2006 Dodge Caravan Electrical

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a 2006 Dodge Caravan that when I drive at highway speeds and it’s wet out, my air bad light comes on and about 50% of the time, the radio, fan, windshield wipers, and 12v outlet stop working suggesting the fuse or some other wiring is getting wet. The dealer cannot replicate and will not suggest any fixes. What do I have my local mechanic replace or seal?

I know there’s a Chrysler recall on 2005-2006 Caravans, #J38, but my Caravan falls outside the specs by 2 mths (it was for vehicles in service between Jan 2005 and April 2006).

Thanks for any help!
Mark E.
Metuchen, NJ

2

It sounds like the van may be going into consumer shutoff mode

I would have the battery and charging system thoroughly tested

How old is the battery?

3

Battery is a about 2yrs old and was just checked about a month ago.

Does “consumer shutoff mode” mean that it’s just getting old and starting to die?

4

When dry and the air bag light is out, if you can find the front air bag sensor, I’d wrap a baggy around it to keep water off. Then see what happens the next time it rains.

5

Consumer shutoff means that there isn’t enough voltage available for everything, and things need to be prioritized

Things that have low priority in this situation . . .

radio
heated seats
heated mirror
air conditioning
rear window defroster
etc.

6

How would windshield wipers fall into Consumer shutoff mode?

7

It was the first thing that came to mind

Anyways, here’s another thought . . . there’s no way a fuse could be the problem, as far as I know

Either the fuse is good, or it’s not

Once the fuse is blown, whatever’s on that circuit doesn’t come back on without replacing the fuse

I still recommend getting the charging system checked out

Find out if those features you mentioned are somehow on the same circuit

And get those fault codes read out . . . at the very least, you’ve got an airbag fault code

8

The problem could be due to a power input problem to the BCM module. Power from fuse 23 passes through the ignition switch and then to the BCM. Verify those areas are okay while the trouble is happening.

9

Thanks folks, some good leads to run down…

One of the probs Cougar is that we can’t get it to replicate yet, the dealer’s tried twice.

10

+1 to Cougar’s comment.
IIRC, this model has a history of problems with the BCM.

11

To make the trouble appear you might try running the vehicle through a car wash that also cleans the underside of the vehicle. Using a screwdriver handle to tap on suspected trouble areas is another way to help find intermittent problems.

12

We had a 2008 caravan, after 6 or 7 trips to the dealer with no real diagnosis. They just said that it seems that the various control modules could not talk to each other. They ended up buying that van back from us.