My '89 Caravan now dies at random - just like you reached down and turned off the key. It started running rough - missing and coughing - a few weeks back and then the dying started. Temperature doesn't seem to matter, speed doesn't seem to matter, weather doesn't seem to matter.
After sitting from anywhere from 10 seconds to a few minutes it starts right back up like there was nothing wrong.
I checked for spark last time it died and it had none so I figure something in the ignition system is causing it, but I dont know where to start.
The dist pickup seems solid with no signs of wear or damage.
Thinking it might be an ignition relay (which I don't even know if it actually HAS one), I went to Schuck's and bought what they said was the ignition relay - BUT I can't find anywhere - under the hood or under the dash - where the old one is to replace it.
It used to be an every-few-days problem, but it's rapidly become an every-few-minutes problem - to the point where it's unsafe to pull out onto a street!

I am totally stumped!!

Anybody got any ideas?

Help me or shoot me (or both)!

thanks....

le hairball

Engine size?? 3.0L distributors are usually bullet proof. 2.2L/2.5L are prone to having bad distributor hall effect switches.
Does it die like right now, or does it run rough for a few seconds before dying??

When my 88' did that to me it was the last straw in line with a lot of other straws about $3000.00 worth in 18 months (160k on it than). It kept getting worse and worse finally it died in the middle of a traffic jam in the middle of the road and would not restart again. I had to be towed home. I just couldn't spend another dime on it. I called it quits at that point and got another van. I know that this doesn't help you and I never did find out what was wrong with it I hope that you have better luck than I did with yours. Ride On, digimon

I have a 1998 Grand Caravan, one day we were driving along and we started loseing speed, pulled over to the side of the road and the van died, it would not start for about 20 minutes when it did it choked and sputtered but we made it home, took it to the garage the next day and they could not find anything wrong with it. this happened several times, each time we replaced something different.....after much frustration my father came for a visit and I explained the problem, he said FUEL FILTER AND PUMP! took it to a garage , sure enough my filter was blocked and by that point i needed a new pump, that was 1 year ago.......never had a problem since!

Can't say for 100% certain but that relay ~may~ be under the hood on the drivers side quarter panel?

I'd guess (with emphasis on "guess") though it ~might~ be a Crank or Cam sensor.

My '89 2.5L Turbo 4 was doing the same thing that Robert the Hair described above.

THANK YOU, Anaudiophile for suggesting the Hall Effect Switch! That's exactly what it was in my case. It's a cheap and simple fix: $60 for the part at the local NAPA store, and a 10-minute replacement job. You don't even have to R&R the distributor. Just pull the cap and rotor, lift the old switch out, pull the two connectors that hang down in front of the block, pop the new switch in, connect the wires and you're ready to put it all back together. Literally, ten minutes from the time I grabbed my toolbox to the time I slammed the hood down.

It was amazing the blank looks I got from mechanics and auto-parts stores when I was trying to diagnose this problem, and then again when I went shopping for the switch itself.

This forum really saved the day for me!!! THANK YOU!!!