How to change the alternator in a 2011-2019 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.6 Liter
So, given what happened to me yesterday, I decided to give you a little DIY knowledge. The alternator in my girlfriends Grand Caravan crapped the bed. So in this post, I’m gonna tell you how to replace the alternator in your Grand Caravan with the 3.6 liter Pentastar.
It’s important to note it will be essentially the same procedure changing the alternator in a Chrysler Town and Country. It will also be the same in a 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Chrysler Town & Country and Grand Caravan use the same 3.6 engine so parts are identical.
Yesterday while waiting in the pick up line for our twins at school, the girlfriends 2014 Grand Caravan started to act “weird”. Of course that’s her description, not mine. But here are some of the weird things that happened when the alternator on our ‘14 Grand caravan decided to die out of nowhere.
Luckily I was able to get an alternator from Parts Geek for less than half what they wanted at the local auto parts and that was with next day air shipping.
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Symptoms of a failing alternator in a Dodge Grand Caravan.
Naturally, as soon as the Caravan began showing symptoms of an issue, she called me. The first thing she noticed was that the “trac” light was coming on and off while idling at lights and stop signs.
Knowing that it has a bad wheel bearing, I thought the trac light could be caused by that. Of course that wouldn’t be the end of the symptoms on this day.
Soon after the trac light began to flicker, she noticed that the heater vents started to blow less air than usual. After that, the lights started to flicker and the engine began bogging down.
This is because the Grand Caravan was solely running on the battery with no help from the alternator to keep it charged. Once the battery drains, the vehicle will no longer start or run. Of course, the electrical accessories will also fail to operate.
Dodge products are also notorious for battery and electrical issues. All sorts of crazy symptoms can be caused by a bad battery or alternator in a Grand Caravan. Put simply, if a Dodge product does not have the proper juice, it will not run right.
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The first steps to removing the alternator from your Dodge Grand Caravan.
The first steps to removing and replacing the alternator in your Dodge Grand Caravan 3.6 is to obviously get out some tools you need. And get yourself a good headlight so you can see without using your hands. Next, take following steps to get the alternator out of your Grand Caravan.
- Remove the breather cover.
- Remove the power steering fluid reservoir and
- Remove the upper radiator hose that attaches to the thermostat housing and lastly remove the serpentine belt. Following these steps will allow you to get to the mounting bolts and wiring for the alternator. All of which are 1/2” nuts and bolt heads. This is very important to finding the easiest way to replace the alternator on your Grand Caravans 3.6 engine.
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The next step in removing the alternator from your Grand Caravan 3.6
After you remove the air breather, the power steering reservoir, the serpentine belt and the upper radiator hose, you’ll have to do some reaching to get to the three bolts holding the alternator in place. It’s easiest to use a serpentine belt tool, but it can be removed without it.
You will also have to unplug the connector and remove the nut holding the battery cable on. The alternator mounting bolts and electrical aren’t hard to get at, but wiggling it out of the engine will give you a hard time.
This is why there’s a final step to make the alternator easier to remove from the engine compartment.
(I recently had to replace the starter in her ‘14 Grand Caravan. You can read about that here.)
Final step to removing the alternator in your Dodge Caravan 3.6.
Removing the AC compressor and the attached hoses will be the next step in making it easier to remove the alternator. The reason for this is because once the AC compressor is out of the way, the alternator will slide over and literally fall out on to the ground.
It could get tricky during this step because the air conditioning system holds R134 which is harmful to the environment. It’s actually illegal for a professional tech to release R134 into the environment. You may need to stop by a local garage and have them evacuate the AC system in your Grand Caravan before removing the compressor. It’s still going to cost far less than having the alternator replaced.
Replacing the alternator is essentially the reverse process.
Once the AC compressor is removed or at least moved to the side, the alternator will be able to be pulled to the passenger side of the vehicle and then wiggled out the bottom.
Once this process is completed, you can work the alternator back up in its place and replace the mounting bolts followed by the electrical components. It may take some patience but it is very doable even for the DIY mechanic.
After you have replaced and adequately hooked up the new alternator in your Dodge Grand Caravan 3.6, you will be tasked with putting the AC compressor back in it’s place and hooking the Freon lines and electrical connector back up.
Don’t forget that once you remove the lines, you will lose your R-134A and the vehicle will have to be recharged.
The final task in reinstalling your alternator might be the trickiest.
The last major task involved in putting your Dodge Grand Caravan back together is reinstalling the serpentine belt. It’s not easy as the tensioner sits close to the firewall and especially from the ground, you will have a tight squeeze putting the belt on the pulleys correctly. If the belt is not installed correctly, you will shred it and all of the accessories will cease to work.
Once the belt is reinstalled it’s time to install the breather, power steering reservoir and upper radiator hose. Make sure to replace any fluids that were lost in the removal process.
The video below might be helpful as well in the process of changing your alternator at home.
How to Replace Alternator ‘11-‘19 Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country
Conclusion
Replacing the alternator in your Dodge Grand Caravan 3.6 can definitely be a DIY job with a little patience and the right tools.
Mainly you’re going to need a short and deep socket set, a couple screwdrivers, a pair of good pliers, a long 3/8 ratchet and a tiny bit of patience. Following this guide on how to replace the alternator on your 3.6 will absolutely make the job much easier.