Hi All

I'm exhausted with this van's electrical issues. It seems like something is draining the battery at night or it's grounded out somewhere. The van will start, but sounds like it's barely doing it. Very weak sounding start. The lights are all dim until you start it. Then the alternator kicks in and things are fine. But lately we'll be driving down the road and ALL things power will shut off (the radio, the lights, the ac/heat, everything) and then they'll come back on after a second. Even the gauges all drop to off. Keep happening more and more frequently. So I charged the battery all night, started fine and ran for a trip or two then my wife calls me and tells me it's clicking instead of starting (dead battery or not enough power to starter). Recharge battery (repeat). So I took the battery out, and the alternator off. Took to autozone. Had them do a full test on both, they're both fine (kinda figured this, but thought I would try anyway). What next? Is there a wire I should be check somewhere? I thought about pulling all the fuses from non-essential items to see if one of them is draining my battery or causing what appers to be a short. When I pull the battery box out of the van, just to check the wires beneath, I noticed they're not exactly plyable, but not corroded either. I just don't know what to do next. Thoughts?

 

Want to try a voltage drain check? Here's how. Disconnect the negative battery cable and let the van sit around twenty minutes. Now connect an ammeter (a function on most multimeters) between the disconnected cable and the now empty negative battery post - in other words, in series with the circuit. You should see no more than around 30 milliampers. If it's substantially higher, remove fuses in the IPM until you see the reading drop to 30 milliampers or less. Whatever fuse creates the drop is the problem circuit creating the drain.You'll then have to start disconnecting components in that circuit again until the reading drops. The component that creates the drop is the culprit.

Early 4th generation vans, yours, have a known issue with corrosion in the IPM creating any number of electrical problems. First try a shake test on the IPM with everything up and running. Tap it, shake it, looking for any changes. Now shake the connections and wire harnesses leading to it. Disconnect the negative battery cable then disconnect each connection and inspect for any signs of corrosion or damaged contacts. Clean with contact cleaner and reseat several times. If that looks good remove the IPM and inspect the internal circuit board. If you see corrosion there replace the IPM.

Another problem area is the battery cables. Inspect them paying particular attention to the connections at either end and that small + cable connection. It's crimp can loosen up. Follow the small + cable to the IPM. Loosen it up and clean it no matter what you find.

What test did your AutoZone do on your battery? If your battery is 5 years or more old, replace it. It may or may not fix this but either way, you'll be better off in the long run. If you insist on keeping it, next time the starter just clicks, jump start it with another car. If it starts, change the battery.

 

Wow! Thanks so much for all of the good info. I just put the battery and alternator back and it's still clicking when starting. I put a backup power pack on and it barely started. My wife took the alternator and battery in for testing. She said they put the alternator on the machine to test it, but just used a hand held meter to test the battery, which tells me they didn't do the load test on the battery because I don't think the handheld ones can do it. So I'll take it back in for another check and have them use the roll out machine this time to be sure its done right. The battery's only about 1.5 years old though, so I'm doubting that's the problem. But now I'm beginning to think it might be a bad starter. maybe the starter's needing more load than an avg battery can put out to start? Could it cause a grounding problem while driving?

 

Ya that's what I was looking for - load test. If it fails the load test you should get a new battery at a pro rated cost. If you boost it with anything while starting and it starts, the battery is weak or the connections are loose/corroded etc.

Could the starter cause a grounding problem? In a word - no. Then again they said the Titanic was unsinkable. Looking at a wiring diagram I don't see how. If the motor winding shorts to case ground it will blow the fuse. If the solenoid contacts stick closed the starter will continually spin and eventually fry. Starter needs more power than normal? Er ah... yes it happens.

 

Can you measure the voltage at the battery before and after a start? The voltage before start should be around 12.5vdc, after start should clime to 14.5vdc. The battery may not be charging completely between trips.