My 2002 Town and Country won't turn over at all when I turn the key. The battery seems to be fine though. I think the problem could be the gear selector. It lights up all the gears when I try to start it (P,R,N,D,etc.), so the van may think it's not in park and won't let itself be started. Is there a simple solution for this or does it have to go to the mechanic for repair?

The transmission was replaced about 2 months ago by Aamco, but it has run fine since then and I've never had this problem before.

 

Have you tried starting the engine with the gear selector in N? Perhaps an adjustment is needed.

Some modern cars require the brake to be depressed for starting, as well. Maybe a wire off the brake pedal switch?

 

thanks for the reply. I had tried to start it with the brake pedal depressed, but that didn't work either. The problem with putting it in neutral is that the gear selector didn't seem to recognize any of the gears, so when I shifted the lever to what seemed to be the neutral position. all the gear positions were still lit up. I think this was the problem, since the car must be in Park to start the engine, but the gear selector didn't seem to be able to recognize the car was in Park since all the gears were lit up.

Anyway, the problem seemed to go away by itself, since I was finally able to start the van last night. My brother in law had suggested to disconnect the battery for a few minutes to "erase" the computer memory so the gear selector could reset or fix itself. I don't know if this was the solution thoughsince I tried it 2 or 3 times before the problem was resolved.

 

If the battery is original you could be having "gremlins" due to low voltages.

 

I have a very similar problem with my 2001 TC 3.8L. Trans was rebuilt a few months ago by Aamco. Wife was accelerating onto the highway and van died. Now the van won't start and appears to have good voltage. When I try to start the van I can hear a very faint click, but nothing else. Also tried in neutral. Fairly new battery. Anything I should try or look into?
Thank you,
-Jared

 

get a tester screwdriver. the one that illuminates when between + and -.
find a small cable that's connected to the starter (there are 2 wires on strater. one fat, one slim. slim one you are looking for).
take it off and stick one side of SD to it. other side to battery + (or minus, not sure becouse of different wirings in US).
now, turn the key to start the engine.

if you have power on SD (il will light) that means that starter is getting power and problem is somewhere else.
if the SD dows not light, you are not getting power to the starter and it's probbably bad gear selector switch.

you can also try to get to GS switch and test it using that SD.
when in park or neutral, it should make short circuit and pass on the power.

 

Ok, this is what I have so far:
-Starter relay is not clicking (it was the accessory relay).
-Starter relay appears to be good because I switched it with the accessory relay (same #'s on them).
-Where the starter relay goes, pin 30 has voltage same as battery. Others are 0v. (Seems like pin 85 had voltage but slighty lower than battery voltage in an earlier test).
-Starter is good; I jumped the connection on the starter to the + battery post and engine cranks.
-Engine still does not start while cranking with the key in the ON position.
-Found 10amp fuse blown in panel by battery labeled IGN SW. One side has voltage other side is grounded/shorted when key is in ON position.
Dash lights work and am able to select different gear positions when in the ON position.
UPDATE #1
- Took steering column apart and detached the 5-wire plug from the ignition switch. Relay box 10A IGN SW fuse is no longer grounded.
- Dash lights are out after disconnecting.
- On the 5-wire plug: two of the pins ohm as open, another has ~4volts, and the other two ohm as grounded.

Does anyone know what the pins goto on the ignition switch or the starter relay pinout?
Where should I go next? I do not have a service manual but will get one if needed. (Is the factory manual considerably better than chilton/haynes/etc?)
TIA,
-jared

 

you got to it your self.
everything else checked, it must be the switch or something downstream of it.

as for the wirings, sorry, can't help.

 

Update #2 (new fuse installed in IGN SW and ignition switch unplugged):
The ignition 5pin connector has the following from left to right from my perspective:
Lt.Blue/red wire - 12v(constant).
Yellow wire - Starter, sends 12Vs to starter relay when I jumped it to constant, no cranking.
*Pink/white wires(two wires on one pin) - Ignition, mine is GROUNDED.
*Purple/brown - Second starter (a negative trigger thru 180 ohm resistor), mine has about 5Volts.
Purple/orange(or maybe tan) - no idea but is also grounded.

*Information is from an online source.

Any ideas where the Ignition pin feeds and where I can check?

-jared

 

Well, its running again...YEAH!!!

I pulled all the connectors to the BCM. Then replaced them all. One in particular on with lots of wires near the top seemed to drop the resistance I was measuring (between ground and ignition wire on ignition switch connector) when I plugged it back in. Not sure if it means anything or not. But The fuse no longer blows and car starts and runs. Although I have some sort of steering vibration now.

Does that mean the BCM is having problems?

-Jared