@db4690 : Lifetime powertrain warranty
It was only offered for a few years, IIRC.
Iâve never heard of this before
Was this offered because Chrysler really screwed the pooch with some particular engine design?
It was a desperation move before the bankruptcy, I believe. There were various problematic designs, like the 2.7L V6 that sludged up when they used it in transverse applications.
We are having the same problem with little cooperation from the dealer because they canât replicate it. BroJoe thanks for enlightening me on Chryslerâs policy with dealers. I am contacting corp. office, not hopeful. Just want problem acknowledged and fixed.
When a starter motor soleniod makes constant clicks while trying to start the engine it is because the power supply voltage (battery voltage) is so low it canât supply enough high current to run the starter motor so the voltage drops low and the solenoid opens up. When the current load goes down then the supply voltage goes up and the solenoid closes again. The process keeps repeating. As for the PCM, it has nothing to do with that kind of starting trouble. Itsâ job is to control the engine.
The battery could be at fault and have an intermittent internal connection problem. Most of time this kind of thing happens is when the main battery cable has internal corrosion and the wire has been corrodid by leaching battery acid inside the insulation of the wire. Poor battery connections can also cause the trouble.
I suppose another way this could happen is if the supply voltage from the ignition switch has a problem and the supply voltage going the solenoid coil is low while the cable to the starter is okay. This would also be another problem close to the battery and the wiring in the distibution panel under the hood needs to be checked out.
A tech with good logical electrical repair skills shouldnât have much trouble finding the trouble. It just needs to be occurring while he has it.
I have this same issue. The WIN module and the intermittent âclickâ when you try to start are two separate issues I think. When I try to start my van, and get the click, I pull down to drive, back into park, and it starts right up. I have to think there is a sensor for the shifter to tell what gear it is in thatâs not working correctly.
I also am having trouble with my 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan not starting. It is a random issue that has been happening for some time, but now is becoming quite frequent. I have checked many forums where people refer to a clicking. I have no clicking sound, just silence. It is typical for me to try 2-4 times, take a break, and then it starts right up.
The first thing you should do is clean the battery connections using a battery post cleaning brush. Even a thin layer of corrosion can cause this kind of problem. If that doesnât help then you need to make sure power is getting to the dash fuses via the ignition switch when it is turned on. If there is signs that is happening, like the dash warning lights coming on, then you need to check for a problem within the safety switch circuit for the starter. Try placing the shifter into neutral and see if that helps. If so then the safety switch circuit most likely has a problem. Sometimes just moving the shifter around in the Park position helps. That also points to a problem with the safety switch. Sometimes just cleaning it will fix it.
Same issue here. 2010 4.0L T&C. Car has been doing this for over almost a year now. Last fall I replaced the battery, but the problem persisted. Last week I finally replaced the starter as the problem became more prevalent and the symptom mimicked a flat spot on the starter. But alas, the problem remains. I noticed the ETC light comes on when the car wont start, but I doubt itâs related. I do feel thereâs a relationship between the problem and the gear selector, but havenât nailed down anything definitive. Although Iâm still covered by an extended warranty, and have discussed with my dealer, Iâm not at liberty to leave the car with them because the problem canât be duplicated. There is no doubt in my mind that there is one fix for all ailing. I will continue to troubleshoot and report back with any findings & hopefully a solution.
It appears I have this issue licked. Found an obscure post on another site where someone claimed to cure the problem with an secondary ground strap from the battery to the engine block. I purchased a 30" Mallory 28135 Universal Stainless Steel Ground Strap from Amazon for ~$18. Ran from the negative terminal to one of the bolts that secure the starter. That was a week after my June 17 post - so this post is roughly one month since the ground strap was installed. The car is driven every day of the week â short trips, long trips, with many, many starts â and it has started every single time!
The starter is grounded to the engine block. But the battery negative lead is grounded to the chassis. With 100 Amp, it doesnât take much resistance between the chassis and the engine to create a voltage drop from the battery negative to the starter negative. The result is the voltage between the starter terminals and the starter case is too low, and it wonât crank.
Look closely at the battery cable end crimps. On these vehicles they become weak and loose. If you see the nickle plating on cable end blistered and the copper in the crimp has turned black this is a poor connection. This can be verified with a volt meter when the problem occurs or if touching the connection burns you fingers you know this is a bad connection.
George define chassis, the thickest ground cable on this vehicle runs from the battery to the engine/transaxle.
Someone must have dug pretty deep for this postâŠitâs from Sept 2012.
Yosemite
On both my vehicles, the battery ground connects with a thick cable directly to the vehicle chassis. Thereâs a separate grounding cable from the engine/transaxle to the chassis; i.e. thereâs no cable directly from the battery negative to the engine/transaxel. If on this vehicle the thickest ground cable runs directly to the engine/transaxel from the battery negative â if this is a grounding problem â then like you say @Nevada_545 , the problem is more likely something in that cable or its connections either at the battery or where it connects to the engine/transaxle. Sometimes the battery posts get over-tightened and the post diameter compresses enough that a good connection canât be made without some modification either to the connector or the post itself.
Bad grounds can cause all kinds of issues from intermittent no-starts to major issues with running poorly. I had a terrible miss for a while when first started for the day. It was worse on cool damp days so I figured it was electrical. Sometimes it didnât happen at all. There were sensors grounded to the throttle body area. I buffed the mating surfaces/connectors with steel wool and then wiped the areas clean with a rag soaked in carb cleaner. I then applied diaelectric grease and re-assembled. The difference this made was amazing.
Itsâs the neutral safety switch, or on these newer models the transmission range sensor. I have an 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with the same problem. Figured it out before I spent a fortune replacing everything else. The next time your vehicle doesnât start, instead of reaching for the jumper cables, put the key in the âONâ or âRUNâ position, change the gears from park to drive and back and try again. Mine started right up, got the switch replaced and havenât had the problem since.
I was wondering how your car has been since youâve added the additional ground cable?
Yes, my starting issue was resolved by adding a ground wire from the battery negative post to one of the starter bolts. The car being a 2010 4.0L T&C. That was after replacing the starter. I donât believe it ever happening again. That said, the car developed a high voltage spike condition, (donât recall the error message) shortly thereafter which appeared to be related to the ABS module. That caused the car to stall intermittently when braking at low coasting speeds. Canât say whether the two conditions were related, but the car surely became âbuggyâ as it approached 100K. We got rid of the van late last year.