2001 Venture wont crank

[jusber15]

I have a 2001 Venture. Last fall I found out that my intake gaskets had started to leak. I didnt have the cash to get it fixed at the time so I just parked it in my driveway until tax season. The time is here and I get ready to get it fixed. I go to start it and nothing. Everything powers up, battery fully charged. I turn the key and it wont crank. I printed out the wiring diagrams and started checking everything over. All looks good. There is a purple wire that comes from the ignition to the ECM that gives it the crank signal then a yellow/black wire comes from the ECM that gives ground to the starter RELAY. I get nothing when attempting to crank. I ground it out, the van starts and runs until the security kills it.

Anyone have a clue??

[meggabad]

Does the solenoid even click when you try to start?

[jusber15]

I cant believe this happened and I feel like a real ass. After messing around with this van for 3 days, the wife informed me that I was using the dummy key instead of the real key. Make sure your key has the soft rubber head with the PK3 stamped on it before you waste all your time on nothing!!!

[meggabad]

LOL Now thats funny!

[rockwood84]

at least you know the pass-key is working

[papi62596]

I have the same starting problem with my wife's Venture. She parked it and tried starting it in the morning, but it wont turn over. We did get the starter to "click" a few times, but nothing happens. She took it to the shop and they said that the starter relay isn't getting a ground and the "Service Engine Soon" light doesn't come on at all. They seem to think that the computer might be bad, but said honestly they have no clue. Everything worked before she parked it. All of the lights work and seems to be getting enough power. They also tried to program the key several times to see if that was the problem, but that didn't work either. Any help would be great. Thanks.

[GuttaFixIt]

Originally Posted by jusber15

I cant believe this happened and I feel like a real ass. After messing around with this van for 3 days, the wife informed me that I was using the dummy key instead of the real key. Make sure your key has the soft rubber head with the PK3 stamped on it before you waste all your time on nothing!!!

Least you didn't get it hauled to a garage and get charged arm and a leg to tell you they found out it was the key...

[Tech II]

We did get the starter to "click" a few times, but nothing happens. She took it to the shop and they said that the starter relay isn't getting a ground and the "Service Engine Soon" light doesn't come on at all. They seem to think that the computer might be bad, but said honestly they have no clue.

How did she get it to the shop? Towed or it started?

If the starter just clicks, battery and battery cables should be checked, along with charging system...

Does the CE light not come on when it won't start, or it doesn't come on at all?

Did they scan for codes?

You have a SECURITY light in the dash....just turn key to on(don't crank), all your lights should come on, including the CE light.......the SECURITY light should come on and then go out after 5 seconds......if it does go out, and you turn the key to the crank position and it doesn't crank, check the purple wire to the starter solenoid for battery power when the key is in the crank position......if no power, then check out the starter enable relay circuit.....

Has a remote start or alarm been installed in the vehicle?

[papi62596]

We got my wife's van back today. They found a corroded wire (orange) that goes to the ECM after they traced it out. They were able to splice a little longer wire in and got everything working. It seems that a piece of plastic was rubbing the wire and exposed it to our great Ohio weather. They said that when they found the wire it just broke in half when they checked it.

I guess the other shop that we had it at will never see our business again. They tried to sell my wife a ignition module, ECM, battery and starter relay, but couldn't say if that would fix the problem or not. They suggested that we take the car back to the dealer since they would be the only ones able to fix it. The shop that fixed it only charged us $160.00 for the entire repair instead of the $1500-$1800 the other shop wanted. Sounded like a deal to me, since they worked on it for 2 days.

[Tech II]

Finding a bad wire somewhere can be labor intensive, especially if not readily visible.......