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1991 Plymouth Voyager losing power

Tiny
LHOOVER
  • MEMBER
  • 1991 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER
  • 6 CYL
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 187,000 MILES
My van started losing power on the front lights and dash lights and check engine light came on. I checked fluids and everything was ok. It kept losing brightness on the lights and then the battery light came on. I drove a few miles and heard a little grind noise and acted like it shifted out of gear and then all the power came back and the lights were fine.

After a week of being ok with the check engine light coming on once in awhile, now the dome lights in the back of the van keep coming on and I have to remove the fuse so as to not run the battery down. When I put the fuse back in I hear a clicking noise down by my feet in the center of the van possibly on the other side of the firewall. Is this an alternator issue or some other electrical issue?
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Friday, November 13th, 2009 AT 11:55 AM

7 Replies

Tiny
JDL
  • MECHANIC
  • 16,098 POSTS
Welcome to the forum, how long since a tune-up? Make sure the battery has a full charge, the connections are good. Also check the charging system. Have you checked for trouble codes, anything?
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Friday, November 13th, 2009 AT 12:31 PM
Tiny
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  • 4 POSTS
About a year since a tune up. Checked the battery and fully charged. Posts looked good, but cleaned anyways. Am not sure what you mean on the trouble codes?
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Friday, November 13th, 2009 AT 3:10 PM
Tiny
JDL
  • MECHANIC
  • 16,098 POSTS
You may be able to access some codes by the check engine lite method. You cycle the key till the dash lites come on, no further. On-off, on-off, on, then the check engine lite starts flashing, you count the flashes to get the codes.
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Friday, November 13th, 2009 AT 3:24 PM
Tiny
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  • 4 POSTS
Ok. It flashed like three times and then pause until it reached 18 times. Any idea on what that means then?
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Saturday, November 14th, 2009 AT 12:00 PM
Tiny
JDL
  • MECHANIC
  • 16,098 POSTS


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/170934_plymouth_codes_1.jpg



Hi, I can't tell by your description, maybe the above info will help? Your looking for two digit codes.
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Saturday, November 14th, 2009 AT 12:29 PM
Tiny
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That helped a little, but not exactly following it for a two digit code. It is doing:

flash long pause
flash long pause

flash short pause
flash, flash, flash, flash quickly

flash long pause

then the five flashes to end the code.
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Saturday, November 14th, 2009 AT 1:32 PM
Tiny
JDL
  • MECHANIC
  • 16,098 POSTS
There are codes for the charging system, didn't see that in your description. I did see a possible code 14, for the map sensor? I did'nt see a code for electrical issues. When trying to use flash codes, sometimes, I have to do it several times, to make sure. Sometimes I get lost trying to count all the flashes.

I'd use a digital voltmeter across the battery posts. With everything turned off, a full charge is 12.6 volts. With the engine running, take a second reading across the battery posts, the second reading should be higher than the first, if the charging system is working.
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Saturday, November 14th, 2009 AT 2:24 PM

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