Hello everyone. I'm having a problem diagnosing the cause of no power in a 2000 Caravan 3.0 liter. Long story short. Maybe.
Last week, I returned from gassing up, to where my wife was shopping. Ran fine. Turned engine off. When I restarted, engine was misfiring on what appeared to be 1 cylinder. Opened hood and visually inspected engine. Checked coolant while engine was running. Couldn't see antifreeze but there was foam, with small bubbles rising. My heart sunk. Visions of a blown head gasket filled my brain. Bought some antifreeze, and filled directly into radiator till full. Didn't think of the reservoir as I was 50 miles from home and panicking. (Later I concluded foam/bubbles was from sucking air in empty reservoir.) Nothing I could do but nurse it home. Thing is, even with one cylinder misfiring, I gradually got up to speed on the freeway. I notice it is running hotter than usual, even though temp outside was in the 30's.
5 miles from my hometown, all of a sudden, the engine starts running normally. Relief. Solution forms in brain. time for new plugs, wires, cap and rotor.
The next day, I start engine to go to town to purchase them. Starts and runs normally. On way home, it starts misfiring again. No time for replacing them that day. But it dawns on me to fill coolant reservoir. I fill it, start engine, open radiator cap, and check for bubbles. Engine was hotter than normal, but..thank goodness..no bubbles. Antifreeze running normally. All of a sudden.. I realize fans are not running when they should be. Good god..another problem. I research it online and add it to my To Do list.
The day after, engine starts normally again.. only to start misfiring after engine warms up. No time still.
The next day.. I start engine and it immediately misfires. This tells me something. Ok, I begin removing 3 front bank plugs. What a chore. And these are the "easy ones". 6 and 4, while difficult, succumb to coercion. 2 is a nightmare. Refuses to break loose. I slip a 3/4" pipe over ratchet for leverage. I pull..and pull. Feels like it's moving. One more tug..and the extension breaks off at the socket. Arrrrrrrrrrggggggggrrrrrrr. Takes an hour to remove socket. Curse engine designer.

Worried I might break off plug at the threads, I spray Blaster in plug recess with great difficulty. Let set for 2 hours.
Next attempt succeeds. Thank god. Ok, replace plug and wire. I decide to replace cap and rotor before attacking rear bank.

I leave all wires in place on old cap. 1st screw on cap loosens. 2nd strips. Arrrrrrrrggggggggggrrrrrrr. Succumbs to vise grip.
Curse previous owner for no maintenance. Replace rotor/cap noting firing order on cap, and carefully transfer wires.

Ok, I decide to see what happens after changing only 3 plugs etc. I start engine. Doesn't immediately fire up normally, even with misfiring plug it immediately started. It starts, but sounds funny. Different than normal. Smooth..no misfire. I rev engine up. Hmmm. There is a delay in response to stepping on gas pedal. Almost as if, like in an older car, either a vacuum advance line is leaking or distributor has slipped out of adjustment. I decide to take it for test drive. Only takes 50' to see it has NO POWER. Shut down engine and inspect. Recheck firing order on wires. Everything seems normal. I'm baffled. Haven't changed rear bank plugs yet, but something tells me there is another problem. This is where you come in. Haha. Hopefully.
Oh..btw, can't check oil for coolant either. Replaced oil pan last year with WRONG year pan. Curses auto store. Took a month to diagnose that one. It fit..but now dipstick gets ground off by crankshaft. Another day and $200 for that one. However, I don't see any indication of coolant on oil filler cap. Going to change oil tomorrow just to be sure. In meantime, I'm out of ideas. And sorry for the long post.

Ok guys..there you have it. Haven't got a clue. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Meanwhile, I'm ready to attack the rear bank of plugs and 6 hours of cursing the engine designer. Hahahahaha. Although it's not funny. These 3 plugs are a nightmare to change. Ok.. I'll be back. Thanks for any insight.

 

Ok guys, here's an UPDATE.
Spent all day yesterday to remove the windshield wiper linkage pan, the serpentine belt and the alternator, just to get to the spark plugs on the rear bank. PITA. But worth it as it gave me access, especially the plug under the alternator. No way could I change out this one without removing this stuff. While possible to do it from below, this is much easier. This morning, I double checked all the plug wires for correct firing order, inspected everything for possibly breaking any wiring as I had towels laid across the engine to actually lay on top of the engine to reach the plugs, and then re installed the alternator, and a new serpentine belt. As I wanted to start this thing before I reinstalled the wiper linkage/drainage pan, hooked up the battery, and called my wife out to start the engine as I watched. Moment of truth.
I told her to crank the engine. She did. It cranked and cranked. NOTHING! It wouldn't start. I'm freaking out. WTF?? I inspect everything, and don't see anything that would cause this. Remember, after installing the front bank plugs, wires, rotor and cap.. I started this engine two days ago. It ran retarded. Figured maybe the rear plugs was causing it. However, the only thing I've done since I started it, is disconnect the wiper/drain pan and remove, disconnect and reconnect the alternator and change out the rear plugs.
I even laid the wiper linkage/drain pan on the engine, just to connect the electrical plug just in case. Still nothing. All of a sudden, something dawned on me. I forgot to install the V belt at the crankshaft pulley. I quickly installed it while wife waited and told her to crank it over. It cranks and cranks. NOTHING. Arrrrrrrrrgggggggggrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Ok, over the last couple of days, I did some online research and notwithstanding youtube(thank god for youtube) I found this:
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/chrys...system-tests-1
I'm guessing at this point something has happened in the ignition system. I don't know why anything could have happened between the time I started it two days ago and now, but something did come to mind. When I started to change out the rotor, it was positioned where I couldn't get to the screw that keeps the rotor in position. So, with the distributor cap removed, I cranked the engine over just barely. Perhaps this did something to the crankshaft/camshaft position sensor. I don't know...but SOMETHING happened.

Thing is, I don't have an LED light but have the parts to make up one. Also, just ordered the Digital Multimeter they recommend, to make the tests on this system. Been meaning to get one for a long time as tests on modern vehicles require one. But.. I have to wait for it. sheezus.

But here is something else. As I mentioned earlier, I discovered the electric fans aern't working either. I found a half dozen youtubes describing tests on the Fan Relay. While watching one here
,.... they describe the the relay as being sent a pulse from something called a PCM. Is this the same PCM mentioned in the link above? I'm wondering if there is maybe a common denominator for these two different problems???? Thing is, my engine light has been on for quite a while. But I live in a little town in Bumf**k Michigan where the only auto parts place that can read the codes or fix my car, which I can't afford anyway, is 30 miles away. There is a parts store here, but they don't read codes. Can't get there anyway.
Well guys, maybe someone can suggest a possible cause for this engine start failure. I'm hoping so, because until I can run the tests mentioned at link one... I'm at a total loss. Meanwhile, we can't go anywhere. I've had to cancel 4 doctor appointments, and can't even go to town for anything. We're just stuck. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Update 2. Just made an electronic ignition spark tester from a spark plug. Cut the thread part back 1/2", cut off the "L", and VIOLA! Worked beautifully. Tested all plug wires, cap, and coil. Every thing had a spark. Which means, by virtue of info in the first link,...the crankshaft/cam sensor is working too. Now I'm baffled. This can only mean it's in the fuel injection system. Time to read up. I'll be back.

 

Back again. Well, it looks like no one is interested, but I have a question should anyone know the answer.
I don't really know what to do next, but I've been researching what I should do. All I know is I have spark. At this point, I've come to the conclusion that the problem isn't in the fuel system directly... as in Fuel Injectors. All 6 could not possibly become clogged or gone bad. So, I've decided the next thing to test is the TPS..or Throttle Position Sensor as described here...
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/chrys...he-tp-sensor-1
I made this decision based on two possible symptoms described in the article.

1.Hard start and/or extended cranking time (after shut off).
This is happening now, although I've only cranked the engine for a short time to keep from running the battery down..
2.Hesitation when accelerating your vehicle down the road.
This happened after I replaced the front bank spark plugs and wires.

Unfortunately, to do these tests, I have to wait till my new digital Multimeter arrives.

In the meantime, the article describes the TPS as being controlled by the Powertrain Control Module(PCM)
However, I'm a little confused after researching a PCM, as some sites refer to a ECM.. which I assume is a Engine Control Module.

My question is... are these the same thing?? This stuff get's really confusing sometimes.
Ok, I'll wait for an answer. I just hope this PCM thing isn't bad cause I really don't have the money to replace it.. man are they expensive.
Alright... nuff said. I'll be back.

 

I've come to the conclusion this forum is useless.

 

I am inclined to agree with you.
Where are these "Mopar Experts"?