1999 Dodge Caravan van won't start

LISA032100

MEMBER
1999 DODGE CARAVAN
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
138,000 MILES

One day last week I went to leave work and my van wouldn't turn over or start. My husband came and jumpstarted me. On the way home it was running hotter than normal but not overheating. It was full of antifreeze. The next day I am driving home from work and the van begins to get hot. I shut the A/C off and it started to cool off. As I am driving home I look down and notice it is starting to get hot then the van is dinging so I get to my friend's house and turn the van off. They begin to check fuses, wires, test one of the fans then the van just won't start even with jump starting. So they take the starter off and have it tested and the starter is bad and we replaced it, but the van will only turn over now and not start. I don't know if it is a relay or if we need to replace the computer. Just need it back ASAP

1 Reply

XXRAWRXX

MEMBER
22 POSTS

Since no one has answered this, I'm not sure how much help I can be but I'll give it a shot. I'm only a novice at car repair but my first assumption would be, with your cooling problem, even if it has coolant in the reservoir, there may be a chance that it is not circulating property to the engine components, especially if you notice that after a while, there is no change in the amount you have in the reservoir. In regard to the car not starting, once the starter was replaced, it may not be grounded properly; a friend of mine's car had that same problem, but once they rearranged the grounding of the wires there was no problem. I would also suggest checking the spark plugs as well. Hope this was at least some help. Haha, advice from an 18 year old female rookie, sorry if I'm wrong! =)