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2010 Grand Caravan Starting issues
I have a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L with approx 120k miles. I have been having some issues recently with it starting up and am looking for some help in diagnosing. I preface everthing I am about to say by the fact that I am not the one who is driving this car most of the time and my wife is about as non mechanical as they come.
The first issue was approx 1 month ago and she said that the van "cut out on her". SHe said she was driving and approx 2 min after she left the house the van shut off. She was able to restart it and it worked fine.
The second issue came after the van was sitting for approx 24 hours which is uncommon for us. The volts on the batter were 6. We put jumper cables on it let it sit for about 3 min and the van started no problem. I then checked the battery voltage with it running it was approx 14 volts. It stopped and started just fine.
After this I had my wife take the van to Advanced Auto and they said that the battery, alternator and started all tested fine.
Today she called me because she got out of the van and then attempted to restart it with the remote start and got nothing. She then tried to start it the conventional way but it would not turn over. She described hearing clicking but I cannot be sure that it was the starter or not. She got a jump and after letting it sit for 5 min it started. SHe was able to drive home without any problems. Again tonight she tried to start it and it would not start.
THis confuses me as I am not used to working on cars with a WIN. I cannot tell if this is a parasitic drain on the battery (does not seem to fit the mold considering it would not start immediately after it had just run up the road for at least 20 min). I cannot tell if it is the alternator (It tested fine and seems to be producing enough voltage. I di not measure the amps).
If anyone can help me trouble shoot this to help save some $$$ in not replacing the alternator when I need a TCIM or WIN or something else.
Thanks
Jimmy
The first issue was approx 1 month ago and she said that the van "cut out on her". SHe said she was driving and approx 2 min after she left the house the van shut off. She was able to restart it and it worked fine.
The second issue came after the van was sitting for approx 24 hours which is uncommon for us. The volts on the batter were 6. We put jumper cables on it let it sit for about 3 min and the van started no problem. I then checked the battery voltage with it running it was approx 14 volts. It stopped and started just fine.
After this I had my wife take the van to Advanced Auto and they said that the battery, alternator and started all tested fine.
Today she called me because she got out of the van and then attempted to restart it with the remote start and got nothing. She then tried to start it the conventional way but it would not turn over. She described hearing clicking but I cannot be sure that it was the starter or not. She got a jump and after letting it sit for 5 min it started. SHe was able to drive home without any problems. Again tonight she tried to start it and it would not start.
THis confuses me as I am not used to working on cars with a WIN. I cannot tell if this is a parasitic drain on the battery (does not seem to fit the mold considering it would not start immediately after it had just run up the road for at least 20 min). I cannot tell if it is the alternator (It tested fine and seems to be producing enough voltage. I di not measure the amps).
If anyone can help me trouble shoot this to help save some $$$ in not replacing the alternator when I need a TCIM or WIN or something else.
Thanks
Jimmy
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