2000 Dodge Grand Caravan New alternator and battery but the car wont keep a charge
Asked by Angela Oct 13, 2016 at 01:46 PM about the 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan LE AWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
we have a van and it wont keep a charge. We know nothing about cars and don't know if were being screwed by the shop. We do remember we had a radiator leak a while back and so we belive the engine parts got wet. I don't know if that could be a issue just wanted to be up front. Ive been told its electrical but wasn't told what. The shop said it would take hours to find out, $100 per hour. We don't have the funds for that.
What should we do?
4 Answers
Autozone, Advance, Oreilly's... will all test a battery for free if you haven't already gone to them and they may be able to test your alternator output. The simplest answers are: #1 - Bad battery. It's normal to replace a battery every 5-7 years. Also, If your battery is very weak and you jump start it, it takes more than a drive around the block to recharge fully. #2 -Your alternator could be bad. The alternator is responsible for creating the electric charge to operate the vehicle and recharge the battery. Simple for a shop to test either of these issues.
Any shop that quotes you $100 an hour for labor... walk out. That's crazy.
HI, We had the battery and alternator checked they both work. When we jump the car it wont stay charged, it dies almost immediately
I know I had an issue with my Dodge Ram. The battery went completely dead and after jumping the battery it would only run if I kept my foot on the gas. The shop said it's a computer thing. The car basically has to reprogram itself to run properly. It makes no sense but that's what it was. Jump it and keep it running until it didn't die anymore. Whatever your issue is, no shop should charge that kind of money just to troubleshoot. One other common issue is with cars that have a security chip in the ignition key. If the chip reader goes bad, the car may start but will die almost immediately. Normally a security light on the dash would flash as well.
