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Question: 1997 dodge caravan cuts off after 20 to 30 minutes

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hbs123, Shelby, NC, September 29, 2010, 17:11
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 Rookie

1997 dodge caravan v6 3.0 cuts off after about 20 to 30 minutes of idle time in driveway. Been in driveway after getting me stuck after driving 2 miles up street. Will usually start back up to only cut off after a minute. Has to sit for a hour or so only to do the same thing over and over. Had been sitting for about 8 months with bad water pump. Changed water pump timing belt and both orings in cross over pipe and bam---this problem. Relay to ful pump ok and changed fuel filter to no avail. would like help before i spend too much more money i dont have. Thanks n advance

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  • Answer #1

    Johnny Mopar September 30, 2010, 11:05
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    The most common cause of intermittent stalling on the 3.0L is the Crankshaft position sensor. The Camshaft position sensor is located within the distributor and is very reliable. Failures with this sensor are very rare. Other potential causes are wiring and possibly the fuel pump itself.

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    hbs123, September 30, 2010, 23:40
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    I changed distributor with one from the good ole boys at local junkyard. For 100 bucks a decent price. 325 at autozone and can ya believe 1000 at dodge dealership???? Well it dd the same thing so they graciously took the eletrical part back (which is unusual for electrical part) for a 10 buck take off fee. He did inform me of a little trick (turn switch over to just before starting 3 times and on fourth turn keep it there ad count check engine light-it will flash 1 then pause then flash twice then pause and count like for me it did once then pause then once then five times pause five more times----always does the 1-2 at beginning at the 5-5 at end but the 1-1 was the trouble code=11 which said cam shaft) Well we had coded po340 which was same. BUT----napa auto parts said it would sometimes code that when in fact it was crankshaft sensor. Also finally talked to father in law who said crankshaft sensor right off gate. Well since it wasnt getting spark at shut off and distributer was good then changed that crankshaft sensor and presto--everything a ok. I then saw your post which was right on the money so AAAA++++ for answer ---it was in fact correct.

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