2001 Caravan problems

Tonight as we were driving our 2001 Caravan SE home, the van suddenly felt like it "slipped" and then the engine just completely cut out, died at 65. But strangely all the lights on the dash were still working, all the electronics, everything. Also, the gear indicator on the dash was all lit up, even though it was still in drive they were all hilighted. Once we fought it over to the side of the road, took the key out, tried to start it, but it wouldn't. There was a humming/whining noise even with the key out and the engine "dead." After opening the hood, poking around for about 5 minutes, and a little cursing, the danged thing started right back up and drove the rest of the way home. What the????!!!! It also has been feeling like it will just "slip" into gear, the actual column shifter moved on me last week, but I thought I had bumped it or something. Problems this morning with the snow and trying to get it into 3 and L also. Then, when you start it for at least five minutes there is this horrible high pitched whine, and the wheel doesn't want to turn at all until it's warm. If anyone has any idea what the yahoo is going on, please tell me! I'm a single mother of three, this is dangerous for us to drive, I need to get some idea of what's wrong before I walk into a shop like a lamb to the slaughter =(.

Your problem sounds like an issue with the engine alone, which usually points to the fuel injectors if it just dies. Put in to bottles of fuel injector cleaners into your next tank of gas and see if this clears it up. This problem also comes with a usual low idle that you will sometimes notice while sitting at a stop light while still in gear with your foot on the brake. It may not be low enough that the van dies, but it kinda seems like its running rough. If you put in a bottle of fuel injector cleaner every couple tanks or so, it should keep you from having this problem. If not, you may have to take it in and have the dealer or other mechanic clean it out for you. STP or other fuel injector cleaner runs about a $1 a bottle, so its alot cheaper than the mechanic and doesnt cost much to try.

Hope it works for you.

Your other problem regarding the whining could be the belts need to be looked at. The whining could be slippage on the power steering belt(which is actually a accessory belt that runs everthing). Kinda weird advice, but while the vehicle is running, put an Ivory bar of soap on it and see if the whining goes away. If it does, your going to need to replace the belt. It may last a while - 6 mo or so - or it may last a week. Hard to say without looking at it.

This is definately an electrical issue. These vans (all new cars for that matter) need to put out approx 14v when running, or else you will get stalling, no/harsh gear shifts, etc. I would first clean/inspect/tighten your battery connections & do the same for your ground connections. G/luck
Joel

I may have thought it was an electric problem also, but the fact that all your lignts are on when the van dies going down the road, as you stated, indicates this is not an issue. The check on the battery is a good idea though. If it does turn out the above steps I gave do not work for you or have no affect, take your van to a local Pep Boys/Autozone/Napa Auto Parts, or whatever you have there. Tell them you think your ALTERNATOR may have a problem. Most of these parts places will not charge you to check the alternator and see if your getting enough power. If your car is cranking up in the morning, at least turning over, this is probably not an issue. You can also watch the charging dial on your dashboard to see if there appears to be excessive movement on the dial acting as if it is charging the battery while your driving. The dial should stay in a position just to the right of center, pointing to what would be 12:30 on the little hand of a clock. If it is getting much past that, check out the electrical.

One other thought. If you are driving and feel you are not getting as much power out of the engine as you were before, you may want to look at the spark plug wires. These are easy to pull and check. If you see black or what appears to be burnt rubber on the inside of the wire connectors, this could indicate you need a new set of wires (Usually about $20 to $30 at the parts store). Careful when you pulls these off the spark plugs to make sure you can put them back on in the same place.

Good luck.. I hope some of this works for you. Please let me know. Got me curious now.

If you are getting a misfire from a faulty spark plug, coil or plug wire, you will get a "check engine" light associated with the misfire. Are you getting any OBDII codes / CEL's ?
G/luck
Joel