I am having what appears to be electrical problems with my 91 B350. I recently purchased this beast and was told that an external voltage regulator was being used due to some fault in the computer, and that it would need to be replaced occasionally. The van would not start a couple of weeks ago, so I replaced the regulator and the van fired right up. The replacement regulator wasn't the exact same part as the one that was replaced, but I was assured that it was ok. Van worked for a while but then I stopped the van and tried to start it again and it would not work (after about a 5 mile drive). I immediately replaced the regulator, again, and nothing happened. Turning the ignition does nothing unless the van is jumped. I can jump the van, but as soon as the cables are removed, it shuts down. The battery measures 12V.

 

Sounds like a bad battery cable connection. Remove both of them, clean them, and reinstall. You might have to jump it the first time.

BTW, did you ever check to see what the battery voltage waswhile the engine was running?

 

I didn't think it would work considering that I have to jump start it to get it running and it dies as soon as I take off the cables. I'll clean up the connections and let you know if that works. Thanks for the input.

 

That did the trick. Thanks a bunch, alloro. I was just about to give up on the van until I found this site (shows what kind of newb I am when it comes to this stuff). Again, thanks.

 

Simple solutions rock!

 

And best of all, it didn't cost $$$.