Van will not start in hot weather

Tiny
POPDOWG
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 107,143 MILES
I have the mini van listed above Grand Voyager. All of a sudden out of the blue i'm having problems getting my car to start. The car starts fine in the morning but it seems if the weather is hot outside then my car wont turn over. It starts like its going to kick but after like the 3rd or 4th time it goes flat like the battery is dead but its still power to everything else in the car. Sometime also while i'm driving all the lights on the dash go off.I don't know if it's due to the same problem, but that happens also. What could be causing my car to do this? Help me please.
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 AT 8:55 AM

17 Replies

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
1998, has the battery ever been replaced? And if the lights on the dash all go out, your instrument cluster may need repair, or replacement, 98's had a weak solder spot on the circuit boards. Test the alternator, and battery. You need at least 9-10 volts for the PCM and sensors to function.
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 AT 9:00 AM
Tiny
POPDOWG
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I didnt fully understand everything you said but I did just buy a new battery less then a month ago. The alternator was checked thursday and I was told that it works fine and it charges.I also have a new starter and I was told yesterday that that works also. All I know is I can start the car in the morning and in the afternoon when its hot the car wont turn over
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 AT 9:15 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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Things to look at are Vacuum leaks PCV, EGR, TPS and Crank sensor. But if the cluster is dead while you are cranking, it too will cause problems starting. Check engine light come on?
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 AT 9:29 AM
Tiny
POPDOWG
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Yes I have been getting the check engine light too. Thats one of the newest things happening. It might turn off sometimes but it comes back on now thank you so much I appreciate it im going to write what you said down and ask the machanic to look into it
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 AT 9:32 AM
Tiny
POPDOWG
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What might cause the check engine light to come on? 1 of the things you mentioned or 1 in particular
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 AT 10:20 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
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Try this to get the codes, turn the key from off to on three times, on the fourth time, leave it on, any fault codes will display in the odometer. Write them down and post here.
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 AT 3:24 PM
Tiny
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Ok ill do just that and write the code down
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 AT 3:27 PM
Tiny
POPDOWG
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
Hello sorry for the delay but I finally got my car to display me the code.I dont know if its a 3 digit code but I turned the key in the ignition 3 times and on the 4th time I started it and left it on and I think the numbers that was diplayed was 087. If I did it wrong or thats not the code please let me know thank you
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Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 AT 6:02 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
087 isnt a good code, so do this insread and post the code(s). First thing you need to do is have the codes read, Autozone does it free, Post the results with the code number(s). Even if the service engine light is not on, there should be freeze frame data stored.
If it won't make it to Autozone, buy a cheap scanner, they can be had for 30-40 dollars, a good investment, since they cover all cars sold in the USA from 96 on.
If the light is blinking, it means possible damage to the converter. Service it right away!
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Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 AT 2:05 PM
Tiny
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I just came from the machanics and the car worked fine. That pissed me off I was there for 5 hours so I told him its going to do it again. So when it did I was gonna call him as sure as the earth is round it did it 30 minutes after I got home. So I called him hes suppose to be on his way hes an electrical specialist. He said it might be the fuel pump ill see when he gets here he said that he cant fix the problem or begin to know the problem until he sees what its doing when it wont start
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Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 AT 2:11 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
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Intermittent problems are the hardest to find, and though the fuel pump may be a problem, I doubt it has anything to do with the lights on the dash, like I said earlier, there is a known problem witht the clusters, and if it goes out, most other systems will also go out when it does.
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Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 AT 3:34 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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I found this success story on another website, try it if you are handy, Chrysler will tell you there are no roblems but there are a lot of people with this problem.
This is to report the defect, this is the quote of a successful repair."I am finding this very difficult to comprehend. $12.00 for a 15/30 watt soldering iron at Radio Shack, an hours
worth of work, and the instruments now work. I could not tell which connection was bad so I touched the iron to the
backside of where the black connector goes into the panel. Then took the panel further apart and touched all the
connections for the lower connector. The gages and rear window wiper work. The ABS light is out and after
disconnecting the battery for awhile, the Service Engine Soon light extinguished. " This was a guy called shipo
You can try a self-diagnostic test. To activate self diagnostic program:

With the ignition switch in the OFF position, depress the TRIP and RESET buttons.
While holding the TRIP and RESET button turn the ignition switch to the ON position.
Continue to hold the TRIP and RESET buttons until the word CODE appears in the odometer windows (about five seconds ) then release the buttons. If a problem exists, the system will display Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC's). If no problem exists, the code 999 (End Test) will momentarily appear.
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Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 AT 3:57 PM
Tiny
POPDOWG
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
Yeah maybe ill give that a try but isnt leaving the batter off for a while just a way to reset ya computer. And his check engine light went off because its reset but that doesnt mean it wont happen again. Now the machanic told me that 2 or 3 things are wrong with my car.1 he said might be my computer and maybe my factor alarm system. He said definitly that 1 thing made my lights go out but I cant remember the term he used. Im going back to him again today ill write what he says down and tell you what he said
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Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 AT 7:06 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
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I am just letting you know that the van has known problems with the cluster circuit boards, do what you think is right with the info, bad cluster connections can cause ALL of your symtoms!
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Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 AT 1:06 PM
Tiny
POPDOWG
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Oh trust me im takin note of everything you said.I finally got the car to mess up on me even thou I had to go back and drag the mahanic to my car he said that the problem comes from my body module or something. Apparently everything under the hood works just fine but the factory alarm system is connected to my cars computer and for some reason its lockin my car preventing it from starting. Is anything I said making sense could that cause the problem im having too? Thanks for all the help too I appreciate it
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Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 AT 2:40 PM
Tiny
MJBEEVE
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
I am having the exact same problem with my 1999 Voyager. Replaced the BCM and all other functions worked (door locks, etc.) But the van would not start. Put the old one back in and it started but same issue with gauges and lights going out then after the 4th day, intermittent starting again. Ordered a new BCM and gauge cluster and is being worked on now but still the same issue. When it wont start, it's because it's not registering the security to shut off when hitting the unlock button on key fob so it allows it to start but quickly shuts off because it's not disengaging the security. Its has been a royal pain and still not getting ahead with anything. Any advice is welcomed!
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Thursday, May 21st, 2020 AT 3:09 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Okay. When putting the BCM in you need to program the vehicle theft system. You can try to run through this process that I attached but if that does not work then you will need a scan tool to scan for codes and see if there are issues. If no codes then you can use the scan tool to disarm the system.

Let us know what they are doing to program the theft system after replacement and we can go from there. Thanks
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Thursday, May 21st, 2020 AT 4:52 PM

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