UPDATE - Well, after letting the dealership do the work, replacing the spark plugs and spark plug wires, my van just did the same thing it did when I first had it towed at 98,000 ONE month ago. It now has 100,300 miles, and Friday the engine light came on when I started it in my garage, started running really rough. By the time I got it to the end of the driveway, and started driving forward, the engine light started flashing, and it was running badly. Here we go again. I backed it into the driveway, called the dealership, and got them to tow it in. I'm supposed to hear back from them tomorrow (Monday). Hmmm, NOT the fouled spark plug after all? Could it be the wiring harness after all as tjnc suggested in his reply ? I guess I will find out <thunk>...

I 'll cheer myself up by asking "At least the tune up needed to be done anyways, right ?" (rhetorical question)...lol.

 

Insufficient Ionization is symptomatic (typically) of bad contact with the terminals on the coil. They need to be looking at the main connector at the end of the intake manifold for signs of corrosion inside.

 

Okay, the service advisor just called today, and said that one of the ignition coils is bad. So it is covered under the extended warranty (but it's going to cost me the 100.00 deductible). With all the diagnosing work they just did a month ago, do you really think this will fix it? OR are you betting I am still going to have problems, like it may still be the corroded connector (or is the main connector you're talking about part of the coil pack that will be replaced?)

I will post what exactly is written on the paperwork when I get my DGC back, part #, etc. All I have right now is what the advisor told me over the phone.

By the way, thanks TNtech for the quick response and advice! It was/is MUCH APPRECIATED!

 

Gadzooks! I just re-read the invoice from the work done 1 month ago, and it does say the ignition coils were replaced. Though I don't see any where on the invoice that I was charged for that part. The some of the notes read as : "vehicle was misfiring due to a bad #3 ignition coil and bad #1 spark plug. all 6 spark plugs replaced as well as all 6 ignition coils. dtcs were cleared and vehicle test driven to verify repair."

Now I have to wait to hear back from the service advisor to hear his explanation.

 

I would say it should be covered under warranty with no deductible since they say they just replaced the coils.

 

Join Date: Dec 2007
Vehicle: 2008 Dodge Grand Carvan SXT 3.6 6 speed
Posts: 31






Let's back up a minute here....I thought you had a 3.8

2008 didn't have a 3.6


What engine do you have? I'm guessing 4.0L if it has 6 coils.


The 4.0L had the same problem with valves that the 3.5L did (same engine family). They need to run a compression test.

 

Ok, I finally talked to the service adviser. He researched it (even his mechanic was puzzled) until they finally decided that the last mechanic to work on it a month ago had inadvertently entered the word "coils" instead of "cables" (it should have been cables). So he told me, no, the coils had not been replaced yet.

My engine is a 3.8L (six plugs/six cables) . Sorry for the confusion.

 

I think you need to find a new mechanic. Sounds like some moron work to me, keep putting more-on until the problem goes away.
Whoever you are taking it to sound like a bunch of yahoos.

Step 1: Take it somewhere else, get a second opinion. Dealerships are not always the best option.

 

Ok cool.


Yes, ONE big coil that actually has 3 coils, but you can't replace just one.


Anyway, I would be interested to see what the codes are AND I would still be looking at the main connector at the end of the intake.

 

Thanks. I will be picking it up tomorrow. I'll come back and post the tech's comments from the paperwork, hopefully have the codes too. And I'll look into the main connector, I'll let you know what I see.