1997 Chevy Astro

MYNAMEWASTOOKEN

MEMBER
1997 CHEVROLET ASTRO
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
137,051 MILES

Sometimes I will be driveing and the van will die, the last couple times it happened I looked at the guages and everything is "off" but if I put it in neutral in time and tap the gas pedal evrything comes back on and stays running (if i'm not quick enough then I have to restart it but it starts with no problem)
i have had the alternater and battery checked at autozone, they gave me a print out and it said everything was fine except battery was a little week. I have replaced the alternator 2 x's in the last 3 years.
sometimes the dash electrical guage jumps but stays between 13.5 - 14.5. I have seen it drop down way low a few times but then comes right back up to normal. Could this be caused by a short somewhere, I just think the alternater should last more than 1 year so something else could be wrong. Any help would be appreciated cause it never does this when a mechanic is looking at it. Im lost here

1 Reply

TECHMAN1

MEMBER
82 POSTS

Astro's have a wire from the positive side of the battery up to a "junction block" that has 4 or 5 wires all on the same bolt. Check to see if it is rusty. You can wet all these ring connectors with motor oil and the bolt too. The oil film will keep oxygen off of the metal and it won't rust. The oil cannot cause a short. People think I'm nuts, but I totally wet battery terminals and the cables when I replace a battery. The oil may collect dust, but after 5 years, you don't get that powdery corrosion, because oxygen cannot get to the metal. If you don't keep a quart of oil around, just pull the dipstick, rub you fingers on it and put the oil film on the connections. You can't put too much. You could dump a whole quart on the battery and let it flood out from under the car and you would not hurt anything.