'97 Dodge Grand Caravan died last week, lights went dim, wipers stopped working etc, battery light came on and van died. Had it towed, my mechanic tested the alternator and said it was good, battery was a little low on H2O, had it filled, cleaned connections...battery tested good. There was a loose tension rod and that was replaced along with the belt. Van ran fine for 3 days and now battery light is back on...any ideas? My mechanic thinks it could be the computer or a bad/loose wire, I really don't want to pay for a computer in this van if that is not what it is...any trouble shooting I can try myself, I am not very mechanically inclined ;-)
Thanks.
2006-11-25 04:49:35 · 10 answers · asked by Heather 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
This little van is one that DOES use the PCM to control the alternator. It is also a nightmare to properly diagnose this without a scanner, among other little toys.
The PCM uses several inputs for the control of the charging system, among them the battery temperature. If the temperature sensor under the battery tray is defective, this can also affect the charging of the battery.
Also at issue is the control of the PCM by the Ignition Switch, the Auto Shutdown relay, and the wiring harness(s) related to the PCM, Alternator and the system power distribution.
Your mechanic is going to have to refer to the wiring diagram and use all of his skill along with his scanner, Volt meter and temp gauge, and wits, along with the good old "wiggle" test.
He will also need to do pin-out voltage checks at the PCM connectors, and voltage drop tests at all connections and grounding points. ANY lost voltage can cause a major disturbance with the communication between the alternator and the PCM.
Good Luck
2006-11-25 10:18:03 · answer #1 · answered by Ironhand 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the scanner will tell you if the computers bad, the target charging volts will be wrong, if the scanner show target charging voltage of 14.5 and the battery voltage is 12.5 or less while running the alternator is bad. i haven't seen wiring problems on these vans yet.
2006-11-25 04:55:09 · answer #2 · answered by quickcuda69 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1
2017-03-05 00:52:55 · answer #3 · answered by Skye 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My 2000 caravan : oil light, batt light, and chk engine light , all out, not even coming on at startup? But temp light does come on at startup then goes out normally.Also batt not charging, but batt and alternator chk good? Can it it be a worn out ignition switch?
2015-09-28 00:42:04 · answer #4 · answered by j 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
pcm= power control module, is an aluminum box bolted right next to the battery with tons of wires going to it
2015-03-20 06:45:58 · answer #5 · answered by paul 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your van has a computor controlled voltage regulator. yes it sucks but if you have a very good electrical shop in town they do make a kit to remove the voltage regulator from the computor and back on the alternator, its not cheap but cheaper than a computor.
2006-11-25 04:52:51 · answer #6 · answered by Christian 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest cleaning the terminals and make sure you have a tight connection on them.
2006-11-25 07:01:38 · answer #7 · answered by jwild1979 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think those have a fuse, check it and check the running voltage, it should be about 14 volts if everything is working :).
2006-11-25 04:54:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
what is the PCM on the caravan for and where is it located?
2015-02-21 10:28:50 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you speak of a fuse, where is it? How do I test it?
2015-06-19 07:00:11 · answer #10 · answered by Tom 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋