98 Voyager No Speedo and Trans Sputtering

My voyager is a 98, 3.3l, 4 speed. The speedometer doesn't work until the trans starts sputtering. I get three dtc's. P0500, P1494, p1495. I checked all the wiring for the two speed sensors and everything appears and tests fine. Knowing that the output sensor controls the speedo and sends info to the TCM, I decided to replace it. That didn't do anything. About a year ago , I replaced the shift solenoid because it went bad. Everything was great until now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hmmm.. Does anything else NOT work on your dashboard?

Sounds like the speed sensor, but the plug can go bad or the wires can pull out... Sometimes the sensor IS bad, then you try to unplug the OLD sensor, and the wire pulls out...

They make a repair kit for the input and output shaft sensors that come with the eletrical ends and a few inches of wire...

The p0500 is the VSS, so I would check your connections on that first...

The other 2 codes you listed were for the EVAP system...

Tranny's don't usually sputter, engines do... I think when the vehicle warms up, your connection is getting better for the VSS sensor, but it starts to run bad because of the EVAP system problem...

All these sysmptoms happened at the same time? Or was the one first, then the other?

Mike

Everything else on the dash works. I checked for conductivity of the sensor wires between the connectors and the TCM. All the wires had conductivity. The spuddering may be better described as shuddering instead. When this happens, which is everytime you drive the van, the speedometer goes crazy up and down, while the van accellerates and decellerates. It's kind of hard to describe, but it is definitely trans not motor. It just jerks until it you let off the throttle for a few seconds and it goes away for a couple of seconds then starts again. It does it whether the van is hot or cold. These symptoms occured simultaneously. One didn't happen before another.

The van jerks or just the speedometer?

If the van jerks and then the speedometer moves, then maybe it's a bad axle or the spider gears are falling apart or the pin is sliding out of the final drive?...

If something is wrong with the rear planetary gear inside the transmission, the reluctor teeth MAY wobble, and cause a break in circut... Meaning maybe the tranny is bad...

If there is a way for you to duplicate the symptom on a jacks or a lift, and then CAREFULLY view the axles and then feel the rear and side pans of the transmission, you may feel that shudder from internally inside the transmission...

If you can get a hold of a scanner that shows "Pending Codes", that may also help more...

I have still seen good conductivity in the wires, and then when you plug them in, the pins move quite a bit... You may wanna see if they can easily slide in and out of the rubber within the plug...

Mike

Both the van and the speedo jerk together. I will try putting the van up on jacks and feeling the trans as you've suggested. I will also give a tug on the wires as well and see if they are loose. I was out driving earlier and tried putting the shift indicator in 3 not D. It seems to run much better that way. The van only surged one time. Maybe that will help you with any more possibilities. Thanks for all your suggestions thus far.

Maybe the torque convertor is locking up prematurely???

It still locks up in third gear, but your rpms are higher, so making it not as prevalent...

Since there are no codes for that in itself, it's hard to tell without feeling it myself...

Have you changed the fluid & filter recently? Did you use ATF+4 fluid?

It's important to use ATF+4 to prevent torque convertor shudder...

It is a full synthetic fluid that allows the clutch in the convertor to slip until it fully engages, as well as protects the bearings and other hard parts within the transmission because of the high quality synthetic fluid... The "slicker" fluid easily manuevers through the small passages of the solenoid block, keeping sure that there is no lag in solenoid operation... Keeps the transmission cooler as well...

Unfortunately, that doesn't explain why the speedometer jumps...

I'm still leaning towards the final drive/axle areas...

the ABS light isn't on by chance?

Good chance you have a bad TCM. The output sensor goes through the TCM then out to the speedo. You could check connections for corrosion or damaged contacts. You could connect a tranny specific scanner and check for tranny codes. Should be able to get a TCM cheap at a junkyard.

Disconnect the battery before disconnecting/reconnecting the TCM to avoid chance of damage.

I haven't had a chance to work on the van yet however I did notice that my odometer is not changing, it still reads the same miles as it did three days ago. Also the cruise control doesn't work. I wonder if all this is related. Any clues anyone????????

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120914 If you're in a hurry read the first paragraph of the first post then the third (last) post. I punched "caravan, speedo,cruise, and odometer not working" into Google. This popped up as the second link. Wish they were all this easy to find. Can't say for sure this IS THE FIX but, it worked for him.

Nice call RIP!

Unfortunately, the computer is still the last thing that usually gets changed! LOL...

I'm sure he can find one one ebay even cheaper than $50...

I think it's best to make sure that he has the correct year, and engine size, but I have put all those years from 96-2000 and they all "worked", however getting the right year and engine size makes it "right"... along with the computer's part number...

Thanks for that last post "rip". I was thinking that all along, but without a scanner to properly diagnose it, I hate just throwing parts at a problem. I love to see a failure for my own eyes before I spend the money and time changing good parts. I'm off of work tomorrow and will let you guys know how it all goes. Thanks for the input guys!

Thanks for that last post "rip". I was thinking that all along, but without a scanner to properly diagnose it, I hate just throwing parts at a problem. I love to see a failure for my own eyes before I spend the money and time changing good parts. I'm off of work tomorrow and will let you guys know how it all goes. Thanks for the input guys!

Yup. Been there. You not only need a scanner but you need a scanner capable of reading transmission codes. Not all do and of course the scanners that do are even pricier. You could swing by a tranny shop and have them scan it for I'm guessing around $100.

Well,I've been working on the van for two days now. I've inspected and tested all of the wiring between the sensor, the tcm and the pcm. Everything looks and tests fine. I took a longshot and bought a tcm from my local junkyard. No luck. Still doing the same things. I have no speedo and when it starts working the van surges like crazy. I guess I will have to break down and pay some rapist, oopps, I mean mechanic to diagnose this problem. Thanks for all the help guys. I will keep you posted and let you know what winds up to be the problem.

I am having same issue any luck yet ?? only i cant find the speed control censor at all either i am just a dummie or something but one guy had the problem on youtube and he changed the crank position censer because in the 3sp. it dubbles as ur speed as well ? i duno im trying :)