

Thanks for responding--much appreciated!

The TIPM is interesting...I will try that. When I replaced the EGR last year, I pulled the battery to make it easier to access. I don't recall offhand, but that box may be near the battery? If so, I wonder if I bumped it or did something to temporarily solve the problem. Thanks for sending the link...great resource by the way.

I will also try the door harness. WHen the problem occurs the door has not been opened or closed, but it's worth a shot.

Just for grins I thought I would hook up my code reader while it was acting up. I opened the door and saw the red light on the instrument panel, then, by some Christmas miracle, it went off, the cabin lights came on, and everything is fine. That's been my main problem in getting an expert to look at this...by the next day it sometimes stops.

 

your loosing bus communication is the basic cause of your issue. By the intermittent issue, I am assuming you have a spread terminal somewhere that makes contact sometimes and doesn't other times. A technician would have to have the condition active in order to tell where the problem is. There is alot of computors on the vans and any one of them could cause the issue.