1997 Dodge Caravan electrical problems

Filed Mar 11, 2016 · Electrical · 250,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 dodge caravan. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the engine shut down without warning. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and restarted after a few minutes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the failure was due to electrical failures within the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 250,000.

Filed Sep 22, 2014 · Electrical · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 dodge caravan. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the radio stop working and the windshield wipers activated independently. In addition, the check engine, air bag and battery warning lights would illuminate and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Aug 24, 2013 · Electrical, Lights · 209,000 miles · VA · fire

My wife park the van inside the garage, turn off the radio, engine and lights. She open the drivers door and see flames and smoke coming by the parking brake handler. And all the lights on the van were on. She remove the kids from the van and my son call 911.police and fire department came and extinguish the fire, remove the van from the garage and check it and found possible electrical malfunction .check the van today 8-24 2013 and found that the fire start at the head light switch. Dim switch ok and mirror switch ok. The fire damage the left side of the dashboard, windshield, sun visor and celling. I have this van since new, never have a problem before. And never see a problem like this.

Filed Aug 16, 2010 · Electrical, Visibility · 72,000 miles · ME

1997 dodge caravan. Starting at about 30,000 miles, the windshield wipers would mysteriously come on, make 4 to 5 wipes and turn off. We made jokes about the ghost riding with us. It was an intermittent problem, happening about every month or six weeks. It could not be reproduced on demand. Finally, at 72,000, the windshield wipers refused to turn on from the stalk--except when the windshield was given a "squirt" of fluid by lifting up on the turn signal/wiper control stalk, then they gave the regular three wipes and turned off. The dealer replaced the entire switch unit. It did not help. Then they called chrysler's "super tech 800 number" and no help was provided. Since the car could not be inspected with no wiper function, the entire body control module was replaced (computer) which fixed the problem. Cost: $741.00. Since all of the mechanical parts of the wiper system worked, if this happened again, I determined I would simply pull a hot wire through the dash to an "on-off" switch and connect that up to the wiper feed--estimated cost of less than $10.00.

Filed Nov 18, 2008 · Electrical · 135,000 miles · CT

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 dodge caravan. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact shifted from drive into park and the vehicle was able to be restarted. Two days later, while making a turn at approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled and nearly crashed into a building. The vehicle persistently stalled after these incidents and was driven to a local repair shop. The mechanic stated that the computer and control body module were defective and needed to be replaced. He called the dealer and they stated that a diagnostic was needed in order to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls related to the vehicle; therefore, they were not liable for the repairs. The vehicle has not been repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were 135,000.

Filed Oct 13, 2008 · Electrical · 11,000 miles · NY

No power to instrument panel 1997 dodge grand caravan. Bad soldering joints in instrument cluster circuit board.

Filed Apr 30, 2008 · Electrical, Visibility · 150,000 miles · OH

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 dodge caravan. The rear driver side vent window is stuck in an inward position and cannot be opened. While driving at any speed, the instrumental panel lights begin to flash and the vehicle shuts off. The vehicle can only be restarted after waiting 15 minutes. The dealer has not diagnosed the vehicle. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Filed Mar 27, 2008 · Electrical · 32,000 miles · KY

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 dodge caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle would start, shut off, and the electrical system would malfunction. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle would turn off and the speedometer would malfunction. The contact has taken the vehicle to be serviced multiple times. The current mileage was 142,000 and failure mileage was 32,000.

Filed Mar 4, 2008 · Electrical · 40,000 miles · CA

Instrument panel stops working.

Filed Mar 12, 2007 · Electrical, Transmission · OK

The van has a hard time going in reverse when it is cool outside. And when going in drive the van has a hard time shifting into any gear. Sometimes the while driving down the road the speedometer flips out and shoots to 0 to 80 3 times before it stops and goes back to the right speed that I am going.