I have a 94 caravan 3.0 that wont start. had been having intermitent dying while driving,but always started right back up. then running along about 70mph the other day it died like you just turned the key off. No codes either. Changed the ECM, has fuel pressure on both sides of the filter and also has spark. Will run briefly when i pour gas in the throttle body, but thats it. I have turned wrenches for years but have 0 experience with this caravan. Have a daughter that would love to have her wheels back, but I'm clueless. Have a manual (haynes) and followed all their steps and still nothing. has spark,fuel but wont fire. Any suggestions? Crank sensor? Cam Sensor? I am familiar with crank sensors, replaced one on my powerstroke before. Actually i am pretty mechanical, only i feel stupid with this caravan..!! Checked the ASD relay and it is fine also,, Not sure where to go from here, any help would be greatly appreciated..
MRBASS
07-24-2005, 09:45 PM
Well i read 43 pages here and found all sorts of stuff, except a similiar situation to mine, Think i'll do the Crank sensor next and see what that does.
gas28man
07-25-2005, 11:01 AM
Sounds like you're on the right track with the crank sensor.
Rick
MRBASS
07-28-2005, 12:39 AM
Anyone know if a 94 caravan 3.0L has a crank sensor? if so where is it? i sure cant find one. After doing all the no start tests in my Service manual everything points to the crank sensor,, I even got one from Auto Zone,, they said it was the right one, but theres not anything like it on this motor.My Haynes manual shows how to test it, and even shows the location on every motor except on the 3.0L. everywhere else there is diagrams for everything on the 3.0L, except for the crank Sensor. First i thought i just over looked it, but i have looked for 2 days and theres not one anywhere on the Bell housing of this motor like the 3.3 and 3.8's have.Totally clueless at this point. Anyone have any ideas? Still getting spark and fuel to the regulator, but wont fire.!! My daughter is screaming NEW CAR now,, i have to do something really QUICK..!!!!
maptinkler
08-19-2005, 10:36 PM
I just got rid of a 97 with the same problem you have...mine would just shut off within 5 miles after cranking... it never stalled ...just quit , most of the time it would crank right back up.
I replaced the fuel pump, and the distributor and all the while no codes ever showed nor did engine light ever come on! A mechanic friend could only scratch his head and guess the next move...problem was I needed the van and didn't have time nor money to trouble shoot.
Well I got rid of that pocket drain...and my confidence in Mopars is still rock solid.
Good luck and hope you can find the problem.
maptinkler
08-19-2005, 10:38 PM
By the you may not have a cranksensor...if you have a distributor.
MqtMatt
08-19-2005, 11:52 PM
I recently was having major problems with my 91 3.0. It ended up being the distributor. I pulled it off of my spare engine and slapped it in. Go to a junk yard and pull one out of a junk van or something.
05es
08-23-2005, 10:00 PM
i recently had problems with my 3.0L caravan first off it would buck goin down the road .. to make a long story short... it was the trigger in the distributor all fine and dandy till i went to order it,wow lots of $ so i went to the auto dissmantler and found a low mile distributor complete with a new cap and rotor for $25.00 installed it and i was good to go again for 8 months or so then it started shutting down traveling down the road. that trouble was corroded fuse links in the harness by the battery. found them by removing the outer ribbed conduit around the wires and gently one by one tugging on then the 3rd one i touched stalled the motor. fixed that and cleaned all the connectors in the area and while i was at it every connector under the hood... ya think chrysler would have a better weather tight connector. lots of corosion several connectors i just cut the wires and tied them in order solderd and taped then shrink wrap them... good luck
Chet42
09-05-2005, 04:27 AM
Is the computer storing any trouble codes.
To check. turn key to On-Off -On-Off-On-Off stopping in the on position without starting the engine, you will see a series of flashes on the lower left side of the dash. They only flash in series of 12345. So if you got 1 flash followed by a pause then 2 flashes followed by a pause the code would be(12) For more in depth info on trouble codes on 90 to 96 dodge e-mail me and i'll send you a complete list of codes for the 3.0
The 3.0 uses and optical pickup sensor in the distributor, lnstead of a spark sensor. usually these are very reliable but have been known to go south and cause problems like you are describing. The only way to replace it is to replace the entire dist assembly. The 3.0 doesn't use a crank sensor, the computer makes the adjustments for all the spark fuel and air and any timing adjustments.
Also i would check your timing belt, sometimes when the belt becomes worn it stretches and slips a notch or two, throwing your valve timing to hell and will also cause your no start situation or not staying running situation. The belt should be replaced every 100K or sooner.
Another culprit on the 3.0 is the MAP sensor they are notorious for going when you least expect them to.
Another problem could be the fuel pump itself is toast, there are 2 ways to check (1) listen for the pump when you turn the key to on it should cycle for about 2 to 3 seconds, (listen for a hum). (2) Do a fuel pressure test by using a pressure gauge. You should get a reading between 41 to 45 Lbs if the pump is good, anything bellow the pump is bad. Replace the in-line fuel filter situated under the rear sliding door.
Regards
Chet.
Oblio
10-10-2005, 10:51 AM
Optical sensor in distributor. Mine would die at higher speed and eventually got worse anworse and harder to restart. R2 dist no problems since.
vipurr
01-30-2006, 01:07 PM
I had a 95 voyager with the same problem. It turned out to be the wire feeding the 15 amp fuse in the modual box on the left inner fender in front of the brake booster. The wire should be blue with white stripe.It seems it has a lot of pulling on it because of the weight of the wire harnes.It lose contact periodictly and shuts down fuel relay causing the van to quit. It would cometo a stop and fire up again until thenext time. After I lenghtend the wire the problem went away. I hope this might help, because it sure sounds like what was happening to me. ps. It took me about 6 months for me to find this out. Good luck. Vipurr
