thandy1

I will give the back story and then the problems...

Wife was driving our van, I was in the back passenger seat. Several lights on the dash starts flashing and the transmission goes to neutral. Pull off the road and cut the van off and I look it over and see nothing blaring so I try to restart it and it clicks. She knows someone in the area and the jump us off, still several lights on and transmission want come out of 1st gear. Got her to run get me a new battery and replaced it, fixed everything and it ran perfect. Stopped by the local parts store and had the alternator tested and it was bad. Looking at its location and the AC lines in the way to took it to and had it replaced. According to the mechanic he unhooked the battery but kept power going to the computer..

When picking it up the mechanic said I had to touch the key to the start button to get it to start, I assumed bad remote battery. Changed the battery and tried the other key and had the same issue. Then noticed the power doors would not open and the back gate would only open if the van is running. Last night after following my wife home I noticed that tail lights were out as well. All of this was working after the battery was replaced but not after the alternator. I assume something needs to be reset but I am not sure what nor how. Any ideas before I head to the dealership?

feels

I suspect loose battery terminal at the battery area. Try to tighten the screw at the battery post and ensure the bolts are not loose.

You can purchase a Bluetooth car battery monitor adapter that installs between the battery post, or a cigarette lighter USB charger that display the voltage. Both will give you the voltage anytime and tell you issue with the battery and alternator in future