Shelby Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 96 Dodge grand caravan 3.8 , runs fine but lately i have start'd haveing problems with the instrument cluster .. seems lots of people do i found out ,heres what it use'd to do ,,durring warm weather no problem but as the temp start'd to drop , the cluster would not come on when you start'd the engine, it's run fine and a few miles down the road every thing would pop on like nothing was ever wrong well this has been getting progressively worse , now when i say the cluster is dead i mean just that no shift lamps nothing at all , some times as the key is turn'd on part of the shift lamps will light up for a fraction of a sec , now when the cluster is dead ALL the gauges will pop on and off like a relay opening and closeing with the ign key on,,now when you turn the ign key off the cluster still does the fliping on anf off real fast and if left alone after a minute or so you can head the speedo motor start runinng back wards ,this is so bad now i have to remove the batt cable when ever the key is off the entire cluster only has 7 wires runing into it, so i asume most of the gauges etc are digital data signals , full time power is ok, ign on power is fine,, cluster ground is fine , i have no way to test /check any data signals but i have unplug'd the body ecu,and engine ecu,,no change , swap'd in a diff power distribution box , no change if any one has any experiance with these cars and this problem i'd sure appreate any help you can offer , i don't mind replaceing the cluster with a use'd one , just hate to guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Just a guess but I would check the power feed and ground to the cluster separately with an old needle style volt meter. If the needle bounces from 0 to 12 when the cluster flickers then you may have a power/ground short. If the needle doesn't move or moves only slightly then I would say the problem is in the cluster. It sounds like your cluster is going bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted January 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 all ground and power signals are steady , even when it's flickering i do not have a very good wireing diagram , all i have is a haynes , lost my sourse to a shop with all data Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Google images has lots of wiring diagrams for a 98 caravan. They aren't in any recognizable order though. Specific searches may pinpoint the diagrams you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted January 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 thanks i was gona try that after makeing a thread on here , never know what you can find out on here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoCam360 Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Inspect the back of the dash cluster and see how many electrolytic caps it has? As electrolytic caps age, they become easily affected by cold weather. I did a repair on a Lexus 300 for a guy because all those cars (early 2000) have a known issue with some electrolytic caps that are affected by cold weather. You can verify this by hooking the dash up to a DC benchtop power supply and get an aerosol can of "freeze" and start dropping the temp on those caps to see which ones are the culprit. Once you know which caps are the source of the problem, replace them with new ones and you can even step up to tantilum caps if available. If these cars have this kind of problem, somebody has posted about this fix I'm sure... There was a big write up for the Lexus by some guru.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyWadd Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Those have the body control module? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted January 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 well one thing for sure is i'm not alone with this problem , easily a few 100k others have simalur problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screemin eagle Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Send it out to be rebuilt. The board is probably bad. My 03 gmc does the same thing. I'm sending it out Tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMNDSTAR87 Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Some years back I had some issues with my Chrysler fifth avenue where the dash gauges and lights would work intermitently Along with some other electrical gremlins and It ended up being a poor connection in the steering columngig out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbojeeper Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 it is for sure the cluster, more specifically the circuit board on the back of the cluster, i was a chrysler tech for 9 years, it is a common problem and through the dealer it is an exchange part for a rebuilt one and last i checked they are about $500 for it. there is nothing you can do other than getting it rebuilt hopefully or replacing it .good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobH Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Jeeper is rightI have replaced prob 4 or 5 over the last 5 years or so for this very problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig87 Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Pull the plastic of the back and look at the solder joints on the main connector these were good for cracked/ bad solder on the connectors. Yes there is few wires because the data is bussed on the CCD bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted January 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Pull the plastic of the back and look at the solder joints on the main connector these were good for cracked/ bad solder on the connectors. Yes there is few wires because the data is bussed on the CCD bus. no simple film plastic on these boards , looks like a lap top mother board any way went over it real close with mag glass , resolder'd all main plug poles 2 look'd questionable ,none of the caps were bad looking but one i did find with a bad solder joint on one leg ,conclusion didn't fix the problem but i am now confident the main problem is the body ecmi'l pull it and take a look at it\ one other thing this is a major screw up by chry and personaly i beleave the gov will befor long step in and force them to take care of this cash cow they are useing this problem to gain money from it's customers , for one it';s a runing problem that beem ongoing for more then16 years ,and they won't fix it cause of all the $$ it makes for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionbull Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 (edited) Jeeper is rightI have replaced prob 4 or 5 over the last 5 years or so for this very problem DUDE WHO DID YOUR SEATS!!!wonderful job!!Sorry to jack, onwards. Edited January 21, 2013 by lionbull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtreme Industries Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 i had the same problem with my caravan 3.8 AWD. never was able to get it fixed. took to multiple places, then just traded it in on another minivan (Kia) and never looked back. I will be surprised if a rebuilt cluster will fix the problem. i replaced mine with another used on as well as the BCM and never had any change in behaviour. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Shelby the wifes jeep was doing summin very similar and it ended up being a ground wire in the drivers door wireing harness had broke almost in 2 from the door opening and closing peeled the rubber booty back soldered in a piece of wire ( just too have a little flex room ) and no issues since just a idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted January 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 thanks Tman and others ,i'm sure it's some thing very simple like a cold solder joint , but even with 260k miles on the ol gal she drives like a new van , and to be honest i can't afford to just junk hernor can i inspect the entire wireing harness , it'd be easier to install an electric disconnect relay to the effect'd circurts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 still playing with this thing , pull'd the body BCM and took it apart, didn't realy see any bad solder joints, but i can see a scourse of posible problems the incar fuse box has imprint'd internal connections that feed all power to the BCM , about 24 pins to be exactand 100's of places for poor contact includeing 4 huge bolt on connectorsalso spent 40 min or so talking to our local dealer and also to a friend at advance auto parts ,, i found a use'd BCM on line for $105 , checking it's number against my old BCM,, ,mine the dealer says is not the right BCM it says the BCM is not for a van with remotte alarm but it sure has it and it works just fine ,,the BCM number that advance gives is the same as the use'd one i found,,the dealer could not find that BCM number in any of 3 years of vans any way i bought the use'd 96 BCM should have it tues or monday , shouldn't take more then a few days to put the darn thing back togather befor i know if it worksi'l try to get some pics of this incar fuse box,,man what a mess ,,the BCM plugs directly into the fuse box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig87 Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 A scanner would have made life much easier. You do realize that ANY module on the CCD bus can be causing your issue. You can also have delamination of the board at the connector of the cluster. Your van is old enough you should be able to plug and pray the bcm aslong as you don't have a grey key. SKIM tends to keep most DIYers from playing with pcms and bcms on chryslers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 A scanner would have made life much easier. You do realize that ANY module on the CCD bus can be causing your issue. You can also have delamination of the board at the connector of the cluster. Your van is old enough you should be able to plug and pray the bcm aslong as you don't have a grey key. SKIM tends to keep most DIYers from playing with pcms and bcms on chryslers. no scanner and i'm lucky the key is a standard metal key , so no chip in keyas for any module causeing my problem , humm few would kill every thing , most would effect only parts of the cluster , every thing includeing shift position indicator lights are out ,but they come on go off very quick like a faulty relay trying to operatethen after the cluster does come to life every thing works just fine ,, but once you turn the key off it acts like the cluster is still power'd up (stuck relay on) until the batt is disconnect'd talking to local dealer techs is useless cause all they do is replace parts till it works,,, haveing a BCM wireing diagram and power flow chart would help greatly but i can't find one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jszucs Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 PM me an addy I found 3 ignition wire diagrams there not great quality though. There is also a youtube link to the "fix" have you watched it ?www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha7KXBbP2AY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy larry Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Awesome link... Throw the FSM in the trash and go to Youtube for a fix.. And yes Ask questions LIKE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jszucs Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Awesome link... Throw the FSM in the trash and go to Youtube for a fix.. And yes Ask questions LIKE Yeah it's pretty sick ive found fixes for allot of stuff on the net. Just had to fix my furnace last night. Came home and the house was 58 degrees inside. Learned a new way to remove those stupid high security torq bits (the ones with the bump in the center) to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobH Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 shelby Pm me your phone number and a good time to call you I have access to alldata pro with all the diagrams you need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts