Hi.
I have a 2008 Grand Caravan 3.8 SXT. The lightning bolt light has been coming on periodically for a month now. It would go away after restarting.
Now, it comes on every time the van is started. Usually after driving around a bit and it is nice and hot.
First, I cleaned the throttle body. no help.
Replaced the high speed relay next to the radiator after noticing the fan wasn't coming on. Replaced the Coolant temp sensor. I have had overheating issues in the past due to that plastic Y that is just above the manifold. (which has been replaced 3 times)
Replaced the throttle body with a used one.
Van was running fine for a few hours after replacing all that. Had a mechanic buddy hook his big old computer thing, and he said everything was good, except for running a bit warm.
Then boom. Lightning bolt comes back on.

No codes are being thrown.
When key is in on position, eas bas, flashing lightning bolt, and flashing engine lights are on. When started, just the flashing lightning bolt and eas bas lights are on.
No idea what else to do.
Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Tim

 

Check the throttle body. I have seen them have a small crack, causing a vacuum leak.

 

Was just wondering if you ever figured out what was the problem with your ETC light? I have a 2008 Dodge Caravan that has recently started doing the same thing!

 

I changed the thermostat and temp sensor on my 2008 Grand Caravan and it fixed the lightning bolt light and the cooling issue I had.

 

Yipee....while proving out that I do have a bad cam / lifter (09 w/ 92k miles), I also found that I have 2 broken manifold bolts on the passenger side (rear pair). Seems that the back 2 are more often to be broke, I wonder if the movement of the exhaust pipes puts extra stress on the bolts . Most pipes move a lot as they get hot.
Mike Sal

 

When my 2012 dodge did this I turned key on do not start wait for all lights to turn off then press gas pedal to floor slowly and let it slowly come back up and that's it turn van off and then start
After I did this it never came back on

 

this is the alternator and if you let the battery die because of it you will have to do a ETC(Electronic Throttle Control) relearn in other words your gas pedal won't work until you give Chrysler 375 bucks to reprogram it also with etc never give someone a jump or it could do the same thing they are very finicky and when you change it use competence and leave the battery hooked up just use electrical tape around the wire going to the alternator because disconnecting you battery can unprogram your gas pedal

 

Hello everyone,
I didn't know if i should start another thread or not.
I have a 2011 Grand Caravan. When the engine is cold and idling (when it is first started) the serpentine belt squeals loud for about 30 seconds. When I start to drive it and the rpm's go up the squealing stops. I changed the belt and the squealing stopped, now after 500 miles the squealing came back. It can't be the belt again only after 500 miles.
I am just wondering if anyone else had this problem and what the remedy was. Maybe I can get some ideas.

I simply cannot depend on the local Chrysler dealer to give me an honest quote on what the problem is. I won't walk out of there without paying $1000 or more.

Last time i went there they told me my transmission was leaking (even though I brought the vehicle in for another reason) and it would cost $1100 to fix it. There is not (and never was) a drop of oil on my driveway.

Another time there was an error code, turned out it was the gas cap. They wanted $600 to fix it by replacing the entire filler neck & gas cap, telling me it was totally rusted out. There was no rust on it whatsoever. All i had to do was apply some rubber rejuvenator to the rubber seal on the gas cap (2.5 years ago) and the problem never came back since.

There is more but i am trying to keep this post short. So you can see the dealer is out to get as much money out of me every time i visit, regardless if the problem is fixed or not.

I cannot afford to pay a great deal of money because the covid situation has left me out of work and I really have to watch every penny.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

if there are 2 backwards parenthesis ) ( on either side of it then it is a throttle position sensor or electronic throttle circuit fault , this light in combination with check engine, and a flashing airbag or SRS light indicates a engine control computer problem, try turning the ignition on and off quickly three times with out starting the engine stop on the on position ( on, off, on, off, on) and then look at the digital odometer for a code (p,c,d, or s followed by a 4 or 5 digit number)

 

I also replaced my thermostat & sensor in my 2006 Grand Caravan and it fixed all the issues described above as well