Van Totally Dead !! Help

[daveydee]

Hello Everyone,i've Got At Real Tough One Here .... Van Working Perfectly Last Night. This Morning Went To Start It And No Power ( Similar To A Dead Battery) Then Immediately Heard A Funny Noise From Under The Dash At My Knees. Sort Of Like A Rapid Clicking Sound. It Sounded Lkikesomething Was Shorting Out. Put The Key In The Off Position And Still The Sound. Took The Key Out Of The Ignition And Still The Sound. Coincidently When This Clicking Stopped The Interior Lights Would Go Back On..... Any Ideas. I Did Have A Problem With The Flasher ?fuse? Under The Dash Last Week And Just Touched It And It Worked Fine Since.... Could There Have Been A Short In The Flasher And It Shorted Out The Battery Over Night ??? Anyone Have Any Ideas???

Thanks !!

[inafogg]

hello, have u checked anything.start by checking battery if its dead charge & recheck its possible the noises heard are from a low voltage.

[daveydee]

Thanks for the advice. Luckily I still have the warranty paper and receipt so I can just get a new one without even bothering testing.

[inafogg]

i'll assume you are talking about battery warranty.if it starts ok with the new battery make sure you check the charging system!!something caused the battery to go dead but could just be a bad battery.Good Luck & let us no

[RIP]

Easy way to verify you have a dead battery is to use jumper cables and jump start it with another car. If it cranks and starts, you have a battery issue. Could be the battery or corroded/loose connections.

You may have what's called a parasitic drain on the battery meaning something is "on" all the time that shouldn't be on. Could be associated with your turn signals and the flasher you touched.

[daveydee]

THANKS TO ALL!!!

I too was wondering about the battery being dead and for what reason. Put a new battery in and it started fine , also tested battery with a voltmeter and it was being charged by the alternator. About the possible drain, I ll monitor that over the next few hours to see if the voltage drops. Right now its about 12.3-12.4 volts and i'll see over the next few hours and first thing tomorrow morning .

THANKS TO ALL !!

[RIP]

You can test for a drain by disconnecting the negative battery cable, waiting 5 minutes, then connecting a dc ammeter in series between the disconnected cable and the negative battery post. Most multimeters have that function. Shouldn't read much higher than around 30 milliamps. Make sure everything is switched off, doors are closed and keys are out of the ignition. Higher than 30 milliamps? Pull fuses till the reading drops to normal. Whichever fuse creates the drop is the circuit creating the drain.

[daveydee]

""You can test for a drain by disconnecting the negative battery cable, waiting 5 minutes, then connecting a dc ammeter in series between the disconnected cable and the negative battery post.
THATS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE TO ME. I KNOW HOW TO USE A VOLTMETER FOR ONLY READING BATTERY VOLTAGE WITH OR WITHOUT ENGINE RUNNING

Anyways you may be onto something. I let the car sit for a couple of hours and checking the reading 12.5 volts. YEAH! Problem solved. However the wife took it out and said the signals were not working again . I figured no problem. I'll wiggle the flasher module like I did last week. Had the wife hit push in the flasher button on top of the steering column while I wiggled it .NOPE. Flasher module not working. Took it out to look at it and released the button on top. Put the flasher module back in and it starts clicking. NOW HERE IS WHAT I THINK..... The flasher button on top prob. got bounced out in some way and a time when the module was not working and this would create a drain on battery . CORRECT ???. I figure I may need a new "button" and prob a new module??? Sorry for the long post ..

[RIP]

Originally Posted by daveydee

I figured no problem. I'll wiggle the flasher module like I did last week. Had the wife hit push in the flasher button on top of the steering column while I wiggled it .NOPE. Flasher module not working. Took it out to look at it and released the button on top. Put the flasher module back in and it starts clicking. NOW HERE IS WHAT I THINK..... The flasher button on top prob. got bounced out in some way and a time when the module was not working and this would create a drain on battery . CORRECT ???. I figure I may need a new "button" and prob a new module??? Sorry for the long post ..

If you're saying the flasher module started clicking (and lights blinked?) without the flasher switch being depress then ya, could be. Of course you can check that out with a meter but...we won't go there.