Hi, we just got a good deal on an 02 grand caravan that has an intermittant problem with the passenger sliding door and the rear hatch. They will pop open but then stop. They just cut off, they don't keep making motor noise. Clicking the remote or the buttons in the car will do nothing after that, not even close them. I did a search and have found others with this exact problem, where if one of 'em doesn't work, the other does either (and if one works, they both do).. but I haven't seen anyone give a solution besides "took it to the dealer and they fixed it."
Also, this may or may not be related, but the buttons on the overhead console sometimes do nothing, and when they do work they'll only close the doors, not open them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Heather
Rick99
07-13-2007, 02:07 PM
I doubt that the problems are related. Each power door is controlled by a separate control module.
I had a similar problem with my rear liftgate where it would beep and then pop the latch (it wouldn't always do that either) and then it would just stop. Other times it would open right up as it should. It would usually close by itself, but not always.
Unfortunately, diagnosis on these things would be very difficult or impossible without a DRBIII scan tool (the dealer computer tool that costs a couple thousand dollars). The DRBIII tries to open the door and then it reports back the reason it failed to open.
There are several switches used in the door and the door latch to tell the computer the state of each mechanism (ie whether the latch is closed or open position, whether the door has been cinched down fully, etc.)
In my case, the DRBIII told me that the "pawl switch" was the cause of the failure to open. The switch was broken so that the door's computer couldn't tell whether it was latched or not, so the computer would stop the door.
The good news from a "diagnosis" perspective, is that when I took the door apart, I realized that most of these switches are built into the door latch mechanism. They can not be replaced separately anyway, so you don't really need to know which one is causing the problem, just replace the latch mechanism. My rear latch cost about $80 and took 15 minutes to replace-- so, as compared to taking it to the dealer, it's not that difficult or expensive to give this a shot and see if it works.
