Larry Hetterscheidt (207.138.173.129) - Fri Sep 26 14:44:03 2008

My 2005 GC does not consistently allow the sliding power door on the passenger side close more than 1/2 or 3/4 of the way.

Additionally, if it does close it will intermittently will not cycle fully to fully secure the door. As a result the power mechanism which seals the door will cycle over and over until someone manually opens the door and then pulls it shut.

What will cause this and how do I go about repairing this.

Thanks

Larry H

Reply #1 Jay Evers (173.25.31.93) - Sun Jan 18 12:33:14 2009

Hi Larry, I've got the same problem on my '05 as well. I'll check back to see if someone comes up with a solution. Good luck!!

Reply #2 Jim Shafer (70.194.9.151) - Mon Feb 23 18:21:32 2009

I have the same problem with the driver's side power sliding door. It opens approximently six to eight inches and stops. When closing it stops at the same place. It appears it hits a jam but if that were true it's supposed to go in the opposite direction, not stop. I've tried everything and cannnot figure it out. We have had this minivan since it was new and have had no problem until today.

I'll keep checking to see if someone comes up for a fix for us!

Thanks,

Jim S.

Reply #3 Jim Belcher (24.237.73.137) - Wed Mar 11 18:23:37 2009

My 05 does the same thing bettwen 4 to 6 inches closing or opening. I read in another forum that it has to do with the wirning harness which works the door. At a certain space it loses its connection. It is a 300+ fix for the wiring replacement and I think that was just the part.

Reply #4 Amanda Miller (72.37.171.116) - Wed Mar 18 10:42:49 2009

I have the same problems but with both doors. I took it to mechanic a couple of times and was told it was from dirt built up but then my warranty expired and now it is something else they claim. I was told to get both doors working properly again it would cost $900 EACH. I am not happy.

Reply #5 henry earle (70.105.117.34) - Sat Mar 28 09:45:57 2009

dodge caravan 2005 sxt 78000 miles. passenger sliding door opens about four inches then stops. help

Reply #6 vman (99.195.120.9) - Sun Apr 12 13:52:46 2009

You wiring harness is bad to each door. This is a easy fix, it rides in a black plastic track thing and cost about 60.00 and 10 minutes to fix.

Vince

Reply #7 Steve Berk (76.31.105.212) - Mon Apr 20 20:24:30 2009

I have a 2002 Dodge GC, modified by Braun for wheelchair access. My ramp side door (passengers side) stops and reverses. When I operate it manually, I feel some resistance about half way. I've WD40'd the entire track, no help. Any ideas.

Reply #8 van owner (74.36.237.54) - Wed Apr 22 20:51:59 2009

for those of you that have the problem of the door unlatching but will not continue to open that is the same problem I had.it was the wiring harness in the cat track which is what the plastic rail is that the wire runs through.there was a break in the wire about 5 inches from the gear.easy to find, plastic track comes apart easily .there was a broken wire so i just soldered the break put shrink tube over it problem solved, total time to repair half hour at most door works fine.

Reply #9 Dave486 (68.191.176.239) - Sat May 9 21:27:52 2009

For the problem of the door opening but stopping along the way and the same when closing: I also found a broken wire in the flexible cable tray. I spliced in a new section of wire putting the splices outside of the cable tray. Splices in any type of flexible conduit is not a great idea. If you do fix it this way, make sure the wire you use has many fine strands.

Reply #10 BD (173.21.15.5) - Sat May 23 10:55:34 2009

My passenger side van door also stopped opening at about 8 inches. Found a broken wire which I spliced. Door opens good now.

Reply #11 Mike (72.218.146.174) - Sun Aug 16 11:27:07 2009

We had that prblem on our Grand Caravan also, luckily it was still under warranty. The tech at the dealership told me it the the wiring harness. A break in the wire would cause the BCM to lose connectivity with a door sensor while the harness was articulating during the doors movement. The BCM then would STOP the door, he had to hook computer to the BCM to actually see this happen.

Reply #12 Marc (65.91.106.20) - Tue Aug 18 15:27:45 2009

How do you open up the wiring harness to get access to the wires? I found I could detach individual links in the harness but haven't figured out how to get the wiring out, since neither end is accessible. In other words, I can detach one link from the next, but can't really slide the links out of the way to inspect/fix the wires. Would appreciate guidance from someone who has done it.

Reply #13 joe (70.72.30.173) - Sun Sep 6 10:08:10 2009

yes this fault is in the sliding part of the harness, this happened to me , what i did was remove the harness and i replaced the broken wires, the 2 larger ones, with some test lead hyperflex cable, this stuff is available at tandy/radioshack etc and is cheap, make a good solder conection and heatshrink the joint, make all conections beyond the part that flexes, i have done this on both doors and all is good, however now one of the central locking actuators is messing around so i have to pin test that, one of the many joys of owning this van.having said that, its a great van, and these faults are found on many way more expensive imports, so repair and enjoy.

joe, technician for 23 years.

Reply #14 Larry (76.186.224.118) - Sun Sep 13 21:33:52 2009

A slightly different and new interesting problem.

In my 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan, ~72, 000 miles, after several days of rain, both side doors stared opening and closing by themselves. Putting the car in Drive stopped the problem. Returning to Park the problem returned. The switches above the rear view mirror and the remote control had little or no control and were over-ridden by the mal-functioning electronics. I temporarily disconnected the battery negative, and the problem returned after about 20 minutes. I finally stopped the self actuating opening/closing by removing the 40A fuse for the doors. Any thoughts or help?

Reply #15 Lois Wyatt (141.152.29.122) - Mon Sep 14 16:52:20 2009

Goodness Gracious,

I got here from google by typing in my issue. an lo and behold I am not the only one that has the door problem. Mine started with the 6-8 inches and stopping now it will only open an inch and I do have the same issue with the cycling. I had contacted Dodge and they said no recall had been issued but looks like there are many with the same problem. Not sure where to from here

Reply #16 Anderson Fam4 (74.130.166.153) - Sat Sep 26 17:13:22 2009

Hi-

We have a 2005 Dodge Caravan & electric sliding door has come off of the track! We have tried for hours to fix it! However, no matter how hard we try, we are unable to get more than 1 of the SMALL track wheels back on the track!

We are feeling so frustrated! If anyone can help, I would be eternally grateful!

Reply #17 Dave Burk (12.163.71.87) - Sat Sep 26 20:16:52 2009

Whoa! - Off the track - not good

But I need to get the door cable out of the track, but I don't see how to do it. Any help would be great.

Dave

Reply #18 tom D (66.31.162.183) - Tue Sep 29 21:27:12 2009

What do we do to start a recall???? sounds like alot of us are in the same boat...

Reply #19 Mike (173.76.255.185) - Thu Oct 1 21:09:16 2009

Same problem with an 05 dodge grand caravan. The sliding door only opens or closes 8 inches. I had this problem earlier with the other door and the wiring harness was replaced. Not interested i paying several hundred dollars for something that will likely malfunction again. I'll try the fix myself as recommended above but I'm hoping this will be a recall soon. To whom would we request a recall? Seems like a safety issue that one of my children could be affected by if they caught in the door malfunctions differently and closes on them.

Thanks for all of your input!

Mike

Reply #20 ricky (74.73.11.117) - Thu Oct 1 23:28:24 2009

my 05 dodge grand caravan works whith the remote, whith the center console but if you open from out side handle is no opening automatic, any body knows wy? I just got it.

Reply #21 ep (97.86.30.102) - Sun Oct 4 17:14:13 2009

I am just experiencing the same door issue with my 05 caravan w/80, 000 miles.

For those of you who fixed the wiring issue, where was the bad wire located? ( in the track, at the door hinge, or by the wires that come from the front to the track, or elsewhere)

thanks.

Reply #22 Mark (207.165.196.1) - Mon Oct 12 11:01:05 2009

What I would really like is a step by step take-apart to fix this issue. I think I can solder a piece in easy enough but I don't know where to start to get to the broken wire.

Anyone have steps to get to the wire?

Thanks

Mark

• Work

Reply #23 Darlene (24.107.239.241) - Mon Oct 12 16:33:06 2009

I have an 06 GC and mine was broke immediately to the left of the plastic track but I couldnt see it until I removed the entire harness...just go slow...I figured it out. Same broke wires as others I've read, the 2 big ones and they were completely severed.

Reply #24 Carolyn Foster (151.188.18.83) - Tue Oct 13 11:24:57 2009

I have the same problem with both my sliding doors, how do you get to the track and wires?? Thank you

Reply #25 Julie W (72.86.139.89) - Wed Oct 14 20:33:27 2009

Wow...looks like everyones car is having the same problem after the same amount of years....seems odd...this just happened to me too...started with driver side door, and a week later the passenger side is doing it too....

Reply #26 Ron (12.111.12.202) - Thu Oct 15 04:36:53 2009

To complain about a safety recall contact NHTSA and file a safety complaint.

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Reply #27 ebrewed (75.73.222.80) - Mon Oct 19 14:37:25 2009

I have the same exact problem with my 2005 Grand Caravan with 22K miles. The passenger sliding door stops opening after about 6 inches. I wish there would be a recall on this. Will try the suggestions on fixing it myself. THANKS to all that gave comments on how to fix.

Reply #28 Jim in Cinci (208.102.48.241) - Fri Oct 23 09:07:21 2009

thanks for note about issuing NHTSA safety/recall complaint. Process took about 8 minutes.

Reply #29 don (76.11.65.209) - Thu Oct 29 19:00:16 2009

my 2003 caravan passenger side power sliding door opens all the way then closes right away. Is there an adjustmant and where can I find it.

Reply #30 Todd (174.17.151.113) - Thu Nov 5 22:58:56 2009

About the sliding door only opening a few inches.. I found it to be a small broken wire in the harness within the plastic-like chain that follows the slider door when it opens or shuts. All I did was look at the section that was bending (open the door by hand) and watch the plastic chain move and when it starts bending upwards and/or downwards that's the section you need to take apart and look for cracks in your wires. This happened to me when one of kids started dropping stuff into the slide tract area(like pens and pencils, paper clips and toys).You can pop the harness chain with a small small screwdriver, just look closely and you can see how it opens and then will snap shut on the side of the harness, then I used a wire splice (barrel)that you crimp on both ends I think it was red that is a small gauge wire splice.Good Luck.

Reply #31 Mike Maz. (69.47.76.30) - Sat Nov 14 12:12:46 2009

Had same problem on drivers side....found small break in wire...spliced it and worked for awhile then the plastic chain-links got tangled and bent....bought new harness assembly....took about an hour to replace...hardest part was figuring out how to detach the old snaps and harness plug ins....next time will be lot a easier...the part number is: 4868121AE...and is called sliding channel or wire track...it costs $117.00 at dealer...but can buy online at Trademotion.com for $78.39...part stores don't carry it...good luck!

Reply #32 Al (174.51.11.18) - Sun Nov 22 10:18:38 2009

thanks to all on suggested fixes, as I fixed the wiring last night after reading everyone responses. I'll try and walk you through what I did. 1. look under the plastic chain/wire guide (I'll call it this as I always thought it was a metal chain) to see if you see a break or broken wire. Mine was sticking out (wire) which made it easy to see the problem. Also, my door stop working all together versus stopping 6 inches or so which it did for a while as well 2. Tools - good to have a wire stripper, electrical tape, and wire (I actually used speaker wire but ordering replacement wiring assembly as Mike suggests). 3. Disassembly - Not sure how everyone else did it but I wanted the plastic chain/wire guide out so that I could get to the broken wire. With the door fully open, start by removing hard plastic cover to left of metal sprocket. There are two philip screws that easily come out. Lift up to remove (when replacing you have to slide in over sprocket. After removing this piece, the chain guide is connected in two spots to the van. On the left side with a screw driver, pop/slide the plastic fastner to the right (hard to describe but its a little lock/clasp that opens to the right). This will unlock the chain/wire guide and slide the chain guide down off metal pin. On the very right side of the chain/wire guide is connected to the van by plastic anchors. I carefully pride it off without breaking the plastic anchors as you will need to put it back in the holes to secure back to van. Use a big screw driver or something to pry it up, and becareful not to bend the metal side of the van...I think I did or the person before me did (as I have had this replaced before - fortunately under warranty at the time). 4. Here is the trick. The plastic chain/wire guide breaks apart so that you can get to the wires. I discovered by accident. Carefully twist the plastic guide until it comes apart. Dont over twist, but play around until it comes apart. I would recommend opening it to the right of the break, so that you can push the guide to the left and work on the exposed area. I would also recommend replacing a large piece of wire than a couple of inches where you have the break. Twist new wire on securely, and use electrically tape to hold. I also wrapped electrical tape over all the wires for additional strength but make sure its compact as it needs to fit back in chain guide. You can test the door just to make sure you wiring is o.k. before re-assembling everything. Couple of hints in reassembly. The chain guide has a front and back. Make sure you connect it back correctly. If you have a problem it maybe because you have tried connecting a few pieces upside down. Reassembly - Good luck!!!!!!!

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