hey, I have a 1999 Dodge Caravan, and had a battery go dead the other day. It had been on the way out the door for a while, so thought nothing of it and noticed a battery light the last time i drove it before the battery change. I changed the battery and now again have the "battery light" which points to the Alternator. I have not shot the battery yet with a multimeter, but I assume it is going to read low. Does anyone have ideas as far as troubleshooting goes? Are there fuses for that? Thanks guys

 

Gee, you already answered your own question. One would think that you'd use a multimeter at the batter to see what charging voltage is. Obviously if it only reads battery voltage while running, you pretty much have an answer. Seems every time someone has an electrical glitch, the first thing they ask about is a fuse. Sure you could have a bad fuse. Do you know how to test fuses? You don't even have to pull them to test. With a wiring schematic, troubleshooting goes a lot easier. The Chrysler charging system is so simple. Alternator, wiring, and PCM controls field for charging (voltage regulator).

 

yeah, im aware of that, the car is not here right now, someone took it to work, so thats why i have not shot it with a meter yet. The only reason I mentioned fuses was because I saw that when I was digging through the forum and yes, i know how to test them and i will have to try and find a schematic. I read that worn brushes could also be a cause? Is this less likely?
[also, is the fuse box the only location? are there others? I am not familiar with this vehicle]

 

Fuses are in the fuse block and no where else. Anything is possible. could be a failed diode in the alternator, brushes, slip rings, open wire in the alternator, broke wires from the PCM to the alternator field circut, open wire between the battery and the alternator, PCM failure, and soooo much more. Autozone will test if for FREE. And besides if there's such a serious problem WTF is someone driving it to work anyway? I suppose when it dies on the highway, the rescue event makes life more interesting.