1993 Dodge Caravan 93 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L V6 wont run

Tiny
MALACI
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  • 1993 DODGE CARAVAN
1993 Dodge Caravan 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

We where on a trip and on the way back my van just cut off in mid turn. Temp was fine, Checked the fuses, battery, alternator, starter, fuel pump (all fine), changed the Coil Pack, crankshaft sensor, and checked all of the plugs to ensure they had power. The coil pack is not getting power, comming from the plug at the bottom of the part, none of the plugs that go to the trans have power. The Crankshaft sensor is getting power, but did not solve the problem. The van turns over but will not start. Any suggestions?
Saturday, October 24th, 2009 AT 10:51 AM

8 Replies

Tiny
JDL
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Welcome to the forum, did you check for codes? The dark green wire with orange tracer at the coil and injectors, should be hot with engine cranking? That voltage comes from the asd relay, that doesn't the relay is faulty. If the computer doesn't see the proper crank and cam signal, it may not ground the relay?
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Saturday, October 24th, 2009 AT 11:19 AM
Tiny
MALACI
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Thank you, as far as codes go, I did the "on, off, on, off, on" but got no engine light comes on at all. Checked the wires and still no fire to anything other than fuel pump, crankshaft sensor, and all my lights (interior and exterior). Could it be the Camshaft Sensor or Ignition Module? Or like you said, a faulty relay?
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Saturday, October 24th, 2009 AT 11:39 AM
Tiny
JDL
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If that wire I mentioned isn't hot, cranking, then I'd have to check voltage and ground at the asd relay. If the computer isn't grounding the relay, it may be because it doesn't see the crank or cam signal?
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Saturday, October 24th, 2009 AT 11:58 AM
Tiny
MALACI
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Ok, the asd relay is what gives power to the coil. If the cam sensor is bad then it wont crank, if the relay is bad it wont crank. Im going to print the wireing schematic in a few mins so I can find the asd relay and cam sensor. So do I start with the cam sensor or the asd relay?
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Saturday, October 24th, 2009 AT 12:11 PM
Tiny
JDL
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Hi, cranking is starter action. It's cranks good but won't run? You can check circuits at the relay and or cam sensor. If the cam sensor connector has three wires, it should be ref voltage--ground-- signal. If the cam sensor is bad, it will crank but won't run. If the cam signal is lost going down the road, it shouldn't kill the vehicle.
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Saturday, October 24th, 2009 AT 12:25 PM
Tiny
THOMAS LLOYD
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I have 1, ever had that tranny replaced. I spent 3months looking for a solution to all the same problems. Driving fine one day then it sputtered and died, it fired back up but showed it was hot and it overheated quickly, got the van home and the diagnosis began. I even changed a body control module thinking it was the issue. Worst off this all happend again about a year later. But I had not thought about this part I'm gonna say in a sec. I can't stress enough how many times I ended up on a site with experts giving advice and not once did anyone mention this part. I have a Chilton's repair manual and it barely talks about this part. Only after going through all possible testable parts and the simple this part failing can cause this and thuid, but not that and that did I find out what stupid $38 part caused my van to sit in a garage twice totaling almost a year. There ended up only being 3 possibilities. 1 a bad ground, ok maybe. 2 the body control module located underneath the front bumper beauty cover(yes that's what its called) attached to the bumper with rivets, now this was the second round with this issue. The first was after I replaced my trans by myself and I forgot to lightly glue a small piece of card board nor bought a new CAMSHAFT SENSOR, so first time around I noticed I had the wrong bolt I put back in the sense to hold it in place. There is supposed to be a washer barely wider then the head of the nut, I had put one with a huge wide washer, it had made the camshaft sensor a little crooked, not much but 9months after tranny replacement the van died and refused to start and spark, killed 2 batteries trying, onceiyad backtracked tranny work I found it crooked, pulled it out and saw it had been grinding against the flywheel, and it had chipped at it till that spot was only plastic then it died, well several months later it died again, but I never once checked it till after I replaced the body module, the only other part in all the troubleshoots left was it. I pulled it out and it was even worse the the other I replaced. What I didn't notice till the second replacement was this sensor has some play. Over tighten just a tiny bit will force offset and there should be a little felt covered piece of hard cardboard glued to a sticker, this to keep a certain distance, between the sensor and flywheel, my first replacement didn't have it bit I figured 20yrs of automotive work, I'm good. I was wrong, the second went out in three months, too close and off center. I replaced the, $38 part from O'riley's, and haven't had a problem since. I've since bought 4 similar mini-vans for $400 & under replaced that part. Then sold them for thousands smogged & tagged. None have I spent more then $150 to start these non running vans. So I'd check that before anything if you've ever had the tranny replaced, cause 2 out of 3 times I put that sensor in it was offset and to close. Hope this helps anyone
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Monday, September 30th, 2019 AT 1:17 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
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Thanks for that info. I am sure that will help someone that visits the site with this issue. Let us know if you need anything in the future. Thanks again.
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Monday, September 30th, 2019 AT 4:49 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Thanks for the additional information. To boil that down, this only applies to the crankshaft position sensors on this era of front-wheel-drive engines, that have a slotted mounting hole. Truck and newer sensor designs use a mounting bracket with two holes and no need for adjustment. This sensor in question comes from the dealer with the thick paper spacer glued to the end of the sensor. That is what sets the critical air gap. The spacer slides off and is lost the first time the engine is cranked, but by that time, it's job is done. If you replace the transmission, that sensor has to be removed so it doesn't get broken, then you must buy a new spacer from the dealer. I used to cut them into four pieces so I could do the job four times and save three people the 25 cents for the spacer.

A lot of aftermarket replacement crank sensors use a thin plastic rib molded onto the end to set the air gap. It is expected that rib is going to become worn down over time, so when that style must be removed and reinstalled, you're supposed to cut the remaining part of the rib off, then use a paper spacer.
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Monday, September 30th, 2019 AT 5:29 PM

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