Caravan 99 Strange electrical probems / fan.

[Jezell]

I have read several posts you guys seem to be pretty good at coming with answers so I hope you can help with my issue.

I have some odd things going on that may or may not be related.

1. Cooling fans do not come on. Our Mechanic has replaced the relay 3 times now and it works for a while and then stops.

2. Engine starts automatically with key in on position. In park with the key in the on position they engine sometimes starts after sitting in the on position for 30 seconds or so (varies may take a few minutes).

3. The lights that show the gear selection sometimes do not match what is selected. I move it to park and it may show first, second. Or I move it to drive and it says neutral. If I turn the key on and off it rights itself or sometimes if I play with the shifter a bit.

I took off the steering cover and noticed that the sensor for the gears was not in there. The sensor for the gearshift seems to be under the hood were the shifter linkage ties in. This van leaks a bit of oil and I noticed that the cable harness is pretty much covered in oil. Could all of these strange problems be cause by oil getting inside the cables harness?

Also there is a black box (where all the wires connect) next to the ignition switch and I am wondering if that might be the problem.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Jezell]

Problem 1. Cool fans not working. After some poking around I discovered that the fan would come on if I moved the connector attached to the cooling fan relay. Looks like an intermittent connection issue. I am thinking of cutting off the old connector and going to the junk yard to get a replacement connector to splice into the wiring.

Problem 2 Auto starts. Problem seems to have gone away. I took that off the black connections box with the idea of replacing it but ended up putting it back on till I could get the replacement part. Also lubricated the ignition mechanism. Since doing these two things I have not seen the problem again.

[Jezell]

Found a connector from a junk dealer and now problem 1 is fixed. I still have the issue 3. Does any know why the gear indicators would at times not match the actual gear the van is in?

[TomQuick]

I'm not certain about your gear indicator, but I sometimes have an issue with mine, only in Reverse. Sometimes the indicator says it is in revers, but the trans seems to be in neutral, or in reverse, but not really engaged properly. Moving the selector back to park, and returning it to Reverse always fixes the issue, and an inspection at a transmission shop revealed no problems, so I don't worry about it, it's just one of those little oddities that is part of the van's "personality."