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Van won't start nor charge


Sandfobs
05-10-2005, 06:53 PM
I have replaced my alternator last year and the battery 6 months before that so I'm pretty sure this is not the problem. A few weeks ago my family and I were coming back home from across town we stopped in a store and when we came back into the van and started it, the van door alarm....at least that's what I think it was.... was binging with the door closed and the engine running. I pulled over and shut the van off and started it again and still no go. When I tried to turn the key the opposite way to see if maybe the ignition was having problems, it didn't appear to go back all the way it used too.

Anyways we kept going and pulled up to a streetlight and it started to get worse the interior lights began to go dim simoutaneously with the binging sound.. then it died.

I tried to put the battery charger on it when I got it towed home but it won't charge I guess it's ..... sick LOL

Please respond with some direction on where to go?

cdru
05-10-2005, 08:01 PM
Disconnect the battery from the car and charge it with nothing else hooked up. If it still can't hold a charge, then it's the battery. If it can, then you probably have a short or some other drain in the system. You can also take the alternator to a shop or parts store and have it tested just to rule out a charging problem.

LMP
05-11-2005, 06:39 PM
Coincidences are rare...so if you noticed something unusual with the ignition key at the same time the problem occured, then in all probabilities you have identified the source of the problem. My guess is a wire or some moving part got loose from the ignition switch and shorted to ground, causing the lights to go dim in a matter of minutes and sinking to ground any charge you try to feed to the battery. however would normally have been accompanied by burnt smell. This I have experienced in SEVERAL occasions
Anyway,problems with ignition switches are NOT rare. If it is not that, it is a quite good imitation.
(I understand you do have a measured charge current fed to the battery with the battery charger but no voltage remains after a charge...Did you notice higher than normal charge current from the battery charger? IN fact, what happens if you connect the battery charger to the car battery cables with the battery removed? will you be able to have the interior lights lighted on? ).

Sandfobs
09-24-2008, 03:35 PM
cdruDisconnect the battery from the car and charge it with nothing else hooked up. If it still can't hold a charge, then it's the battery. If it can, then you probably have a short or some other drain in the system. You can also take the alternator to a shop or parts store and have it tested just to rule out a charging problem.
I have tested the battery and alternator as the van was sitting for the summer. Alternator passed but battery did not, I purchased a new battery for it and it ran rather nicely until this began to happen.

Coincidences are rare...so if you noticed something unusual with the ignition key at the same time the problem occured, then in all probabilities you have identified the source of the problem. My guess is a wire or some moving part got loose from the ignition switch and shorted to ground, causing the lights to go dim in a matter of minutes and sinking to ground any charge you try to feed to the battery. however would normally have been accompanied by burnt smell. This I have experienced in SEVERAL occasions
Anyway,problems with ignition switches are NOT rare. If it is not that, it is a quite good imitation.
(I understand you do have a measured charge current fed to the battery with the battery charger but no voltage remains after a charge...Did you notice higher than normal charge current from the battery charger? IN fact, what happens if you connect the battery charger to the car battery cables with the battery removed? will you be able to have the interior lights lighted on? ).

I have not noticed anything unusual with the ignition key, it starts rather nice without any problems. The lights do not go dim and the battery gauge is at a solid 15. It stays charged fine but when I put it into drive that's when it stalls. So the main problem is it works fine for awhile but then after awhile such as an hour it will (best explained) feels like it jerks when slowing down to an intersection then stalls. When I start it back up it's fine but when I put it into Drive it stalls again. I towed it home after waiting after sitting for 15 minutes then after I arrived home after the tow I started it up and put it into drive and it was fine I drove it into the driveway and that's where it still sits. I just took it for a ride around the block, it started fine and reversed out and put it into drive and it seems fine and drove it around the block.

No lights or warnings are showing any problems

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