Hello everyone I'm new to this forum. I purchased a Dodge Caravan 2000 with the 3.0 Liter engine at 150k KM. The previous owner did not take care of it as it was used as a work vehicle. So there is lots of rust under the rocker panels. The van was converted to a cargo van and equipped with storage bins. I bought it because it was cheap and was fully equiped for my work needs with ladder rack and all. The engine runs smooth except for the slight ticking sound which I read is "normal" for this engine. The battery was replaced cause it was old and would not hold a charge.

My question is what is the voltage I am suppose to get at the battery terminals at idol. I am reading 13.6 V and when I rev the engine I get 13.8 V. I do not believe this is what I am suppose to receive and suspect that the alternator is going bad. From my understanding I should be reading 14.2 V at idol and 14.4 V when rev.

I do not have the check engine light on when the van is running however I have not hooked up a reader to confirm that there are no outstanding codes in the PCM.

I just want to know if this is a normal voltage and if I should replace the alternator with a 90 or 130 amp model.

 

Charging system voltage changes with ambient temperature. The warmer it is outside, the lower the charging voltage. 13.6v is fine for this time of year. When it gets real cold outside, then you'll see in the 14's.

 

I see, I thought it was a fixed voltage. I'll read the voltage again when its cold outside and see if it changes. As of now the temperature is about 15 to 20 Celsius.

Thanks again...