2001 Dodge Caravan wont crank

DUANESHANNON

MEMBER
2001 DODGE CARAVAN
167,000 MILES

Van died while driving. Tried to restart but acted like weak battery by just clicking so I replaced battery only to have same results except when key is turned off and removed the iac keeps clicking. Unplugged and reconnected only to hear it continue to click only way to make it stop is disconnect battery. Why is this happening? Hooked everything back up and tried again with same results with iac

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Stalling due to a discharged battery is not caused by the battery. It is caused by the alternator not keeping the battery charged while driving. You should have seen the "volts" gauge dropping and the "battery" warning light should have been on. If they were not showing a discharged condition the alternator may have one bad diode of the six. That will reduce its maximum current output to exactly one third of its rated current. That is not enough to run the entire electrical system under all conditions so the battery will have to make up the difference until it slowly runs down.

The engine should have started with the new battery but it would also run down within an hour to a few days, depending on whether the alternator has a bad diode or it has failed completely. I'd start by having the charging system load-tested. If the starter won't crank the engine with a new battery, suspect the cables are corroded or loose.