My 2002 dodge grand caravan went crazy.

sunkenvan16

The headlights, flashers, wipers, radio, gauges all went on and off. It seemed like it was struggling to get fuel, and died. The battery was dead. I got a jump start and it kept shutting off while all the above problems recurring. I replaced the alternator, no fix. We have 4 children and I work so we need it running fast.

Mr_Shiftright

sunkenvan16 said:

The headlights, flashers, wipers, radio, gauges all went on and off. It seemed like it was struggling to get fuel, and died. The battery was dead. I got a jump start and it kept shutting off while all the above problems recurring. I replaced the alternator, no fix. We have 4 children and I work so we need it running fast.

You should have the battery full charged, and then have it load-tested (local Autozone, OReilly, etc) on the bench. If the battery is good, and fully charged, then re-install and see how the car behaves. If it behaves well, then the new alternator isn't charging for some reason.

An alternator can't charge a bad battery, and a good battery can only run the car so long with a bad alternator, or wiring.

If you can at least get the van running, perhaps a friend with a voltmeter can test if the battery is getting any charge at all. But again, if the battery has a dead cell, it might not accept a charge.

Most batteries that are 5-6 years old are running on borrowed time anyway.

lyonsksl

Was this problem ever resolved or did you sell the van? I just had a similar problem: horn, wipers, wiper fluid, engine dying. Would go bizarre for 5-15 minutes, stop and start again over a period of 3 hours but left after tow truck and Uber arried. Was able to start twice by banging on the fuse box but not again and wouldn't start with a jump. Oh, driver's door locked by itself after exiting.