we tried to start it, it would not turn over?

2004 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN
357,000 MILES • 3.8L • V6 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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NICOLE HELMS
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I drove my van from Tennessee to Georgia on 5 cylinders to help get it fixed, it drove fine that night but the next morning when we tried to start it, it would not turn over. We thought it may have been the starter, so we changed it out and it was still not turning over. None of the belts are turning but the starter is engaging, but nothing else. I was told that we had a bad battery so there wasn't enough volts to turn it over. I'm afraid that the timing is out, and we do not have the funds to be able to get a new vehicle. What else other than the timing would cause it to not turn over and could the battery be the reason possibly?
Apr 24, 2023 at 7:06 AM
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STRAILER
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The engine could be hydro locked which means coolant has entered one of the cylinders. Can you please shoot a quick video with your phone so I can hear the engine trying to crank over? That way I can tell for sure what's going on. You can upload it here with your response.

This guide may help as well:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/starter-not-working-repair

Please go over this guide and report back.
Apr 24, 2023 at 4:37 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Timing should be the last thing to think about. The 3.3 / 3.8L engines use a timing chain, not a trouble-prone timing belt. Even if that chain did jump a few teeth, these are not "interference" engines. They won't run or won't run well, but they will crank just fine.

What do you hear when you said the starter engages? Is there a single, rather loud clunk from the starter? A single fairly faint click from the stater relay? A loud buzzing sound is also common for a defective or run-down battery.

You can start to get an idea of the battery's condition if you turn on the headlights, then watch what happens to their brightness when you try to crank the engine. Do they stay bright, get real dim, or go out?

The better test is to measure the battery's voltage. You'll need a digital voltmeter for that. You can find a perfectly fine meter at Harbor Freight Tools for $7.00. Also look at Walmart or any hardware store. Set the meter to the "20-volt DC" scale, then touch the probes on the two battery terminals. Which probe goes where isn't important. If you mix them up, you'll see a minus sign in front of the voltage. Just disregard that minus sign. We want to see 12.6 volts if the battery is good and fully-charged. If it's good but run down, it will measure closer to 12.2 volts. If you find it's around 11.0 volts or less, it has a shorted cell and must be replaced.

If the voltage is okay, keep measuring it while a helper tries to crank the engine. Tell me what you find for both cases.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-voltmeter
Apr 24, 2023 at 4:40 PM
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