91 caravan problem

[kennedy]

I was wondering if any mechanics out here or anyone for that matter might help with diagnosing this problem.
i was driving back from bass pro's and Ican somewhat feel a little bit of hesitation at around 100KM/hr. Later on, my red check engine light comes on. I stopped in red deer to fill up with gas and when I started the vehicle, the light went off. However, I noticed that my temperature gauge needle remained in the cold position for a long time. Upon driving , maybe 10 km, the needle went back to normal in the gauge. When i reached Leduc, the red check engine light came back on. Anyone have a clue what might cause this? Thanks

[russ]

red OR ORANGE? Red lights mean STOP the car!

[beerhunter]

Its old and needs to be put to rest in some nice wreckers yard. Its telling you to let me go please...lol

[Quinner]

my sugestion is to take your dash apart and pull the bulb outta the check engine light. those things should be outlawd. they come on for anything from a loose gas cap to no oil pressure. useless!!! i am a mechanic by trade and there was nothing i hated more then those stupid lights

[russ]

Uhm, Quinner - if the light is RED and for low oil pressure are you recommending he continue driving?

[marlin1]

take it to an auto value and they will read the code for you for free. On some of these older units the check engine light is red. Could be many differnet things from a loose gas cap to sensor failures or something more serious . Don't pull the bulb , at least if you want to keep the van .

[russ]

a red service engine light must be a Dodge thing, GM has never used anything but orange for the SES/MIL indicator.

[Cal]

I think your problem is very simple... its a Caravan! Check engine lights are just that.. check the engine, if you've got oil coolant and tranny fluid then keep driving. I've seen lots of vehicals that the lights are just always on due to the cost of fixing a faulty light. My 2002 F550's air filter light has been on for at least a year and a half. I once had a mazda that would once in a while loose a little bit of tranny fluid under hard acceleration and the light would come on because it sensed the pressure change. I put 100 000 ks on that thing just keeping an eye on the fluid level and ignoring the light. Especily in a vehical that old as long as your vital fluids are at an acceptible level just keep driving.

[Cal]

When your engine temp guage was reading cold did the heat work very well? If it did thn its probably your guages screwing up. If the heat wasnt working very well while your temp read cold it probably means that your thermostat is buggered. This is a pretty simple fix on alot of vehicals... unfortunatly almost nothing is a simple fix on any minivan I have ever had the missfortune of working on. If its your thermostat you can probably get away with driving the summer and repace it next fall when you will start wanting heat again. I used to have a chevy truck that was missing the fan shroud and I would remove the thermostat every summer to help it run cooler. If any real mechanics want to correct me on this feel free.

[Quinner]

Originally Posted by russ

Uhm, Quinner - if the light is RED and for low oil pressure are you recommending he continue driving?

no i just recomend he take it in. the problem isent really solvable over a forum. and if it was low oil pressure he more than likely wouldent have made it home. just sayin is all

[fishing_flower]

I think your problem is that your vehicle wanted to return to Bass Pro and buy more goodies
Seriously, sorry no real advice.

[big zeke]

Not too sure how much you'd be willing to invest in an 18 year old van. I don't think I'd ignore the light unless you can accept an unreliable vehicle stuff like low oil pressure won't show up on a dipstick and the engine could calve with little warning. The light could be anything from a loose gas cap, plugged converter, low oil pressure, bad sensor connection...the list goes on. I doubt anyone could diagnose the issue online. I'd suggest you get the codes read and take it from there.

This repair could easily exceed the value of the vehicle.

Zeke