on my way to work my radio went completely out and the heater started getting lower while it was on high then the van died. tried to start it but got nothing but a real low clicking. it is not the battery as the headlights are bright and the dash lights are normal also. when i put the hazards on there is a low buzzing sound though. and it would not jump start.

 

Be sure your battery is good, the van needs 9.6 v to run properly, but the lights will still be some what bright. If you are sure the battery is ok then check all your battery terminal connections. Then check the aux fuse box/aux battery post under the hood just above the battery, look for corrosion, melted plastic, and any loose connections there as well. Follow you battery ground cable to the engine block and see if that is tight and in good shape.

 

This looks very much like a faulty battery, which lets the most unexpected defects and the most incredible.
in this case, because access and battery replacement is not easy, I should connect a good battery provisionally on the positive terminal, side of the fuse block and the negative to ground. trying to start. whether startup is OK try the accessories that had a problem.
Check voltage at each instant handling, engine off, the voltage should be 12.4 to 12.8 volts, running about 14 volts engine. voltage must be constant , and especially not to vary the pace of warning lights, for example.
then change the battery.

If the engine does not start and do not rotate, it is more complicated, first check the control crank relay, if not OK, ignition cranksense on the PCM, then the positive supply PCM.
but the problem described should not lead us far.
Friendly.

 

I bought a brand new battery and it ran fine. Until today. I have had no problems with the starter, and now it has died on me once and then started with a jump, and then ran fine until i got it home. I tried to start it after about an hour and it would not start. it wanted to though. then i got a jump and it started. There is a whining noise and it acts like it wants to idle down. I am thinking maybe the alternater???? Or something else of the sort. I do know the battery is fine though.

 

Start the van and take off the negative battery cable from the battery and see if it stays running if it dies then your alt is bad. You can also do this with a volt meter set to 12v dc but you would put the negative prong on the negative battery terminal and the positive prong on the back of the alt and you should get 13-14v if it working right

 

I do not understand much to your problem.

The positive battery is directly connected to the starter.
The negative battery must be connected to engine ground by a large cable.
Directory you can with a small wire to send a positive control on the starter solenoid.

This allows one to test whether the starter is functional.
and thus the battery connections and battery!


I just changed my starter brushes
poor "ground" can be good intermittently

 

so I now know it is not the battery or the alternater. the van ran with both the positive and the negative cables disconnected from the battery. Now it is still acting like there is a power problem though. when the radio works the headlights turn off and vice versa.
Sometimes it will start right up and other times it needs a jump. It is idling itsself up and down and there is a whining noise. This is driving me NUTS!!!! I have 4 children and really depend on this thing.....I am beginning to wonder if someone put a hex on it!!!

 

A bad alt. can put out 13 or 14 volts all day long, but not enough amps to properly run the car. How did you test the alt.? The battery cable "trick" from a previous poster is not a good test. Still sounds like a bad alt. to me.

 

Took it to autozone and it tested. There si nothing wrong with the battery, starter, or the alternater. There is however something definately wrong electrically. Just not sure. when the headlights are on which they are the automatic headlights, the clock on the radio does not display but there is sound coming from the radio. and then vice versa.

 

If possible , should be abolished automatic headlights function, I do not have that option on my vans , test whether with headlights controlled manually, the radio is still disrupted . I do not have wiring diagrams after 2001 , but it seems to me that the orders would come from BCM . BCM or something disrupts the supply is at fault. Test circuit headlights passing under the control relays . In the presence of the fault , the relay(s) should vibrate and you should hear . ( try to listen to vibrate after they locate . After seeing where this control is bad )

" Both the van ran with the positive and the negative cables disconnected from the battery . "
readers : Never this manipulation, the voltage is only under the control of the alternator regulator . If the voltage rises, the electronics can be destroyed : PCM BCM radio .... The battery allows for a smooth voltage and thus participates in the regulation .