Hey all. I am new but I've been reading your forum for 3 days. Since the beggining of this mess. Suddenly BOTH my GCs are having problems although unrelated (I'll post a separate thread for the other car) :banghead:

Car: 2000 Grand Caravan, 3.8L, 145,000 miles. Had it for a year, no problems other than a split muffler which was patched last week.

This past Sunday I was doing some basic maintenance. Oil change, topping fluids, air filter, spark plugs (was experiencing some misfiring recently).

Anyway, I left the spark plugs for last. After the customary hour and a half with plenty of expletitives, got them changed. I am going from the top removing the whole windscreen wiper assembly. Tried to fire the car, would not even turn! But there is a loud fast ticking sound from the fuse box.

OK. Reset. Take the IOD fuse out, disconnect battery, replace fuse, reconnect battery. Engine now turns just fine but will NOT fire. Not even a hint of it. Still, ticking on fuse box.

Ticking: when you turn the ignition to position 1, ticking is fast and constant. Turrn to pos 2, still ticking but at about 1/2 speed. Engine still turns.

Hmmm, maybe the ignition relay? or the EATX relay? ASD?? I am lucky here cause I have 2 GC, the second one being a 97 GC 3.8L SE. Great! Swap the said relays over. The 97 starts like a champ. The 2000 does the same.

Tried starting the car with different combinations of relays missing from the box (I have them all labeled but they all seem to be the same anyway). Most times the clicking goes before I try starting the car. As soon as I try, clicking comes back.

Ok, not the relays. Checked and double checked every single fuse. All fine. Checked spark plugs cables that are properly connected to the plugs and ignition coil. Still, same results.

What now?? I notice that when the key is in the ignition, there is NO indication on which gear the car is in!! Never noticed that before, must be related. Right?? Tried resetting the PCM & all. Most times the cluster will not indicate trans gear (with the square box); a few times all gears will have the square on them!

Still trying to figure which subsystem causes the ticking. So, I disconnect the cable to the TCM (Trans computer) and ticking stops!! Hurray! Engine turns but it does not fire but I think that's to be expected as the ASD is supposed to check that the Trans is in Neutral, no??

Ok, so it's the TCM? I hook it up to my 97 GC (I know, lucky) and it fires like a champ! Hmmm. Hook up 97's TCM to my problematic 2000, same results: ticking, no firing.

Now what? Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated and I will report back on my findings. I am stuck and I really do not want to have it towed to the stealership.

Note what I said at the beggining of my post, the car has been audibly misfiring for a few days now but I thought it was the spark plugs. The rear ones were nasty and 3 different kinds!! I should also mention that I am using Bosch Platinum +4. I've been using these on all my cars for years now with no issues.

Thanks!

Been scouring the forum for something I read months ago and of course can't find it. Some of this is conjecture and may not be the case.

Your shift indications problem could be the gear position switch also known as the PRNDL or prindle switch. It appears this is the bugger that controls what the PRNDL lights on the steering column do. Couldn't find anything that nailed down it's location except it appears and would make sense it's on the transmission. Maybe near or on the solenoid pack. Here's where I'm on a limb. I'm thinking, based on what I read months ago, this may have something to do with your starting problem. Exactly how it ties together, I'm not sure. Plus this would go against my thinking the neutral/park switch was the only "transmission switch" in the starting loop. Hope somebody can chime in and say this is baloney or there's something to it.

Did find another thread that dealt with irratic PRNDL lights. Said he cleaned the socket for the TCM fuse and all was well.

Hmmm, interesting idea.

I have the bible here (aka Hayes book) so I'll read on that. I thought too that the Neutral/Park was the only Trans switch involved in the startup.

I do know that if the signal does not say that the car is in Neutral, the ASD is supposed to kick in and stop ignition. Which is understandable.

Now, assuming the prindle switch is malfunctioning then it could be tripping the Neutral/Park switch which would of course kick in the ASD.

I wonder if that would account for the rapid clicking (N/P switch turning on/off trying to get a signal).

Hmmmmm, I've got some reading up to do. Thanks!

This is for reference only for whichever poor soul ever use this thread as a reference.

The PRNDL switch is located 2 inches away from the Neutral/Park switch which is in turn located at the lower front end of the transaxle. The two switches look identical.

For the 4-speed, these are behind the Solenoid assembly cover/box, under the Input Speed Sensor.

Not sure it helps, but I recently had a dead battery that caused the clicking sounds you're describing. Battery voltage looked good on the meter (12.5 volts), but dropped down to 7.5 volts upon application of any load

Also, I recently had some misfire issues after replacing my spark plugs and wires. I *think* the actual problem was the anti-seeze lube I put on the threads of the spark plugs, but I replaced the wires at the same time I cleaned off the anti-seeze, thinking one of them had gone bad, so not 100% sure which it may have been.