A few days ago, on the hottest day of the year, I began having problems with my 2004 (3.8L) Town and Country stallling out. The van tends to stall at low rpm and it is difficult to restart. When it is stalled, I've notice a rythmic pulsing of the relays in the front left fuse box, along with a corresponding pulse in the fuel pump. There seems to be 3 different types of pulsing durning the no start state. The first type of pulsing is approximately 0.75 seconds apart. The second is a double pulse that is about 1 second apart. The final type is the normal 2(ish) second fuel system primer. The only time the engine will run is after a normal prime. Unfortunately, it only runs for a brief time (5-10 seconds) before it stalls and i hear the pulsing again. The first time it happened, it stalled out 3 times in a row, then ran long enough for me to return home and switch vehicles. After a basic inspection and an unsuccessful attempt to recreate the no start condition, I decided to swap the ASD and Fuel pump relays with A/C and accessor relays and began to drive it again. It did not help. Today, about 4 days after the first stall, It happened again. After about 30-45 seconds of cycling the key and trying to start it, i got it to run enough for me to coast onto a side street and park. Same pulsing in the relays. This seems to be heat related, buy im not sure. Rythmic pulsing... broken wire seems unlikely but not impossible. Fuel pump failure? Ecm? Anyone experience this situations and find the solution? It would be nice if i could reproduce the no run situation at home where i have the tools to test fuel pressure, voltage, and ignition components.

 

I'm having that exact problem, even after checking the wiring and moving/wrapping to stop chafing and the possible short circuits. Swapped the relays just like you. There are no codes and the battery is fine. I haven't gotten to the cam/crank/etc. sensors that feed info to the ASD, but doubt they are the cause as they would throw a code. Now I'm suspecting that it's either the ECM or an intermittent failure mode in the fuel pump's pressure regulator.

Were you able to find a solution or did you just put the van out of your misery?

 

Early 4th generation vans have a known issue with corrosion in the IPM. Check connections. If they look good remove and disassemble it and inspect the circuit board. Disconnect the battery first.

 

Yes I did find the problem. I turned out to be a failing camshaft position sensor. I caught a lucky break, the van sputtered like it was going to stall, but it didn't. The service engine light came on with codes pointing to that sensor (dont remember what they were). Changed the sensor and the van has run flawlessly for about 5k miles now.

 

Just before reading "My Solution" thread I was going to suggest checking the Cam/Crank sensor even if there was no Codes. I have an '03, that was doing similar problems minus the Relay clicks. CEL was on but did not refelct to those sensor. After the replacement, it has been great. Seems to be a common problem with T&C family.