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So i have a 2007 dodge grand caravan.
I had a dead battery a week ago. The van was dead, i jump started it and drove it around the block and when i for home i shut it off and started it again and i figured i left a light on or something.
The next morning it was dead again.
I replaced the battery and everything seemed fine until i go to start it this v morning and its dead again.
It ran for a week now its dead.

Any ideas?

Have you tried kicking it?

If you have replaced the battery for a new one and it still isn't turning over, then it sounds like a knackered alternator - the battery isn't getting charged.

 usernamesareannoying wrote:
So i have a 2007 dodge grand caravan.
I had a dead battery a week ago. The van was dead, i jump started it and drove it around the block and when i for home i shut it off and started it again and i figured i left a light on or something.
The next morning it was dead again.
I replaced the battery and everything seemed fine until i go to start it this v morning and its dead again.
It ran for a week now its dead.

Any ideas?

It probably means you have a short circuit somewhere, through either exposed wires touching or you could have water ingress somewhere that is causing the short. That's the most likely situation if you can charge the battery off the car and it holds it's charge.

The alternative is that you could have just got a duff battery. Did you get from a reputable supplier and what date of manufacture does it have?

Is there a chance mice or something might have chewed through the wiring?
I have a mate with lots of cars sitting around (don't ask), and get this a lot.

recap... i had a dead battery, replaced it, drove it every day for a week and then found it dead again this morning...

i have tried kicking it but it only seems to annoy the van.

no noticeable damage to wiring.

i thought that it might be the alternator as well but from what i understand if it was the alternator as soon as the battery dies the car would shut off due to the alternator not keeping it running.

i do know that i replaced a brake light just before all of this started happening.
i dont know why that would cause a problem but maybe ill start looking there.

i also found a troubleshooting guide to look for power drains that i will try.

thanks all.

 usernamesareannoying wrote:
So i have a 2007 dodge grand caravan.
I had a dead battery a week ago. The van was dead, i jump started it and drove it around the block and when i for home i shut it off and started it again and i figured i left a light on or something.
The next morning it was dead again.
I replaced the battery and everything seemed fine until i go to start it this v morning and its dead again.
It ran for a week now its dead.

Any ideas?

Thats not the battery. That sounds like the alternator and/or connections. One of the least fun things I ever did was work on a Honda in the rain with my Dad replacing an alternator, in a parking lot. If anyone knows Honda, they know that they almost purposely put the alternator in the back of the engine against the firewall and you have to take off so much crap just to get to its, its not funny.
A highlight, breaking a wrench sending me flying backward into a giant dog poo pile.

After that both I quit working on cars and well anything with more than one working part. I just won't do it. Dad only played with one car after that, and GC now is a little green haired valkyrie flying around in it about town.

You might want to check the connections first (those bolt or clamp things that actually connect to the battery posts/terminals)

If they are corroded it can lead to a poor connection and the alternator can fail to charge the battery. The good news? they are super cheap and easy to repair, like $5 and 5 minutes from any parts store or even Wal-Mart.

10 4 cuda.
like i said, the van is 10 years old so of course they're corroded
i took a dremel to them to try and clean them up but maybe it would be worth just replacing them.

i also want to check the connections at the alternator itself and make sure everything is good there.

Easy way to check the alternator is to turn on the lights and rev the engine. If the lights get brighter then it works.

Of course, that depends on getting the car running in the first place.

there is always that one little catch
i can test it with a meter...

Unleash the Voltmeter of Justice!

 usernamesareannoying wrote:
there is always that one little catch
i can test it with a meter...

Pfft, that's how pansy electric car drivers would do it.

Proper men test their alternators by revving loudly at their garage walls.

Easy way to check the alternator is to turn on the lights and rev the engine. If the lights get brighter then it works.

Not true, your car technically runs off the battery. If you have a good battery and the alternator is charging it properly there should be no noticeable dimming or brightening of your head lights.

i thought that it might be the alternator as well but from what i understand if it was the alternator as soon as the battery dies the car would shut off due to the alternator not keeping it running.

Also not true, an alternator can slowly lose charging power, they rarely ever just stop working unless you break the drive belt. I agree with others, the alternator is your problem based on what you said happened with the new battery. Your alternator is still charging but not enough to keep up with the drain from you operating the vehicle. Your alternator should be charging at 160 amps. If you take it to Autozone, or somewhere similar, they can test it for free. If you are less than 160 amps your alternator is the problem and it is slowly starting to die.

yeah its starting to sound like the alternator.
lets change up the question...

junk yard, refurbished or new?

ive put plenty of parts from the junk yard for 1/3 of the cost in my other vehicle and am happy so far.
i havent dealt with refurbished parts which are cheaper than new but more than the junk yard. are they really anything more than a junk yard part that has been tested and cleaned up?
new is the best bet i'm sure but when you're trying to do it on a budget it doesn't always work out.
is it worth triple the price?

im sur eit comes down to preference but what have you guys done?

New. You get used parts for things you don't need. New for stuff that might leave you stranded in Detroit.

Most auto parts stores don't even sell new ones for late model cars, it will most likely be a refurb. As far as a junk yard, I would not I would buy the refurb., it will have been tested and will have a limited warranty. And from my experience their prices haven't been much cheaper in a long time.

I would go with a new alternator. I replaced a GMC Jimmy alternator three times with rebuilt ones. The fourth time I went with a new one and it lasted until I sold it.

So things have gone from bad to worse.
I jump started the van and it started, no problem
I checked the alternator and I'm getting a solid 14v out of it so it sounds like it might not be that.
I shut it off and put a meter across the battery and i watched it go from 12.7 volts down to 11.5
I thought that i might have a draw so i started pulling fuses. After i got all of the fuses out the draw stopped so i started to put everything back. After i got the fuses back in the van won't do anything. Before i was getting a dead battery click sound but now i don't get crap. Nothing at all. Im sure i put everything back in and in the correct spot since it is all labeled but i don't know what's going on.

Alternator. I'm having that exact issue right now on my work truck. It's a pisser.

And my alternator is for a vehicle that isn't made anymore.

Any idea why it won't take a jump?

Well, taking it to a mechanic instead of trying to diagnose over the internet would be a good bet...

My guess then is as sure as you are that you put it all back together correctly, you didn't. Either some is put in the wrong spot or theres a loose connection somewhere.

I had a similar thing happen to an astrovan I had years ago, the hooker just didnt want to hold a charge no matter what. Turned out it wasnt an alternator issue at all, it was some kind of sensor or do dad like that. After spending too much money guessing I took it to a shop and paid them 50 bucks to just tell me what it was and then fixed it myself

Very helpful filbert thanks.
I have no chance of going to a mechanic before the weekend so i figured I'd toss it out there and see if anyone could help.
I guess there has to be one guy like you that has to say it huh...

Regarding the new issue, check the fuses are all put back in properly and still in good working order.

Rule #1 of backyard mechanicking is the problem probably lies in the last thing you changed

If you have another car that you're using to jump start, you can try just disconnecting your battery and connecting the battery from the car you're using to jump and see if that fixes it. I had a car where the battery was so buggered that I couldn't jump start it with a spare battery even though the spare battery could start another car easily.

2007 means it's probably a fancy computer controlled car, I'm out of my depth on fancy computers, most my cars are still carburetted But maybe you confused the computer yanking out all the fuses, sometimes you can fix that by disconnecting the battery completely and coming back after a short while and hoping things have reset themselves.

I checked the alternator and I'm getting a solid 14v out of it so it sounds like it might not be that.

Was the alternator 14V at idle or high RPM? It is possible for an alternator to have a too high charging voltage which will damage the battery.

I shut it off and put a meter across the battery and i watched it go from 12.7 volts down to 11.5

How quickly are we talking? Seconds, minutes, hours? You probably needed to take the car for a decent drive if the battery was almost completely dead flat. Normally when I jump a car I make sure I take it for a good 10-15 minute drive at least (or my car has a voltmeter on the dash, so I just let it sit in the driveway at whatever RPM brings the voltage up to a stable value, watching that it doesn't overheat).


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 filbert wrote:
Well, taking it to a mechanic instead of trying to diagnose over the internet would be a good bet...

At some point you have to throw in the towel and take it to a mechanic, but I've probably saved hundreds if not thousands diagnosing small problems with my car myself using the internet and workshop manuals and it's even helped me catch out mechanics spewing BS my way.

Sure, maybe I've replaced a few things in my cars that didn't need to be replaced, but at the amount mechanics charge per hour these days I have no doubt overall I've saved money and had the opportunity to learn.

One time I actually took my car to 2 mechanics who couldn't diagnose the problem and a random friend ended up finding a frayed wire that I replaced myself, hundreds of dollars to mechanics to fix a problem they couldn't diagnose and cost about $5 to repair.

Well, after ten hours at the mechanic, I got my alternator fixed and made it! The ten hours wasn't the mechanic's fault either. That guy did everything possible to get me here, short of driving me himself.

Good luck with yours, usernames!!

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Alternator. I'm having that exact issue right now on my work truck. It's a pisser.

And my alternator is for a vehicle that isn't made anymore.

Is there anywhere near you that you could take the alternator to be refurbished, just a warning it could prove costly or they may be able to find a different one that fits.

First of all please tell me you still have the manual that came with your car? If it worked before you pulled the fusses and not after something was put back incorrectly. Double check all of the fuses especially the ignition fuse, double check the brake light you changed and make sure you don't have an exposed wire that is touching metal. Next did you check the alternator correctly? you should be checking the alternator at the battery posts, at operating RPM's, typically 2000 RPM's, with nothing on in the car. The volts should fluctuate generally from 13V -14.5V. Now turn every thing on in your car, head lights, radio, and especially air conditioning if you have it. Recheck the alternator at 2000 RPM's, and you should be getting a minimum of 13V at the battery, if you are getting below this your alternator is going bad. Your battery with the car not running should be around 12.2V, if your alternator is not charging higher than this it is not producing enough energy to run you car in operating conditions, and keep the battery charged, causing the battery to slowly die.

thanks chainsword.
i checked the alternator like you mentioned.

im starting to think i may have done something to the anti theft system.

i didnt think about it but when i was messing with the fuses the horn honked once like it was arming the car alarm.

i didnt think anything of it at the time but while trying to figure out why it wont even crank any more i stumbled upon this possibility.

i tried using the fob to arm.disarm it but no change.

i tried resetting it by disconnecting the ground for about 5 minutes but that didnt help. since then ive found a few other things to try like using the actual key in the lock and not the fob as well as some other ideas like disconnecting both battery cables and then touching them together.

once i can get it to start again i plan on taking it to a shop to have the battery and charger checked.

My motorcycle broke down a few weeks ago when the immobiliser rotted and the bike refused to start. It would turn on but it wouldn't tick over. It just happened overnight too.