2003 DODGE VAN
10,800 MILES
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ANONYMOUS
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6 times since I've owned the vechile when you turn vechile off, and then when go to start again, & time doesn't matter 2 minutes or 2 days when turn key nothing, no voltage what so ever, is so dead no radio light, when push that auxillary button starter it won't even click. However put on jumpers & vechile starts right up. And vechile will work fine for a year or two, then it will happen again. Have tested all battery cable connections and grounds. One fellow told me the vechile will totally shut off all electronics if it is on fire or thinks it is, he thinks it's that sensor, but why will vechile start with jumpers, and it starts right up, no drag, the voltage it there
Mar 9, 2013 at 5:20 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Really??? The vehicle knows it's on fire? Does it call 911 too? Chrysler could make a fortune licensing that technology to Ford. More garage fires have been blamed on them than all other car brands combined.

What that sadly misinformed fellow might be referring to is how Chrysler does not turn on the fuel pump unless the engine is rotating, (cranking or running). That is done to turn it off in the event of a crash that ruptures a fuel line. With no fuel pressure the engine can't run. With no pulses from the crankshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor, the Engine Computer turns off the automatic shutdown (ASD) relay and fuel pump relay. That stops the flow of fuel out of that broken fuel line.

The next time this happens, the goal is to work carefully on it so the problem doesn't go away. If it suddenly starts working, you have nothing to troubleshoot. Start by measuring the battery voltage. It must be 12.6 volts if it's fully charged. If you find around 12.2 volts, something drained it and it's discharged.

Next, turn on the head light switch so current is trying to flow from the battery. Move the meter probes from the battery posts to the cable clamps and remeasure the voltage. It must be exactly the same. Now move the negative probe to a paint-free point on the body such as an unpainted bolt head. Move the positive probe along the smaller red wire to the under-hood fuse box. There may be a large fuse bolted in too. Measure on all of those points. You're looking for the first one where the voltage goes down or to 0 volts. That will be the point of the bad connection.
Mar 9, 2013 at 11:40 PM