What does it mean when the mechanic says that my dodge caravan's new gen 6 ignition module needed to be reconfigured before it would "fix" the problem with not starting

Asked by jmw1225 Sep 15, 2016 at 01:57 PM about the 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Our 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan would start but immediately stall, or spin
without starting. Dealership replaced the ignition module and sent the van
home but it continued to have the same problem. They then said that the gen
6 ignition module needed to be reconfigured and that it works fine now. What
does that mean? I'm feeling like they are blowing smoke.

1 Answer

205

Actually they're not. These newer vehicles do not have distributors as you probably knew them way back when. The Gen 6 ignition module is more or less a system where there's a coil pack on each cylinder. Two went bad in my Dakota just recently. The purpose is, if you have an older vehicle with a distributor, the engine will die completely after it warms up. After it cools, you can start it again, and it'll die again later. With this newer system, only a couple cylinders will fail, but the vehicle will still be driveable enough for you to get it to a shop.

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