New to the forum, Dodge Caravan 2006, bought two months ago. I have a whining noise from around alternator area, and also a slight burning smell. All the pulleys seem tight, and the belt is new, as is the water pump. I have not driven the van since the noise started, but today I drove to the store. On the way back the battery/voltage light lit up on the dash. I followed manual and checked voltage at the battery terminals, and it was at 12.5 to begin with, but with lights and blower on and revved up, it dropped to below 13, as low as 12.3 and stayed in that range. Sounds like alternator is bad, but wanted to check with the experts. I also read some posts saying it was hard to remove. Will be doing the repair myself so any advice welcome. Thanks for a great site.

 

Yup, time for a new one. Should see a minimum of 13.5 volts at idle.

 

Thank you Cougar. It was the alternator. I want to review the procedure for those who may have to change it on their vans. Mine is a 2006 Caravan SXT. The manual "suggests" that one can remove the alternator out past the EGR valve if one removes the dipstick bolt, and moves the dipstick out of the way.
I FOUND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET THE ALTERNATOR OUT THIS WAY, AND ALSO A PAIN TRYING. Much simpler to remove the EGR valve FIRST as part of the procedure. There are two bolts at the side and two above. Be sure to have two new gaskets ready for when reinstalling the EGR valve (less than $4 at parts store). Then unbolt the alternator and it comes out easily. Another tip: tighten down the lower bolt on the EGR valve when reinstalling it BEFORE tightening the alternator all the way--if you tighten the alternator first there is not much clearance to get a socket on the lower side EGR bolt. You will also need a tool to release the belt tension to remove and reinstall the belt; an 18" monkey wrench worked well for me, since I did not have the tool (though Harbor Freight sells them). I bought the alternator at Advance for $140 which included a $50 discount.