Seven problems related to starter have been reported for the 1998 Chrysler Town & Country. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Travel about 15 miles to a residence, parked van for about 3-4 hrs, entered van and try to start, wouldn't turn over *thought it was a problem with starter and or battery*, tried jumping, wouldn't turn over. Waited appx 1hr later, tried starting, van started, drove home. Next day, tried to start van, wouldn't start, wait about 2 hrs, tried again, van started. Days passed and as I was driving, noticed all gauges going from normal to 0, did this throughout travel. Took van to branch auto electric to do tests, was told bcm was bad and the cost would be over $1200. 00 *labor included*, I've done research online regarding other t & c's who are having the same problems. Now all gauges are not working, abs light stays on with the security alarm light. About 3 wks ago, started van, factory installed alarm system engaged and would not stop *while all /service engine & etc. , stayed tried turning van off and on, locking and unlocking locks, alarm still blared until I had to disconnect battery to reset. Since this is my only means of transportation, there's a serious problem.
Vehicle starts & dies, starts & dies and after a four or five attempts. . . It won't start at all. After a few hours or days it will start right up. When it does this the gauges are all flatlined. Sometimes while driving, the gauges flatline and alarm set light comes on as well as check engine light and abs light. No codes come up for this problem even though the dealership wants to charge $119 just to diagnose the problem. This has happened repeatedly. . . . New battery, new starter. . . Among many other new items. Have not replaced the ignition switch, brain, or instrument panel. Have been told it could be either one of these things. . . . . . I am tired of just putting in random parts.
Has happened over 100 times. Dashboard gauges all remain at zero, car will not start. Turns over, then dies immediately. I believe it is the security system killing the car. After 5 starts, won't even turn over. Have paid for new alternator, new starter, mechanic looked at numerous times. **finally fixed** mechanic had another customer with same problem. Found it was the entire instrument panel which needed replacing. At a cost of $700 for other customer. I went with a used model which is risky, but it has not done this again at all for 7 months. There are numerous reports on this site about this, and I thought I would help people out who have also spent a ton of money on this problem, with no resolution.
On a regular basis, van will not remain running. Start vehicle and it stalls immediately. It will do this for 5-6 starts, then will not even turn over. All gauges go to zero, no digital odometer, etc. If left for a few hours, will start again. Sometimes gauges zero out while driving. Usually, tapping on the dash hard will return them to operating position. But not always. Have been told this is anything from alarm system, main computer, aftermarket automatic starter shutting down alarm. One dealer replaced starter for +$300. Did not fix problem. This is a huge problem with a lot of these vans, as I can see by reading on the internet, and this site. This is an ongoing problem for 3+ years. No solution.
On intermittent occasions the minivan will not start. It will run for a couple of seconds then stall. After 3-5 attempts at starting, it will do nothing at all, not even turn over, but all the gauges work. This event does not generate an error code. After returning to the vehicle an hour or two later the car starts normally and will be fine for days. Service tech's are unable to diagnose the problem - battery, fuses, starter, are all fine.
The insured states that vehicle caught on fire while it was parked. The fire started with the starter. Claim number 43-r798-089.
While driving consumer noticed smoke coming from engine compartment. Vehicle was towed to dealer an electrical shortage occurred within the starter, burning wiring harness. Please give any further details.