04 Caravan Wont start

My 04 Caravan would not start. Last Monday I filled the tank with fuel from a station that is not very busy. Ran for about 500kms highway driveing. The next day, had trouble starting it. Van ran fine for a few days, then on Saturday, would not start. Cranked and cranked. Finally added some gas line conditioner and plugged in the block heater(its cold here). After about 45 minutes the van started. Ran fine all day. Went to a friends house for about 4 hours and the van would not start. I cranked and cranked...even pumped the pedal, could not smell fuel in the engine compartment. The van only has 30K miles on it. Any ideas.:banghead:

Hmm, could be the gas you got at that station. Had problems years ago with the ex-wife's car not starting in the cold. Fuel lines would freeze up and would have to wait until it had sat in the sun for a while before it would start. Sounds like whenever your van sits in the cold, it doesn't want to run. First thing I would do is burn off the gas in the van once I got it started, then refill from your usual station and see if that solves the problem.

I for one would doubt it was bad gas....

loose connection? Fuel cap loose (you must turn it to the click)?

an '04 Van should/could still be under Warranty, but if it's not, and you have to look at it yourself, check for ignition, fuel pressure, ASD relay and circuits.

So for anyone that cares.....or perspective Caravan wannabees...read on...

So....2 hours of shop time, and the dealer still can't find the problem. Apparently it is a wiring problem from relay to sensor to fuel pump. but they can't seem to pinpoint the wire!!!
All I see is $$$$$$$ !!!!

Next day....

So $300 later from the dealer and this is what they came up with.
"Open circuit in wiring between PCM and Automatic Shutdown Relay."

Chrysler service Tech labor to find problem - $228.00
5 ft of Wire and shrink tube for wire$ - $ 2.50
Van back in driveway to drive 4 kids to hockey - PRICELESS!!!!

They didnt even find the "open" circuit. Instead of openning the harness to find it, they just ran a single wire along the harness and did some fancey shrink tubing to protect it! (what caused the "open" break in the wire, will I be driving down the highway and have another wire in the harness break and cause another problem, one of more safety related issues?):screwy:

My next purchase....definately not a Chrysler product...and I wanted a Megacab Ram:nono:

Next day....
I am over the warranty 11,ooo kms(71,034). I also tracked down the fact that there was a recall on the PCM and the seal in the harness to the PCM for 03/04 Caravans. (the power of the internet) When I told the service manager that, he looked into it and found the same recall notice(TSB). Looking deeper into it, he said it was on Caravans built between Aug 03 and October 03. Mine was built in November 03. Figures eh?!?! Even though it is having the same symptoms as the ones with the recall, they are doing nothing about it, unless I want to pay big $$ to replace that main harness and PCM.
[b]So I wake up this morning to take kids to school and wouldn't ya know it......now the "oil" light is on and staying on. I checked the in dash diagnostics and am getting code "P0522" which is oil pressure Switch/sensor circuit voltage low, and I am sure once I look into that, it probably runs to the PCM as well! :(
So I call the service manager...he says...did you check the engine oil level....I said "you just changed the oil yesterday...why should I have to check the level if you did your job properly" but yes I did check and its fine. he said maybe it is the sending unit malfunctioning.
I even told the owner of the dealership, yesterday, "Jim Guardhouse" in Owen Sound, Ontario that if this were a "lease" I would just drop off the keys and walk away....problem is I paid cash and now I am the proud owner of a LEMON!!!
I just wish I had of looked into service issues on these vans before I bought one. I would have bought a Montana or Odyssey instead.
That is why I am enjoying this forum. I know it is too late now, but hopefully other perspective buyers will see all these problems that people are having, compare them to other car makers, and make their decisions based on that!!!! And don't get me wrong, I know that most of the problems with this vehicle are not expensive fixes,(under $500 each) but there have been far too many in under 2 years, all dealing with one main problem....electrical. And the $$ are adding up!!!!!
:2cents: :2cents: :2cents: :2cents:

Saw a blurb on the news today that Consumer Reports is not recommending a single American car in it's top ten list among all classes. First time in the history of Consumer Reports. I wonder why.............