I have a 2004 T&C touring. Has everything besides the moonroof.

To start: I have replaced the alternator and battery. Replaced based on what dodge dealer said was wrong.

The problem: ABS, Traction Control, Brake lights come on, I loose climate control, and my overhead console which shows mpg l, direction and a bunch of other nifty options goes dead. All at once. It also SOMETIMES effects my auto lights. Either turns them off or leaves them on.

This was at the dealer and I paid to replace the alt and battery based on their opinion.

What could this be and where do I start. Thank you.

 

I have looked through this forum and gave not seen anyone with these symptoms.

 

You have replaced the battery presumably with a good one. You have replaced the alternator -- ok. But did you check the WHOLE circuit? Battery to chassis ground strap. Engine to chassis ground strap. You need to disconnect and file down to bright metal and reassemble with a little grease. Remember something like 400amps can flow through these connexions.
Then there are the notoriously positioned microprocessor boards right next to the acid fumes from the battery (they are vented even though sealed) also nicely positioned to get the heat from the engine. All the connectors need to be checked for subtle and invisible corrosion, there have been plenty instructions on here how to do right here on this website.
The least likely is chafed wiring, but is a possibility nontheless. Again there have been many pointers as to where to look on here.

Leedsman.

 

Thank you. I'll go through these connections after work today.

 

Ok. So battery connections are good. I don't see any grounds though. Could I get a picture of where they should be? This is the newest vehicle I have ever had so sorry for newbie questions.

 

Today it started randomly working. It worked for 6 hours and now small the lights and climate control stopped again. I really could use some assistance.

 

Follow the -ve terminal from the battery for a few inches, it is then bolted to the steel body. The engine ground strap is underneath I believe to the autobox. It's a pretty thick wire. Both ends of this ground strap should be good. This partic strap is there for the starter motor to work, the -ve return for the starter IS the engine/autobox, then the body, then the battery -ve ground strap. So there you have the whole starter circuit. ALL VEHICLES have a ground strap of this nature, they have to have otherwise there is no current return for the starter. It's the same for an electric railway system, all thermal expansion joints in the rails have a flexible copper wire across these joints, esp. the old 660volt dc systems such as London underground. In this case the rail becomes the +ve. return as the "live" rail is usually negative, as with the old trams. (Still in operation in Blackpool).
When cranking, the battery voltage is dragged down to about 9volt by the huge current draw of hundreds of amps by the starter motor. Not only does this render the microprocessor boards (which are connected to the same 12volt rail) much more vulnerable to glitches/sparks, the motor itself generates sparks from the commutator/brushes assy. This motor makes about 1 horse briefly, so the sparks are powerful.
So you can see why these ground straps are important to be maintained good, not just for cranking, but to keep glitches down to a minimum.
The starter motor is not the only source of glitches; the alternator, which is directly connected to the battery via its large heavy terminal (expect 50amps here) also can produce glitches. In the old days, alternators could produce "alternator whine" on radios and transmitter equipment. Alternator whine = glitches of a continuous nature. This could be a big problem on radio telephony in the australian outback, South Africa etc., where lives could depend on good communications. A weak signal could be easily drowned out by the alternator whine. Usually a number of capacitors were connected across the battery (which of course meant also the alternator) to reduce this whine. These capacitors never were less than about 100,000 microfarads.

Microprocessor boards always have at least some glitch protection inbuilt, whatever the application, but this will not stop high-power glitches. As a good rule of thumb, wherever there are electric sparks, there WILL be glitches generated.

Glitches are capricious by nature. Sometimes they can be almost impossible to track down. This has been found by both aircraft and car manufacturers. For the GV., subtle corrosion should also be checked on the boards near the battery on ANY connector, i.e. an electrical joint which is NOT soldered.

Your experience that the problem on your GV is intermittent, keeps fixing itself, is classic either glitches or bad electrical connectors/wiring somewhere. I can only make guesses from my experience for you as to the root cause of intermittency. You have to go through all the possibilities in turn. It IS time consuming. There is no "that's not working right so this will be faulty" as with mechanical matters.

Leedsman.