Is it ignition switch or bad Fuse or relay !

What I have now when i turn the key to acc. everything working fine but after i start the car the radio , heat and the wiper dont work ! If i turned the heat off the radio goes on and stays on, but as soon as i turn on the heat the radio and the wiper keeps turning on and off like losing power . If i turned the heat of againg every thing stay on !
So which one do u think ignition switch or bad Fuse or a relay in the fuse box??
If it's the ignition switch wouldn't be a permanent issue?? since it change by turning heat on and off does that mean a fuse or relay in the fuse box ? ?? What do you guys think ?

thanks

I would say the PCM, Power control module, All things electric go thru that thing, and from what it sounds like, its confused. The switches in the van, IE:ign,heat,windows, ect are merely suggestions to the pcm to turn on or off, ultimately the pcm divies out the power.

Could be a melted heater control. Take a look at this thread:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=380983&highlight=melted+heater

good luck and let us know the results.

I have the same thing happening to my van, although I haven't fully investigated it, it's going to be either an ignition switch or a wire in the harness... I bought an ignition switch, but it seems to only happen when it rains or when a bunch of snow melts; being that, I assume it's outside the vehicle... It fixes itself after the rain goes away, so I have been ignoring it, LOL... I have over 200,000 on my 4 cylinder Caravan, so the ignition switch is not wasted money... You'll see that once you start your engine, if you try to crank the engine while it runs, it won't "grind" the starter... Basically once you start the engine, I have read that if there is any power going through the "crank" (yellow) wire, the Front Control Module shuts off the "Accessories" Relay, and probably the starter relay, so I doubt there is anything wrong with anything as far as your heater, radio or wipers go...

Unfortunately, I already had repaired a wire going to my computer and now it looks like the transmission is not getting communication either, so I am assuming all these wires are collaborated together... I had "jumped" a wire for my computer, but it looks now, that I will have to take apart the harness and REALLY go at it, looking for the common denominator...

I would say the PCM, Power control module, All things electric go thru that thing, and from what it sounds like, its confused. The switches in the van, IE:ign,heat,windows, ect are merely suggestions to the pcm to turn on or off, ultimately the pcm divies out the power.


Actually, you mean the body control module (BCM). The PCM (Powertrain Control Module) runs the engine. The transmission has it's own module as well (TCM). The PCM does not control anything outside the engine. In fact, quite a bunch of stuff also goes through the instrument cluster before going to the BCM. These vans can get quite tricky when they have electrical issues.

The FCM, the front control module is the mini-computer on the PDC (the 2 of them together is, I think, the IPM???-- Intelligent Power Module- I think)... It just shuts the power off; no BCM is involved here...

Anyway, the Tranny and engine computers ARE related in the sense, that I believe that they have the same power lead going to each of them from the same circuit... I lost it on the engine computer, now the tranny computer... The other problem, related to the accessory relay, comes from the "crank" wire... If it has 5 volts while running, then the accessory relay gets shut down by the FCM... That IS a different wire, HOWEVER, I'm pretty sure they are ALL related in the sense that they are part of a crumbling array of crappy wiring, twisted together...

I think that was more clear now...

Hope that helps
Mike

I'm gonna go with the clock spring, they have always been a problem and under life time warranty. My dad's 2003 was doing some goffy crap like that and i argued with hm that it was. He finally conceded and let me put one in and what do you know, all back to normal. That reminds me, he never did say i was right, bugger. Good Luck :)

Where did the last post come from??? Outta left field? This isn't a clockspring issue...

What I have now when i turn the key to acc. everything working fine but after i start the car the radio , heat and the wiper dont work ! If i turned the heat off the radio goes on and stays on, but as soon as i turn on the heat the radio and the wiper keeps turning on and off like losing power . If i turned the heat of againg every thing stay on !
So which one do u think ignition switch or bad Fuse or a relay in the fuse box??
If it's the ignition switch wouldn't be a permanent issue?? since it change by turning heat on and off does that mean a fuse or relay in the fuse box ? ?? What do you guys think ?

thanks

If you're still with us 20 days later how about letting us in on the model year of your van?

Fuse - No
Switch - Anything happen when you jiggle it?
Relay - Slim possibility

b1lk1 ....Im sorry, the BCM is what I was referring to, my bad.

2001 dodge grand caravan 210000 M

Still Same issue here accessories don't work when I turn the van on. However, when the key is turned back into accessories position, everything works - never a problem also when i turn the a/c on it comes back on and off !!

I changed the ignition switch but it didnt fix the issue !!!

It's definitely a bad wire from the fuse box to tyellow" tion switch. I fixed mine. But that was 2 years ago when you posted last. It was a yellow wire that eventually goes to the ignition switch. It can also be the ignition switch as well; not a waste of money to replace it before you tear into the harness... You'll need a wiring diagram to find the yellow wire that I'm talking about. I BELIEVE (it's been awhile) that there are 2 possible causes for the yellow wire... The yellow wire goes from the ignition switch to the relay and/or FCM, then to the computer (I believe that it's usually the wire in the engine compartment)...

It's not a terrible wire to find.

I cut the original wire near the underside of the fusebox (left the old wire there) and got a 16 gauge wire and ran it along the harness as far down as possible, past the transmission where it starts to go into the fender (basically where I could SEE the wire or get access to it)...

This solved the problem, however I DID change the ignition switch at the same time. I did 2 of the 3 things that could have failed in that situation...

Keep in mind that I said "yellow" wire but there may have been a pink, red or some other colored tracer in that wire...

Hope that helps...

I got this help by paying $30 from JustAnswer

So i took my 2001 Grand caravan to the dealer to fix the acc issue which is when start the car doesnt work then it keeps turning on / off , they called me after two days and said its the electric harness issue so they cleaned n fixed the wires cuz the battery was leaking and thats what caused the issue n charged me $400 !! I paid n got into my car to find out the problem is still the same !! so they refunded me the $400 n kept the car n called m,e back after a day to say it " found that no proper communication from PCM n recommenda new PCM $1140 + tax !!! which is to much money to fix a small issue !!! so i took my car free of charge .
I dont think its PCM issue but who n\knows !! so what you guys think the right thing to do !!!

Well, like I stated, I fixed the problem myself as outlined above... You live around 10 miles from me, (although the garage where I do my side work is in long island), so if you want me to help, let me know... It probably won't cost you half the money. Buy some yellow 16 gauge wire and a new ignition switch; the rest is labor... my cell is 818-288-four 66 one... only YOU may call me on this matter...