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Hi everyone,
This is my first post here and I’m very excited to be part of the ETCG community. Like many of you I found Eric’s videos on YouTube and they have helped me immensely! I’m hoping somebody might be able to chime in tonight to the problem I’m having with my van.
I have a 1979 1/2 ton Dodge B100 van with an up-to-now reliable battery that’s a few years old. This past August I took ‘er out to the Post Office on one of the hottest days of the year – it must’ve been 100 degrees with 100% humidity, oy! When I got back to the van, I tried starting it and it made a real funky grinding sound. Me getting delirious with heatstroke, I tried to crank it again it the van started. As I got home a few minutes later and parked, I saw smoke coming out of the hood. It turned out it was actually coolant burning up, as my radiator cap had blown off right after I parked.
That entire day was a real buzzkill so I parked my van, replaced the radiator cap and didn’t bother to re-approach it until tonight.
The battery was naturally dead, so I got a jump. It took a few tries but the van roared to life. I revved it and let it run for about 15 minutes, then drove for about another 15. I got back home, turned off the van and tried again. Nothing but clicks (similar to the “Not Enough Juice” battery click I get on my motorcycle sometimes). Well, I got another jump and true to form, the van roared to life, this time instantly. Again, I let it run for about 20-25 minutes before killing it. Much to my frustration, the van did not start by itself for the second time. Repeat parking of van in apartment complex parking lot.
Do you think these two issues are inter-related, or did my van just decide to have a meltdown on that hot August day (can’t say I blame it) and now I have a bad battery from it sitting for three months?
I have also been reading that it might be an alternator, starter, or even a simple terminal corrosion problem but everything looks pretty decent in the connection department, although I will probably do another once-over in addition to bringing it to Auto Zone tomorrow for a battery and alternator test.
Looking forward to listening to anybody’s insight or experience on this!
Lindsey
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Welcome to ETCG.
First you need to check the battery condition. with a full charge you want to load test the battery ( any parts store can do this for you ) if the battery checks good then check your batt cables from batt to starter and also the ground cable. would not hurt to test the alternator ( this won’t cause your no start but a bad alt won’t be very helpful for the batt ) use a volt meter and test for voltage at the batt terminals with van running ( should be 14-15 volts ) with a good batt and still a prob ( after cable inspection ) then possible the starter is on its way out. a parts store can test it for you if you pull it . keep us posted on your findings.
Thanks DioFan. I appreciate the quick response! The guys at my AutoZone are usually pretty good with their testing but I like going in prepared. Not to mention it’s their job to sell parts, LOL. Will keep you updated.
Also, keep in mind the question, why did your battery die? In all probability, it’s just an old battery. They go bad sometimes, but if they are deeply discharged, sometimes they can’t be restored. Like DioFan said, definitely check the alternator, too. AutoZone should be able to do that right after the battery load test. Because if your alternator is out, you’re running on the reserve capacity of the battery.
And I never rule out the possibility of a battery draw, especially with an older vehicle which may have bad grounds or loose connections. If your van was sitting for a while with a low-amp drain, it’ll suck the life out of your battery pretty quickly.
Good luck.
Hi Shiryou,
I’ve always owned second-hand vehicles with their batteries so I’m used to them crapping out on me after 2 or 3 months of non-use. 🙂
Also when you say battery draw — that’s the same as a parasitic draw, right? Sorry, I’m still very new. And that means that the power is not being transferred in full because of a bad/loose connection?
Thanks also for your response to my original posting.
Lindsey
First, I love the pic of your van. As many have pointed out, check the battery first. I have a concern however and that’s the coolant leak/radiator cap problem. One thing engines don’t like is to be overheated. When they get hot, the parts inside get bigger and at some point they can get so big that they swell up and seize. If this happened to your van it’s bad news and might explain the problems you’re having.
Once you get it running again, I’d recommend you bleed the air from the cooling system and check for leaks. Here’s a video how to bleed the cooling system. For more information, check out the link for the article below it.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats
Keep us posted.
Hi Eric,
Thank you for the video – it did come in handy when it came time to refilling with coolant. I actually had two dead mice in the reservoir that snuck in through an insecure cap, so that was fun, LOL. Coolant preserves the little buggers so nicely! Anyway, my reply is a little late but I did get the battery & alternator tested out, and the battery was beyond revive-able. It had actually been kicking out the jams since 2006 so it was definitely overdue for a replacement. I just put in a new battery, no less than 1000 CAs and the van has been running beautifully. Thanks again, -Lindsey
Thank you to everybody who’s helped me with this. It’s been a few weeks, but I still wanted to write and update. It turned out to be the simplest of the problems, an old battery that’s beyond its years. It was an EverStart they don’t even offer in my area, 1000 CAs/875 CCAs “North” (N) designation, and my novice self bought the wrong one, with significantly less juicing power (750/600). The van turned over but wouldn’t start, and they next day I realized what I’d done. Proceed to purchasing another new battery. Sure enough, once I slipped the new battery on the terminals, my van started RIGHT up. I also replaced the coolant temperature sending unit and am getting proper readings on my instrument panel. Van runs like a damn champ (or at least I’m fooling myself into believing it, LOL.) Thanks again everybody, it feels great to be back on the road! banana:
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