While My husband was driving my van this week (a 2001 Town and Country Lxi v6 3.8L) it started to make a whining noise and suddenly began to lose power. He was able to pull into a local advance auto store. They used there scanner thing and couldn't find a error anywhere. Seeing how the scanners aren't exactly the best, of course that ruled out basic stuff, but we called for a tow. By the time the tow truck got there, it was suddenly able to start. We still had it towed to our local garage. The driver happened to be a tech and our big worry being a transmission issue, said it could be a sensor of some sort to, which would be far cheaper and the mechanic would be able to tell. Well, as of now, 2 days later, our mechanic has had all kinds of computers hooked to it, driven it over 40 miles taking it from 85 and while having it suddenly switch gears back and forth, the works. No error codes, no glitches, nothing. In fact, he says it runs better than any other van of that age he's driven. Anyone have a clue what this could be? I hate to take it in for anything that might not need done at a transmission place (which the mechanic said we could do if we wanted but would quite possiblly be unneeded) or take it home and it need something. Any help is appreciated! thanks in advance.

 

if the person looking at it with the scanner cant find anything wrong with it sorry no on online can do any better. U can always take it to some one else and see if there scanners will do the trick

 

I'm no Mechanic but if your not getting a CEL and it's hesitating like that then it could be starving for air or gas. When was the last time you gave it a complete tune-up? Might want to check simple things such as air filter and gas filter (maybe not so simple). Otherwise you might have to wait until it gets worst or you get a CEL.

 

I have a similar issue. My 2001 town and country powered off while driving. The radio and fan when it powered off were still working at the time of the power down. I had lost all rpms and coasted to a stop. Once stopped the van tried to turn over but could not. When the key was forward, the fan could not be shut off, but the radio and power window would work. But with the key forward the dome light, gauges,and dash lights would not work. Once the battery was reset the van now works just fine, but I am nervous driving it. Does anyone know what could cause this?

 

Well in my case ('03 T&C), I was able to restart it right away when ever it turned off. My issue was fixed btw, a Chrysler Mechanic changed both the CAM & Crank sensors. Only one of them was the cause, can remember which one he said but also said it's always good to change them both anyway. That was about 6 to 8 months ago, never again did it power off while driving or any other time. Might want to check that out. Good Luck, I know the feeling.

 

I hope that this works for my 2002 t&c lxi 3.8v6
I was going to try the simple checks, which always turn out not so simple for non mechanics like myself, but after more and more reading it seems to be the only way to solve the issue...but then even that's not always the case...just seems like a manufacturing issue somewhere in the line...

 

" Well, as of now, 2 days later, our mechanic has had all kinds of computers hooked to it, driven it over 40 miles taking it from 85 and while having it suddenly switch gears back and forth, the works. No error codes, no glitches, nothing. In fact, he says it runs better than any other van of that age he's driven. Anyone have a clue what this could be?"
-- was your question.
Also " Once the battery was reset the van now works just fine, but I am nervous driving it. Does anyone know what could cause this? " -- was Newlife's question.

One has to sympathize when even pro. mechanics find it hard to diagnose these problems on microprocessor-controlled machinery, which is what a car is nowadays. Oh for the 1970s when there wasn't a micro in sight!

So you'll have to concentrate on the following:--

The various control micros have to live in a much worse environment than a home. Freezing cold, baking heat and lots of sparks (in a petrol engine), never mind having to get all the electical power from a small alternator + lead-acid battery combination.
None of this bodes well for microprocessor boards which are electrically delicate. These micros have to control everything from ignition sparks to injector frequency and period (diesel). In fact a modern diesel of the common-rail type could not function without micro-control.

Even the clever boys designing aircraft control systems have problems that are difficult to fix with their micros, not to mention Toyota's trouble that must have cost them millions of dollars.

IT'S ALL TO DO WITH GLITCHES GETTING IN THE MICROS.

So what can you do? The following will require your brain to be in gear.
I would connect an oscilloscope to the alternator output while engine running, (or the battery, which is directly connected to it), and look for voltage spikes. Only a 'scope is fast enough to display glitches, and the observer has to be pretty fast too! The word "glitch" by the electronics profession, is not to be confused with the colloquial use of the word 'glitch' which usually means just a small transient fault. Your pro. mechanic should have an oscilloscope available.
Threse voltage spikes, glitches, can affect the stored memories in the micros. There are many kinds of memories, but mainly c-mos and TTL logic types. The c-mos ones are high impedance and are more likely to be affected. Every micro board uses many discrete memory chips, apart from the main built-in memory in the actual processor. We are looking at hundreds of mega-bytes here. (A byte is 8-bits). The SOURCE of glitches is almost certainly the alternator or the starter motor
Suffice it to say, even one dropped or wrong bit caused by a random voltage spike or glitch can cause malfunction(s) of any part of the car that is micro-controlled, and in a complex random fashion.

There is no "pat" answer to micro problems. And that is because even an electronics engineer cannot get to the internal memory devices used, and there are literally millions of bit-stores that could be affected. Locating these problems requires a very different approach and experience than you'd find with the average pro. mechanic.

There are however some standard things you can do when there are random control problems as you have experienced. This is not a guarantee of a fix.

You can disconnect the battery -ve for a few minutes to cause a "forced hard-reset" to all the micros. This will eliminate any stored glitches, but will not stop new ones happening.

You can replace the battery with a very good-condition one (i.e. no sulphation) and see what happens. Old and sulphated batteries will encourage glitches as the acual capacity of the battery is reduced markedly and sulphation causes the impedance (like internal resistance) of the battery to rise. The battery is the one component that "shorts-out" glitches/alternator hash from the alternator or starter motor. An even better idea would be to run the vehicle with TWO batteries in parallel as I do, and as a number of manufacturers are doing now. Another is to fix a very big capacitor across the battery as some manufacturers are now trying experimentally (The supercapacitor experiments set off by battery problems with 'stop-start' technology).

One poster mentioned two sensors (cam position and crank position sensors) which are a remote part of the signal input the micro boards have to work with. Experience shows that the micro boards themselves are the least likely to be actually faulty, sensors various and the battery and charging conditions are much more likely to be the root of your problems. Never forget that the error-code system can only do what the original programmer made it do. Therefore you cannot rely 100% on the error-coding system -- and worse, this itself can be caused to work improperly by glitches. The error-code system is not really a substitute for understanding how it all works. Its chief merit is as a diagnostic tool, so long as you're aware of its limitations.

Well, I said you'd need to get your brain in gear...And this posting is a clue as to what your problem could be...

Leedsman.

 

Just check the PCM/ECM and the harness, it could be a short in the system. Check the fuses in the driverside under the hood. The ECM/PCM can have an internal shortage. I would start with the basic voltage check on the battery and alternator.

 

Well, after about 1 yr and half my T&C has started to shut off again! SMFH!!! This is why I stopped buying American cars! Always some electrical issue! I can't possibly believe that the Dealer brought sensors are bad again!? SMH. I guess I shouldn't jump to conclusion but it's frustrating. I will have it checked this weekend to see if we can find the problem.