Questions and Answers

A Haunted Dodge Grand Caravan Q. Vince, I have a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan with 92,400 miles on it. It has a 3.8 liter V-6 engine, P/S, automatic transmission, Climate Control System (A/C), ABS, AM/FM Stereo Cassette deck and 6 CD changer. While driving recently in the rain the radio started to turn itself on and off and it seemed to be related to the windshield wiper, they were on an intermittent setting.

I turned off the wipers and the radio came on. Since I needed the wipers I tried to turn them back on but they would not work. I turned off the radio then the wipers worked for a short time then they stopped working also. The rear wiper would not work.

Next the Climate Control System blower stopped functioning even though the CCS was turned on the blower would not work even if I tried to manually turn the blower on Max. I also noticed the power windows would not work. The headlights and fog lights worked fine and the engine seemed to be functioning correctly.

After I got home I started pushing buttons on the dash board to get any response from my car. If I pushed the rear window washer button and held it in the rear wipers would work and the radio display would flash on and off. The power windows worked sporadically.

I am really baffled! What poltergeist has invaded my car? Is there something in the car that controls the radio, windshield wipers, power windows, climate control system, just to name a few systems?

Thanks,
Steve
Ambler, PA

A. All of these systems are related to the Body Control Module (BCM). There is a software upgrade for the 2001 Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country and Chrysler Voyager. So a trip to the dealer should be the first thing to do. Part of the process is accessing the BCM for stored Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs).

I would also check ground G301 in the right hand "B" pillar. The "B" pillar is the one behind the front passenger seat. This is the ground for the BCM and power windows. Make sure it is nice and clean and tight.