Programming keyless remote for 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan

[bensminger]

I recently bought a second remote for our 1996 Grand Caravan. When I went to program it according to the User's Manual the new one began to work, but the old one stopped working. In order to get both of them to work I did the following. Underneath the left-hand side of the dash (driver's side) is the main junction box for the car with fuses, relays, etc. Behind this is the Body Control Module which controls the door locks. Under this module are two black covers. Pull these covers off (you will probably need a screwdriver to release the cover from the plastic holders). Find a small Light Grey wire with a Black Stripe. Take a long, thin wire, putting one end along side the grey/black wire into the wire socket. Make sure it goes in far enough to touch the bare wire contact which is at the end of the grey/black wire. Turn on the ignition switch without starting the engine. Touch the free end of the wire that you put beside the grey/black wire to a ground (any bare metal surface under the dash will do; or an exposed screw). Then press any function key on each remote. This should program the remote.

Hope this helps someone.

[Onblsht]

I thought the 96-98 minivans were dealer programmable only?

[bensminger]

Originally Posted by Onblsht

I thought the 96-98 minivans were dealer programmable only?

They probably are, unless you know where to look and what to do.

[gromittoo]

Originally Posted by bensminger

They probably are, unless you know where to look and what to do.

I have the Factory Shop manual form my 2001 Voyager on CD. I am looking at the connector pinout for the connector to the Remote Keyless Entry Module. It is a 6 pin connector, and Pin 2 is labeled "RKE MODULE PROGRAM ENABLE".

This would lead me to believe that you could enable programing by simply jumpering this wire. It might be easier to use the dealer's DRB-III tool to tell the BCM to set the voltage on this wire to zero. However for those of us who don't have access to this tool which costs 5 grand, grounding a wire should do.

[beto2]

We lost both the original keyless entry fobs for our 96 Grand Caravan. We are about to sell the Caravan, so I bought one off e-bay and hoped I could get it to work following these instructions. I have the owner's manual and the unit I bought looks identical to the one in the owners manual. The guy that sold the remote is a commercial seller and assures me it is in working order and just needs to be reprogrammed, but offered no help with programming instructions. As directed here, I found the lt gray wire with back stripe and inserted the bare tip of a length of wire as far as I could get it to go in. The wire bends and will not go in any farther. I then turned on the ignition key until the radio plays but didn’t start the motor. When I touched the other end to bare metal, nothing happens. If it is being "grounded", should there be a spark?! Finally, while touching the other end (with no spark) to ground and pressing the three remote keys one at a time, nothing happens to the respective door or horn. I'm using a section of insulated wire with both ends stripped to do this. It is about the same gauge as the gray/back stripe wire. Anything I might be missing or should try before I fork out the $ to the dealer to reprogram?

Many thanks!

bt

[bensminger]

[quote=beto2]We lost both the original keyless entry fobs for our 96 Grand Caravan. We are about to sell the Caravan, so I bought one off e-bay and hoped I could get it to work following these instructions. I have the owner's manual and the unit I bought looks identical to the one in the owners manual. The guy that sold the remote is a commercial seller and assures me it is in working order and just needs to be reprogrammed, but offered no help with programming instructions. As directed here, I found the lt gray wire with back stripe and inserted the bare tip of a length of wire as far as I could get it to go in. The wire bends and will not go in any farther. I then turned on the ignition key until the radio plays but didn’t start the motor. When I touched the other end to bare metal, nothing happens. If it is being "grounded", should there be a spark?! Finally, while touching the other end (with no spark) to ground and pressing the three remote keys one at a time, nothing happens to the respective door or horn. I'm using a section of insulated wire with both ends stripped to do this. It is about the same gauge as the gray/back stripe wire. Anything I might be missing or should try before I fork out the $ to the dealer to reprogram?

Many thanks!

Make sure that when you turn on the key that the indicator lights come on (in other words, turn the key as far as it will go without starting the engine). Also make sure you are contacting a good ground (the steel mounting hardware that is under the dash). I don't think you will see a spark. If I remember right, you have to hold the wire to the ground while you press a key on the remote. Try that before giving your hard-earned money to the dealer!

Hope this helps!