<clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada> wrote in message
news:0hks145p38u9oaeg938dkpu10jv3ogc4u1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> My Dad just called. His 2002 Caravan has been behaving bizarrly.
> It will generally start normally, but then immediately stall. It will
> restart this way several times - and then sometimes run fine. Other
> times after several restarts the lights on the dash come on, but it
> will not crank - not even a solenoid click.
>
> Walk away from it, and come back in half an hour and more likely than
> not it will start and run perfectly. Then stop somewhere, and try to
> start it again in five minutes or so - good luck.
>
> The ignition switch has been replaced, with no change in behaviour.
> Has anyone run across this before? If so, what was found?
> I'm thinking a bad ground somewhere is a possibility.
> It only has about 68000 KM on it - out of warranty by time.
>
> Any experience with this problem (Caravan 3.3 - not a Grande)
> ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com
**
Possibilities:
1. Bad battery. (Automotive electrical systems don't always follow the
rules
you learned in school. A bad battery [dead cells, all around dead, ...]
can
bollix up the entire system.) How old is it, and has anyone checked the
fluid level (regardless of whether or not it claims to be "maintenance
free")?
2. Bad connections where the cables connect to the battery.
(A) If they're the clamp-onto-post kind, with age they can loosen up (=bad
connection) and then oxidation gets inside (=bad connection). Too many
people over-tighten battery cable clamps, thereby bending the clamps (hey,
they're only lead) and removing the ability to tighten them anymore. You
would need to remove them, clean (with that cheap inside/outside wire
brush
widget available at any parts place) both the clamps and the posts, spread
the clamps back into shape and re-install tightening them enough but not
too
much. (Then you can coat them with grease to avoid future problems.)
(B) If they're the screw-in type ("side terminal"), unscrew them, clean
every contact point you can find, and re-install tightly (but not so
tightly
that you strip the screw threads).
In either case, if they're not one-piece, solidly molded cables, replace
them with *good* cables.
3. Bad connection where the battery cable connects to the starter motor.
The reason for the hard starting after a five minute wait is that, when
warm, the oil drips down off the cylinder walls quickly and, at the same
time, the parts are still expanded from heat, making a tighter fit. The
combination makes it harder to start (i.e., demanding more from the
battery)
than when everything's cold (and loose).
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