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96 Town & Country Electrical Problem



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 19th 04, 04:27 PM
99trooper
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Default 96 Town & Country Electrical Problem

Hi all,

About 2 weeks ago, my wife stopped at a store for about 15 minutes and
when she came out the T&C wouldn't start (she said no lights just dead).
I had her open the hood and make sure the cables to the battery were
secure by tugging on them a little (she said they were). She went back
inside and the thing started right up. Since then she said it died once
while making a slow turn, but started right up.

I have checked the connections and all seem secure (including checking
just last night). This morning she went to the garage to start it and
nothing (she said the engine compartment light was flickering). While she
had the hood open, I could hear over the phone, a light "chrip" type sound
over the phone comming from under the hood. I had her tap the battery
connections lightly with a hammer, and still no change. She called me
back later and said it finally started (the first time she said it started
hard clicking then slow turn then start) and then 2 times after with no
problem. She said after she would shut the engine off and turn the key to
off, she hears a "click" sound from around the emergency pedal location.

I believe the battery is over 4 years old, but to me it doesn't make sense
that it could be dead 1 minute and the next have full power (as it did the
first time this happened). I suspected the battery at first, but after I
drove it for several days on my own, I didn't notice any problems.

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  #2  
Old October 19th 04, 06:19 PM
maxpower
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Very possibly a battery going out on you, 4 yrs old, i would
"99trooper" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Hi all,
>
> About 2 weeks ago, my wife stopped at a store for about 15 minutes and
> when she came out the T&C wouldn't start (she said no lights just dead).
> I had her open the hood and make sure the cables to the battery were
> secure by tugging on them a little (she said they were). She went back
> inside and the thing started right up. Since then she said it died once
> while making a slow turn, but started right up.
>
> I have checked the connections and all seem secure (including checking
> just last night). This morning she went to the garage to start it and
> nothing (she said the engine compartment light was flickering). While she
> had the hood open, I could hear over the phone, a light "chrip" type sound
> over the phone comming from under the hood. I had her tap the battery
> connections lightly with a hammer, and still no change. She called me
> back later and said it finally started (the first time she said it started
> hard clicking then slow turn then start) and then 2 times after with no
> problem. She said after she would shut the engine off and turn the key to
> off, she hears a "click" sound from around the emergency pedal location.
>
> I believe the battery is over 4 years old, but to me it doesn't make sense
> that it could be dead 1 minute and the next have full power (as it did the
> first time this happened). I suspected the battery at first, but after I
> drove it for several days on my own, I didn't notice any problems.
>



  #3  
Old October 19th 04, 06:19 PM
maxpower
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Very possibly a battery going out on you, 4 yrs old, i would
"99trooper" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Hi all,
>
> About 2 weeks ago, my wife stopped at a store for about 15 minutes and
> when she came out the T&C wouldn't start (she said no lights just dead).
> I had her open the hood and make sure the cables to the battery were
> secure by tugging on them a little (she said they were). She went back
> inside and the thing started right up. Since then she said it died once
> while making a slow turn, but started right up.
>
> I have checked the connections and all seem secure (including checking
> just last night). This morning she went to the garage to start it and
> nothing (she said the engine compartment light was flickering). While she
> had the hood open, I could hear over the phone, a light "chrip" type sound
> over the phone comming from under the hood. I had her tap the battery
> connections lightly with a hammer, and still no change. She called me
> back later and said it finally started (the first time she said it started
> hard clicking then slow turn then start) and then 2 times after with no
> problem. She said after she would shut the engine off and turn the key to
> off, she hears a "click" sound from around the emergency pedal location.
>
> I believe the battery is over 4 years old, but to me it doesn't make sense
> that it could be dead 1 minute and the next have full power (as it did the
> first time this happened). I suspected the battery at first, but after I
> drove it for several days on my own, I didn't notice any problems.
>



  #4  
Old October 19th 04, 11:59 PM
techdrive
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

It is possible that there is corrosion on your battery terminals and/or
battery posts. Tapping on these may sometimes temporarily fix the problem
but it will recur. You should get a battery terminal cleaner that has wire
brushes for cleaning both the posts and the inside of the terminals and,
once cleaned use antioxidant grease for battery terminals when hooking
back up.
You can test to see if indeed the connections or the battery is at fault
if you have a voltmeter or multimeter. While the van is acting up(and this
is maybe the hardest part, hold the probes to the battery posts, NOT the
terminals of the van and watch the voltage. The idea is to monitor the
battery DIRECTLY and not through the terminals. Have your wife try to
crank it. If it does not crank and the voltage remains above 11 volts, you
have a connection problem due to corrosion, faulty cable or the like. If
the battery voltage drops way down when the van does not crank, the
battery is failing internally.

  #5  
Old October 19th 04, 11:59 PM
techdrive
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

It is possible that there is corrosion on your battery terminals and/or
battery posts. Tapping on these may sometimes temporarily fix the problem
but it will recur. You should get a battery terminal cleaner that has wire
brushes for cleaning both the posts and the inside of the terminals and,
once cleaned use antioxidant grease for battery terminals when hooking
back up.
You can test to see if indeed the connections or the battery is at fault
if you have a voltmeter or multimeter. While the van is acting up(and this
is maybe the hardest part, hold the probes to the battery posts, NOT the
terminals of the van and watch the voltage. The idea is to monitor the
battery DIRECTLY and not through the terminals. Have your wife try to
crank it. If it does not crank and the voltage remains above 11 volts, you
have a connection problem due to corrosion, faulty cable or the like. If
the battery voltage drops way down when the van does not crank, the
battery is failing internally.

  #6  
Old October 20th 04, 12:12 AM
techdrive
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

It is possible that there is corrosion on your battery terminals and/or
battery posts. Tapping on these may sometimes temporarily fix the problem
but it will recur. You should get a battery terminal cleaner that has wire
brushes for cleaning both the posts and the inside of the terminals and,
once cleaned use antioxidant grease for battery terminals when hooking
back up.
You can test to see if indeed the connections or the battery is at fault
if you have a voltmeter or multimeter. While the van is acting up(and this
is maybe the hardest part, hold the probes to the battery posts, NOT the
terminals of the van and watch the voltage. The idea is to monitor the
battery DIRECTLY and not through the terminals. Have your wife try to
crank it. If it does not crank and the voltage remains above 11 volts, you
have a connection problem due to corrosion, faulty cable or the like. If
the battery voltage drops way down when the van does not crank, the
battery is failing internally.

  #7  
Old October 20th 04, 12:12 AM
techdrive
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

It is possible that there is corrosion on your battery terminals and/or
battery posts. Tapping on these may sometimes temporarily fix the problem
but it will recur. You should get a battery terminal cleaner that has wire
brushes for cleaning both the posts and the inside of the terminals and,
once cleaned use antioxidant grease for battery terminals when hooking
back up.
You can test to see if indeed the connections or the battery is at fault
if you have a voltmeter or multimeter. While the van is acting up(and this
is maybe the hardest part, hold the probes to the battery posts, NOT the
terminals of the van and watch the voltage. The idea is to monitor the
battery DIRECTLY and not through the terminals. Have your wife try to
crank it. If it does not crank and the voltage remains above 11 volts, you
have a connection problem due to corrosion, faulty cable or the like. If
the battery voltage drops way down when the van does not crank, the
battery is failing internally.

  #8  
Old October 20th 04, 12:26 AM
99trooper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks for the info... I have a brush for the posts and cables (just been
too busy lately to really do a good job- so I left it. Anyway, I will go
get a new battery tommorrow, and also clean my cables and see where it
takes me.

  #9  
Old October 20th 04, 12:26 AM
99trooper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks for the info... I have a brush for the posts and cables (just been
too busy lately to really do a good job- so I left it. Anyway, I will go
get a new battery tommorrow, and also clean my cables and see where it
takes me.

  #10  
Old October 20th 04, 12:46 AM
Janne S Sweden
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"99trooper" > wrote in message alkaboutautos.com>...
> Hi all,
>
> About 2 weeks ago, my wife stopped at a store for about 15 minutes and
> when she came out the T&C wouldn't start (she said no lights just dead).
> I had her open the hood and make sure the cables to the battery were
> secure by tugging on them a little (she said they were). She went back
> inside and the thing started right up. Since then she said it died once
> while making a slow turn, but started right up.
>
> I have checked the connections and all seem secure (including checking
> just last night). This morning she went to the garage to start it and
> nothing (she said the engine compartment light was flickering). While she
> had the hood open, I could hear over the phone, a light "chrip" type sound
> over the phone comming from under the hood. I had her tap the battery
> connections lightly with a hammer, and still no change. She called me
> back later and said it finally started (the first time she said it started
> hard clicking then slow turn then start) and then 2 times after with no
> problem. She said after she would shut the engine off and turn the key to
> off, she hears a "click" sound from around the emergency pedal location.
>
> I believe the battery is over 4 years old, but to me it doesn't make sense
> that it could be dead 1 minute and the next have full power (as it did the
> first time this happened). I suspected the battery at first, but after I
> drove it for several days on my own, I didn't notice any problems.



I have the same problem a few years ago on another type of car, but i
think it is a similar problem.
Check the ground connections..battery / starter / engine to body and
so on.
The battery is not to old,you have another two or three years before
it may cause problems, depending on how you treat it of course.
The sound may be a relay trying to close when you got a bad ground
connection.

//Janne
 




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