Randy 98 Dodge
04-18-2009, 11:44 AM
:help: On our 98 Dodge Caravan AWD LE, recently battery lite came on when coming back from a trip. We were able to drive it about 60 miles & made it home. The next day, we installed a rebuilt alternator. The day after that, the battery lite was on again. We drove it for 2 days with the battery lite on. On the way home at nite, the vehicle started losing lites, the engine was bucking, the tranny seemed like it would kick out of gear; it seemed it stayed in low/1st gear but the rpms would go to 4000, but the tranny didn't seem "kicked" in.
Vehicle died half way home with no electrical power. Jumped the battery with another vehicle & charged it for 15 minutes. Got the vehicle home. Charged the battery overnight, drove the vehicle into town the next day; again in 1st gear the whole way: it wouldn't shift at all into another gear. Removed rebuilt alternator, had it tested & it was fine. Reinstalled alternator, and charging/battery lite was out. Transmission fluid seemed burned, smelled funny & was dark colored. Did not flush but drained & refilled transmission 3 times, installing new ATF4, gasket & filter. Transmission operates normally until around 45 mph, then drops down to low again, runs hot, rpms wind up as if it's not in gear.
Is the transmission problem related to the alternator, or is it just unfortunate coincidence they both happened at once. Also, do you believe the transmission is toast, or are there other external parts we could try to replace to fix this problem? Thanks for your help!!
Vehicle died half way home with no electrical power. Jumped the battery with another vehicle & charged it for 15 minutes. Got the vehicle home. Charged the battery overnight, drove the vehicle into town the next day; again in 1st gear the whole way: it wouldn't shift at all into another gear. Removed rebuilt alternator, had it tested & it was fine. Reinstalled alternator, and charging/battery lite was out. Transmission fluid seemed burned, smelled funny & was dark colored. Did not flush but drained & refilled transmission 3 times, installing new ATF4, gasket & filter. Transmission operates normally until around 45 mph, then drops down to low again, runs hot, rpms wind up as if it's not in gear.
Is the transmission problem related to the alternator, or is it just unfortunate coincidence they both happened at once. Also, do you believe the transmission is toast, or are there other external parts we could try to replace to fix this problem? Thanks for your help!!