My wife regularly gets stranded by this POS van, and it almost always happens at the same parking lot of a grocery store she goes to. The van works fine, starts up fine all other times, but for some reason when she goes to this specific location the van won't fire. It will happen other places as well, but the most often time is at the store.
The van will crank and crank, but won't fire. sometimes it will fire for a milisecond and then shut off again. we've replaced the fuel pump, no luck. there is also no check engine light that stays on so no way to diagnose the problem. Please help with any ideas.

 

Many times the cam or crankshaft sensor is the cause. At the very least check their connections for security and corrosion before changing. They often fail without throwing a code.

What led you to the fuel pump? Which engine?

 

I had this problem with my voyager - it turned out to be two co-incidental but unrelated issues:
1. wireless interference with the security system. the AA man who first put me on to this as he got me restarted, explained that wireless interference effects different cars on different wavelengths - he had been out to a woman the previous week who always parked her car on the road but on that occasion parked it on her drive - he asked her to go indoors and switch her pc wifi off. when she did, the car started..much more common than you think and i had a couple of locations that used to be a problem.
2. this happens regularly to me, car loses all dashboard indicators when driving or when parked turns over and shuts itself down. turns out to be a loose connection below the dash - solution, hit the dash really hard in the centre of the drivers console. hey presto the car starts. i hit the dash with keys in the ignition - if this is your problem mileage counter and gear selection don't light until the connection is remade by hitting the dash.
i cant guarantee that either is the problem but if the mileage counter does not light when it next happens, hit the dash and see what happens.
see previous postings for a detailed explanation from others as to how to permenantly correct this issue

 

A very common problem on 3rd generation (96-00) Chrysler Corp minivans caused by cracked solder joints on the instrument cluster circuit board. Practically unheard of on 4th generation (01-07) vans but I'll never say never.

 

the van did it again, this time in a different parking lot. I have my wife bang on the dash but it didn't start up, I was really hoping this was the issue. I'm starting the thing it may have something to do with interference. If we do not engage the security system do you think the problem with wifi interference, etc. might stop or does it not matter if the system is engaged or not?

 

Repeat the routine a few times. Park it in your favorite parking lot and leave it unlocked (security system off). See what happens.

Could it be that it's not related to the parking lot at all but related to the distance/time driven and amount of heat built up at that time? Components can fail due a fault dependent on temperature.

"no check engine light that stays on so no way to diagnose the problem." Sure there is. Just a little more work involved. If you are so inclined, the next time it fails check for spark at the spark plugs and fuel at the fuel rail. You are missing one or the other or both when it doesn't start.

Generally, on a 4th generation van if the security system fails while starting, the engine will start, run 2-3 seconds then die. Is the red light on on the dash when it won't start?

Again. What led you to change the fuel pump?

 

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