sputters and shuts off

Sounds like a fuel delivery problem. Either the pump is weak or the filter is plugged. If you just start it and do not try to move it does it do the same thing? Does it have over a 1/4 tank of fuel?

Start with a fuel pressure test.
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-fuel-system-pressure-and-regulator

If it tests okay (doubtful) then it may be that the pump is not staying on once the engine starts on the initial prime. That could mean that the ignition signal to the ECM is dropping out but that would be a rare thing that would take more testing.

Thanks for the reply. There is 3/4 tank of fuel. I just started it up. it ran smooth at 1000rpm at idle for one minute then died as if it ran out of gas. Would not start right away but after key off for 2 minutes it did the same thing. Ran good but in a little less time it died as if out of gas.

Yeah, that sounds like a pump that is failing.

I will try to test it. Thanks so much.

Please let us know what happens.

Cheers, Ken

Thanks Ken. I will have to put this job on hold for a short time. Back problems and a very important gig. I'm a musician and will be backing up a couple of semi big name musicians next week then I can tend to my Van. I will let you all know How I make out. Thanks again.

Hi guys. This is also the classic symptom of a collapsing pick-up screen inside the gas tank. The clue is the engine doesn't have to be warmed up yet, and the need to allow the engine to be off for a few minutes to give the screen time to stretch out so it will let fuel pass.

Sounds very plausible. Thank you Caradiodoc. Is the fix more involved than just replacing the fuel pump or is that a separate component? Also could this problem possibly be an electrical issue in the engine area. The reason I ask a large field rat that had apparently been living in the engine compartment. I kid you not. I noticed rat droppings on the intake manifold and placed a large rat snap trap baited with peanut butter and the next day there it was dead as a door nail in the trap. It was a large field rat,a good 8" not including the tail.I looked for gnawed wires but could find nothing obvious.Could the rat have gnawed a wire to cause this problem? Thanks much.

Yes rats eat the wires for some unknown reason. Lets try running the codes maybe it will tell us something to help get the problem fixed.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/retrieve-trouble-codes-for-chrysler-dodge-plymouth-odb1-1995-and-earlier-car-mini-van-and-light-trucks

Please let us know what you find.

Cheers, Ken

There can be wiring issues, but not in this case. The pump would never run and you'd have a crank / no-start problem.

I've had four of these pick-up screens plug up on three different vehicles. The first two had carbureted engines. No pump in the tank. Just the round sock on the pick-up tube. Part cost three bucks.

This happened twice on my old rusty trusty '88 Grand Caravan. First time it took me four hours to get through Minneapolis with all three bypasses under road repairs. Once through the city, it ran fine for the next three-hour drive home, and only stalled again when slowing down for my turn-off. That was the clue was the stalling occurred when the largest volume of fuel was being pumped, . . . which is during coasting. Had I known the cause at that time, I think I could have overcome it by removing and plugging the vacuum hose to the fuel pressure regulator. That would have raised pressure and made it harder for the pump to move fuel. With less volume, it would have been easier to keep the pressure up.

The second time this happened, I drove for over a year with a fuel pressure gauge clipped under a wiper arm so I could see what was happening. For fifteen years I dragged a tandem axle enclosed trailer to an old car how swap meet that was bigger and heavier than that van. It was only with that huge load that the fuel pressure problem would show up. That engine ran around 50 psi for fuel pressure. When pulling the trailer, it would slowly drop to 20 psi, and keep on running. The sputtering didn't start to occur until it hit 15 psi. At that point, if I lifted the accelerator for a fraction of a second, the pressure would jump back to 50 psi, then slowly drop again. Drove it successfully over 50 miles like that. New pick-up screen solved that again. This last one was about three years ago. At that time the screen cost 12 bucks. It snaps onto the fuel pump's housing.

Now that I shared all that wondrous story, I looked on the site I use for reference a lot and found it's called a "strainer", and the cost starts at $1.06 and goes all the way up to 7 bucks! The bad news is that part is not listed for a '95 model. It looks like it is molded as part of the fuel pump housing. That concerns me because I'm sitting in a '94 Grand Voyager right now, and I have a '95 Grand Caravan at home. I've never heard of anyone having this problem on the newer vehicles, so before I'd get too involved, I'd consider connecting a fuel pressure gauge so you can see if fuel pressure really is at the heart if this problem. Other than on diesel engines, you will never solve a running problem on a Chrysler product by replacing the fuel filter. There could always be a first time, but I think that strainer would be a better suspect.

To be fair to Steve W., there's two sensors that commonly cause stalling too. It is real common on all kinds of brands and models for them to fail by becoming heat-sensitive. A real common complaint is the engine runs fine until it is stopped for a short time, as when stopping for gas, then the no-start occurs. The heat from the engine migrates up to the sensor and causes it to fail. The common clue is it works again after cooling down for about an hour, and the engine runs fine again. Your description of the symptoms suggests to me the strainer is a good suspect. That's why I stuck my nose in here.