1994 Chevy Astro Battery Discharge/Vehicle Stops Running

MINIVANDAD

MEMBER
1994 CHEVROLET ASTRO
6 CYL
AWD
MANUAL
180,000 MILES

No problems electrically prior to this week. Was idling in van when noticed volt gauge drop below 12 and steadily drop over about 30 minutes until radio stopped and then van stopped running. Check all connections. Decided battery was old enough to be the culprit - changed it. That night and next morning van drove fine. Volt gauge showed 12/14v charged as one expected. After about 200 miles battery began discharging again until van stopped running. Ideas?

Thursday, September 18th, 2008 AT 4:11 PM

1 Reply

JDL

MECHANIC
16,098 POSTS

Looks like, you need to take a closer look at the charging system.

Do you have a charge lite as well as a volt meter on your dash? The volt-meter should never show less than 13 volts, with the engine running.

If you idle around town alot, with the accessories turned on, it is possible the demand can exceed alternator output. In this case, it would draw from the battery.

Do you have a voltmeter, can you take a reading across the battery posts, engine running and engine off. With the key and access off, across the battery posts should read 12.6 volts for a fully charged battery, a couple of 10ths one way or the other shouldn't matter. With the warm engine running at idle and all accessories turned on, I like to see as much over 13 volts as I can can get, the alternator output is somewhat limited at idle.

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Friday, September 19th, 2008 AT 10:49 AM