Engine starts but dies when i trun on the headlights

2008 Grand Caravan 3.8 SXT
car stalled driving, or starter dead 6am,

IF runs is the Charge/battery/gen , cluster lamp off
1: the batter lugs clean and tight, first.
2: fuses good
3: stater motor dead/ (silent, clicks , chatters or?)
HEad lamps are first
they work even no key near the car they work even engine missing.
so when HL fails the battery is dead
no battery ever lasted 15 years, is it?
my wild guess is this is battery #2nd one failure day!
died at 6/7 years now again. ( common as nails)
or alternator is/was dead, and now the battery is dead
or just DISCHARGED

4: so call AAA TOW AND ASK FOR A JUMP
OR BUY YOUR OWN JUMPER CABLES AND JUMP START IT/
OR CALL MOBILE AUTO TECHS. YP.COM

ONCE STARTED WE CHECK THE ALTERNATOR NEXT.
OR IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN FAST.

MOST FOLKS JUST DO #4

gee the battery may have died due to alternator is dead
and if true will repeat endless.
the BCM goes nuts below, 10vdc, and is normal that
battery is 12.6vdc charged.
and 13-15vdc engine running,s
so charge the battery backup, (a tool)
chevy

Sounds like your alternators dead with the car running take the positive lead off the battery ifbit dies alternator is bad

XL-7 (dash 7?)
"engine not starting" sure... but that is step 2, not 1.
but you failed to say does it crank robustly
yes./no?
if NO, those silly dash messages are a waste of time.

ever herd of jumper cable starts, or calling AAA and asking the man do jump start your dead battery?
are headlights dim?
charge your dead battery with a charger?
or replace it with borrowed charged battery?
or if dischanged, and you charge it and it starts now,does the alternator work> and give you, 13.3v to 15v battery voltage
no? then dont drive too far or this will strand you. as battery dies again,



is the battery good, 12.6vdc rested and 11v min, cranking?
if the battery gets too weak, it cranks too slow and voltage falls too much and the ECU/PCM/BCM (brains) will fail and dump lots of codes.
one code is low battery.
the FSM book covers all code, buy one or look at alldata.com?

0101 =
Lost Communication With TCM 0073 (can-bus network failure)
The module setting the DTC has attempted to establish communications on the serial data circuits more than 3 times. BCM, DRR, HVSM, PPS, PSCM, Radio, RCDLR, ROS, RSA

engine not starting
but you failed to say does it crank robustly
yes./no
if NO, those silly dash messages a waste of time.

ever herd of jumper cable starts, or calling AAA and asking the man do jump start your dead battery?
are headlights dim?

battery is dead (discharge)
the engine will not run with low battery,
cause by 3 things.
1: bad battery
2: bad change system.
3: phantom drains.
a volt meter for $7.88 at walfart solves this riddle, ask

Check to make sure the power lead from the alternator to the battery has a good connection. Sometimes the connectors get corroded, or the wire separates inside the insulation. You can check the wire for continuity with an Ohm meter...make sure to disconnect the wire at both ends when you use the Ohm meter.
Make sure the battery has a good clean ground. Make sure the alternator is grounded to the engine and the engine ground strap is intact and has clean grounds on both the engine and frame. Test the alternator with the engine running using a voltmeter across the battery. You should read 13.5 to 14.7 volts. If the alternator is not charging the battery will go dead under normal operation. If you don't get the correct charging voltage either your connections are bad or the alternator is bad.

Sound like a starter go to bad or died. You can do a few tests to diagnose a starting system problem without any tools or measuring equipment. Turn on the headlights and start cranking. If lights go out, you probably have a poor battery cable connection that is impeeding the flow of current. Start checking battery posts and battery cables for tightness and corrosion. A very thin film of oxide between the terminal and cable clamp can choke off most of current. Clean battery posts and cable terminals. Make sure all connections are tight. Also check connections to the starter and solenoid and engine-to-chassis grounding cables.
If headlights continue to shine brightly and nothing happens, voltage is probably not reaching the starter. Usual suspects here include a problem with the park/neutral or ignition circuit switches.
If lights go dim and the cranking action is sluggish, first suspect a low battery.

Starting problems especially in cold weather on a system that worked well last summer can often be traced to a weak battery. Sub-zero temperatures can cut a battery's amperage output by more than half. Check out the battery condition. If the battery checks out okay, look for a locked or dragging starter, a starter with high internal resistance, worn brushes or open circuits in starter's windings or armature. Additional details in this link: how_to_test_a_starter_motor.

Other posibilitie, the ignition switch.

Keep us updated.

sounds like a dead battery, have battery tested or trun on headlights if you have bright headlights then its not battery, check connections and starter it may be bad start there, good luck.

it sounds like to me the battery is dead. a way to test that is to trun the headlights on and see if the headlights dim if they do it has a weak charge

check for any short circuit..it maybe drawing power from somewhere making d vehicle to lose voltage in the battery