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96 Caravan Speedometer freaking out
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guitarjeff
New User
Aug 10, 2011, 2:02 PM
Post #1 of 7
(4739 views)
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96 Caravan Speedometer freaking out
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Hi folks. I have been through the two months of pure hell. I lost both my Mom and my brother in the span of 8 days back in June. We all lived together and we lost 3000 dollars of income to our home. just my Two kids and I now struggling just to pay this house payment. Well, we are driving the 96 caravan 3.3 6 Cylinder and This thing has been a nightmare, and it's all we have to count on to get us around.
Last month it kept stalling while driving, it would just die, then you could pull over and it would start right up. My son and I fixed this by installing a Crank Shaft position sensor, we found a youtube video and we got it done, no more stalling,at least like that. As soon as we were done fixing the CSPS, we take it for a test drive and the speedometer no longer works. I figure, well, it's a good trade off. We can get by like this. yesterday, i took my daughter and her friend up to the mall and on the interstate the speedometer just started freaking out. It would go all the way to 120 and the engine would jerk and stall for a sec until the needle would drop back to zero, and then the needle would be normal, showing a normal speed of about 60 for a couple minutes, then drop to zero, then way up, all the way to 120 again and it would stall out for a split second, like it would jerk and the needle would drop and you could hit the gas and keep up to speed pretty much. So now it is doing this locally on the slower roads.
I had to stick my hand way around the top and bottom to try and tighten that Crank shaft Sensor and I am thinking that I hit the speedometer cable or unplugged it or something, partially, and my gas gauge works fine and so does the temp gauge. No check engine light is on. We must have done something when we changed that Crank Shaft position sensor, cause that's when the Speedo stopped working, immediately.
Could someone that knows this engine tell me what concerning the speedometer that would have been near the Crank shaft sensor to see if I can figure out what we did? Is there a way i can just unplug the speedometer because the darn thing runs fine when it is on zero. Any help would be appreciated because we cannot afford to take it in. I did hold the reset button on the trip button and the panel lit up and tested itself, and it looked like it thought everything was fine. Could this be some kind of speed sensor and if so could someone tell me where it is and how hard it is to change?
Thanks for any and all help
(This post was edited by zmame on Aug 10, 2011, 2:37 PM)
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zmame
Veteran
/ Moderator
Aug 10, 2011, 2:38 PM
Post #2 of 7
(4720 views)
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Re: 96 Caravan Speedometer freaking out
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No external links please, especially to other forums.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Aug 10, 2011, 4:04 PM
Post #3 of 7
(4712 views)
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Re: 96 Caravan Speedometer freaking out
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The crankshaft position sensor is mounted in the bellhousing. The vehicle speed sensor (distance sensor) is located toward the front side of the transmission near the shift shaft/shifter linkage. Did you visually inspect the electrical harness and the speed sensor plugs?
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Aug 10, 2011, 4:23 PM)
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guitarjeff
New User
Aug 11, 2011, 5:36 AM
Post #4 of 7
(4696 views)
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Re: 96 Caravan Speedometer freaking out
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Hi Thanks.
No, I didn't even know where this was. Looking at the picture I am still not sure. My engine sits sideways under the hood, so is this toward the front of the hood, or on the firewall side?. I have never seen the harness either, just plastic tubes I assume there are wires in but they seem to go all over the place, not one main harness that i can see. But if that's in the front then that is below the air filter thing, it sits above and we had trouble getting that to site on a hose and we fumbled around that area trying to push that thing on. I am wondering that is where we messed something up.
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nickwarner
Veteran
/ Moderator
Aug 11, 2011, 5:56 AM
Post #5 of 7
(4694 views)
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Re: 96 Caravan Speedometer freaking out
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Don't disconnect the sensor whatever you do. This transmission knows what gear it is in by comparing the readings of the input and output speed sensors to a known gear ratio programmed in it. The output sensor controls the speedometer. If you disconnect it, the computer won't know what gear it is in so it defaults to limp mode and locks in 2nd gear. To visually inspect your wiring remove the air cleaner assembly. You only need a flathead screwdriver and a 10mm socket to do this. The pic posted previously will make more sense when you do that. You will be able to see the plugs at the front of the transmission. If you can't find anything it needs to be scanned with a professional scan tool that can read transmission data. Most likely it will be a simple repair and not too pricey.
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nealrayez
New User
Jan 28, 2017, 1:16 PM
Post #6 of 7
(1854 views)
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Re: 96 Caravan Speedometer freaking out
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Having the same problem. Did you ever find out what the solution was?
92 Dodge Caravan 154k miles
Speedometer erratic and engine stops momentarily. Speedometer goes to 100 then back to zero while driving. The engine shuts off for a second and then resumes.
It's quite disconcerting since I have a 100 mile commute.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jan 28, 2017, 2:06 PM
Post #7 of 7
(1848 views)
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Re: 96 Caravan Speedometer freaking out
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Please don't do that it's from 2011 and a different model year totally. Locked, please keep it to you other inquiry alone,
T
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