98 Grand Voyager computer-electrical issues-please help

I have a 98 Grand Voyager, 3.3 flexfuel I have owned since 2001. The odometer currently has 132,XXX miles. In 2003 while returning from vacation, the engine came apart and we had to replace it. The garage replaced it with a 3.8 which he had immediately available. That was 40,000 miles ago. All went well until PA. started the emission testing. They claim that the rediness (sp?) monitors are not resetting. The first year they gave me an exemption easily. Last year they made me do some drive cycles to try to reset these monitors. This did not work and I got another exemption. In between inspections, I borrowed a used computer (ECM?-beside battery) with the same ID and flash and swapped it out. Driving it for 3 month did not reset the monitors. Recently I took it down for inspection/emission again. After 3 tries, the garage tells me that Harrisburg will not give another exemption, it must be fixed and we do not know what to do about it. He believes that the issues are from the engine swap. I paid them and took it to another garage (the garage that did the engine swap). He had it at a Chrysler dealer and 4 other garages and nobody can figure this out. The dealer was going to reflash the computer but discovered that I have the most recent flash. The first 7 monitors will reset but the last 3 ( O2, EGR and CAT) will not. He had the van for 10 weeks, replacing the two O2 sensors and again swapping out the main computer. He also did some harsh drive cycles daily, using it for errands and commuting. After spending $800 and no fix the garage and I do not know what to do. The last time I was down he said that we now have other issues. These both started the same day. Nearly everything on the dash goes out and comes back on when you hit on top of the dash. Also at times the transmission will shift to second gear and not shift above that. This brings on the check engine light. Pulling over and shutting off the engine will reset this. The light usually goes out right away, if not, usually within a day. These 2 issues do not happen at the same time. I have read back through a lot of this forum and have seen a lot of postings about this dash issue and the fix (removing and resoldering the connector) which I will probably do this weekend. I do not know if this will fix any more than my dash lights, but it seems odd that they started the same day. I should also mention that when I turn the key to start the van that a flapper door in the dash bangs multiple times before it stops, this has been doing this for a while. I cannot sell this van with these issues. A car dealer offered me only $1500 for it on a trade. I really hate getting rid of this van after putting so much $$ in it, also considering that it is my newest vehicle. The rest of the van is in great shape. I would appreciate any help/advice on this, by reading some of the previous posts I can see that there is some helpful and experienced people here. Thanx-todd

I had simular issues with the dash / transmission. Although I still have not gotten all of my issues to go away, the solder on the dash definintly was playing a part in my issues. It is fairly simple to do, so try that for sure. Also check the HVAC controller, because that has caused simular problems. That may have something to do with the flapping noice as that is most likely in air redirect changing. For the HVAC, there is only four screws holding it in. Pull the drink holder out, there is a small plastic peice clipped in above the hole left. Pull it off, take the two screws out from under it and the two above the radio, then there are three plugs holding it on. Check for corrosion or melting connectors.

Ditto to Kajoiner on the dash issue but, for the readiness monitor issue I am pretty much at a loss. Did anyone check for a possible wire harness mismatch between the 3.3 and 3.8? I would think they would be identicle but, maybe not. Did they try flashing the new PCM (your ECM) with the eprom that was originally meant for your van instead of the latest and greatest?

I haven't seen 1thunder on the forum in a while but try sending him a private message. He has 30+ years experience on electrical systems on these vans and is a certified Chrysler tech. Another would be RickMN. He is an experienced certified auto tech and runs his own blog.

Reading your post again, all of the issues could be related. They are all associated with the CCD data bus. This system is used by all the computers in the van to communicate with each other and their associated sensors. A failure in any part of it can effect many systems.

I did go ahead and solder the connector on the dash circuit board as mentioned in some previous posts. It was easy to do, thanks to the person who put this picture show together. I do not know if it helped the dash lights as that did not happen very often. It did not help the issue of the trans going into limp mode, it is still doing this. It only does this first thing in the morning and not daily, it shifts normally but not past second gear. Pulling over and shutting the van off and restarting temporarily fixes the issue, most times also turns the service engine light off. I have read an older post about the trans splice and ground strap. I got kind of excited as I was reading this, but then there was not any conclusion to that message. I do not know where to look for the splice or the ground strap mentioned. Maybe I could just hook up another ground from the trans case to the frame somewhere? One of the replies to my original message mentioned contacting 2 other members who might be able to help. I tried to do that but I got a message that the administrator has disable this function. I will try to send them an email or private message. This vehicle is getting frustrating. Thanks for the replies, any help is greatly appreciated. todd

I was having a simular issue with the transmission as well. I was not sure if it was tied to the dash or not, but when I resoldered it, it worked fine, but the transmission continued to act up. I was also having an issue with the speedometer bouncing around, however.

RIP suggested replacing the speed sensor, but told me the wrong location for it. Don't know if it will help you, but it is less than $40 for both the input and output sensors and only takes about 30 min. If you remove the air filter and look straight down, you will see the two coolant lines coming out of the transmission. Between those two you will see the input sensor. If you are standing in front of the van, the output sensor is about 8 inches to the right directly in line with the input sensor. It will be directly below the air filter. You will need a deepwell 1" socket to remove. Very easy and cheap, so might be worth while.

They have different threading, so don't worry about mixing them up.