01 T&C Theft System

[2Mopars]

I'm having intermittent problems with my vehicle's theft system. Occasionally, if I use my remote to lock the vehicle, the vehicle won't disable the theft system when I go to unlock it. The vehicle will start and shutdown after 2 seconds. The theft system light on the information panel stays lit. If I lock the door from the inside then leave the vehicle alone for a few hours, it will start again. Sometimes the theft light will just all of a sudden appear when I'm driving. The dealership can't duplicate the problem, therefore I'm stuck with a undependable vehicle. Not good when you have children.

Can anyone shed some insight? Thanks!

[nick0750]

do you have an after market alarm or remote start in the vehicle? the hardest thing is to duplicate condition if you leave the vehicle overnight at dealer and instructions of how you get problem to happen there is a good posibilty they can duplicate it..
i have seen a similar issue and the vehicle needed a new body control module price range part only $295.00 to $325.00

[2Mopars]

Thanks for responding. Everything is original equipment. I've heard of the body control module, but I'm hesitant on replacing expensive parts if it's only a hunch.

There is no consistency to the reoccuring problem, therefore I can't give good instructions to the service tech. Of course, I can't get the problem to duplicate for the dealership. I've been trying to eliminate things such as locking and unlocking the vehicles different ways and even stopped using the keyless remote. I wonder if it's a communication problem with the transponder key?????

[HeadlessHorseman]

Originally Posted by nick0750

do you have an after market alarm or remote start in the vehicle?...

That's an excellent question... When I bought my '96 GC, I had the dealer install an aftermarket anti-theft system and fog lights before I took delivery of the vehicle. The PIAA fog light system still works great, but I yanked the anti-theft system out myself less than a year after I owned the vehicle - it never worked right... mainly the alarm would go off for no reason 5 minutes after I locked the van... a huge annoyance at home and when we were out at the store, travelling or whatever. Nobody could figure out what was wrong.

[2Mopars]

Well, I took the van to the dealership for the third time. They gave the problem to their most skilled technician. He scanned every module and found their was two stored codes in the SKIM (Immobilizer) module. One stated, "antenna failure" and the other was "transponder communication failure." He replaced the SKIM module and both transponder keys. I haven't had a problem since. Of course, it's only been a week, but the diagnosis seemed logical. $315 later I'm back on the road. I hope this might help somebody else. For any of you who have an older T&C with the instrument panel and guage problems inconjuction with the engine shutdown, I wouldn't rule out that the vehicle isn't going into theft mode. I'll post again if the problem persists.