98 Grand Caravan 3.3L, 175K

OK, my wife moved the van after it was sitting for 2 days and said it was struggling to start but did. When I tried to move it, it wouldn't start so I jumped it with my car.

The battery is OK (only a few years old and the voltage is OK)...the alternator is fairly new and running 14 V when running with the lights on. The starter has already been replaced and when it was jumped, it fired up easily so it isn't that.

The last time we had this issue, it was the clockspring (Recalled item) that needed to be replaced. But that was this past summer...could it have gone bad again?

When I did get my car jumped, I drove it and the ABS light was on and a few miles down the road the battery light kicks on (still drove it for 3 miles). When I stopped and got it restarted (jumped), the CEL lights were off...but the speedo and tach were not working. I had already regrounded the instrument panel this past summer (when I was having these clockspring issues), so I doubt that is bad.

When I got home, I turned the car off, tried to restart it but only got a clicking sound from the fuse box. So I pulled the negative off the battery and put it back on...still clicking so I left it off.

Any thoughts on what electrical I should look for? The last time I didn't have a CEL but the lights were flickering. Help.

Thanks

 

Sure sounds like a defective battery. Even if it tests good, it still could be bad. All the power to the electronics runs THROUGH the battery.

 

I doubt it is the battery. It is less than 2 years old and holds reads in the 12V range. I'm sure it is something else electronic since the last time this was acting up, changing out the clockspring worked.

I guess I don't want to send the mechanic on a wild goose chase...electrical issues tend to be very expensive to diagnose and fix...I guess I don't want to spend a lot of money for a misdiagnosis...which happens a lot with electrical issues (tell you to change a bunch of things and the problem still persists).

If the battery were bad, it wouldn't hold a charge, right? I think something must have shorted out (or isn't grounded correctly)...I thought I heard a sizzle on the positive post (when I opened the hood, a bit of water got on the battery from the rain).

Anyone?

 

You should have the battery load tested. The simple gauge on the dash is not a good indicator of battery condition. Look at your connections at the starter motor itself. A weak connection there could also cause your problem. By-the-way I once had a top-o-the-line INTERSTATE battery(with a 7yr warranty) fail in under 2 months. The symptom of being jumpable indicates poor battery or connection.

 

OK...after sitting for a week (with negative cable on battery off), I tried to start it again and again only to hear weird clicking noise. So I took the battery off and had it tested at auto parts store and they confirmed the battery was OK (volts and crank).

So I mentally cursed out my van, put in the battery, fiddles with the fuse box (and connection) and when I connected it up, it started right up...no problems.

So whatever the issue was, It is now gone. I don't feel especially confident on long trips, but it works for now. So it was some connection issue...I might try changing out the battery cables or connector...but I might just wait until it craps out again before fiddling with it.

Thanks for your assistance...the "kick it until it works" method worked.

 

If there is a computer located behind the fuse panel in the van check it's grounds. I had the dash apart on my durango to replace the heater core and when I put it back together it was making all kinds of weird noises and all the lights were flashing like crazy. I thought I had killed the car until I noticed a ground wire I didn't hook up and that took care of all the weird noises. It was making clicking noises similar to what you describe and if messing with the connectors fixed it, it could be a ground issue.