Where is the altinator on the engine?

Look for a loose output wire and connection. If the connection is loose dnd making and braking contact, it will blow the alternator. Also check the alternator ground, making sure it is not making and braking contact. The ground is the attachment to the engine bracket. You may have to add a large black wire from the alternator to the engine frame.

there is no fuse or relay ,here is an easy way to check the alternator

start the van and the disconect the neg battery cable,if the engine dies its bad,it if stays running then turn on the head lights if it dies then its a weak alternator. one more tip have the auto parts place check the old one on the machine to make sure and also the new one before walk out with it. I know how much of a problem it is to change out on that van I have one. You dont want to have to do it twice. I have had bad ones right out of the box in the past. I have also had bad starters and master cylinders right out of box. just because its new or rebuilt does not mean it allways works. better to know before you leave the store even if they think you are nuts. They wont be there to help you put it in lol. Its not such a bad job once you get the belt and air breather tube off. then at least you can get two fingers in there.

the dashlights should go off when it starts , that should be normal .
sounds like your batterie is flat. try to jumpstart it or charge the batterie overnight and try to start it.
if it runs after that and the dashlights dont turn off it could be your altinator. use a multimeter, set it to 20 v and connect it to the batterie while the engine runs, it should get more than 13,5 v. if you dont have a multimeter go to aany carbatterieshop and ask them to test yout altinator. its free usually. also let them check your batterie.

Used parts such as starters and altinators don't last. It might **** but it sounds like you need to buy a new starter,altinator, and battery. Or just start with buying one at a time.

probrably lifter noise maybe a tensior pully only gm engines that have a timining belt is 80s to 90 2.0 and 91 to 97 3.4 dohc engines

the thermastat is located if your looking at the engine just below the exhaust manifold and altinator

two 10 mm bolts hold it in place i believe 10 mm might be 9 mm

make sure you dont damage the rubber gasket or buy a new one

Could be..... the batery is just used for starting, once the engine is running it pulls electric power from the altinator, if the altinator which also charges the batery, is not working power is pulled from the battery, and when the battery goes dead, the car does too. When the Car turns off, do you then need to jump it to start it? if so you could be pretty convinced that the altinator is the issue

The altinator could be failing.. It shouldnt coast too much to get it tested..

Electrical problems are usually process of elimination..

I would make sense to me to rule out the altinator first..

Hope this helps !!
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take a test meter to the altinator and see what the volts coming from the altinator are and if they are below 12 volts the replace the altinator if they are 12 or higher then take the batter out and have it checked to see if it has a dead cell in it

you need to have the altinator checked while under a load. if its checked with no load on it then it will test ok. in other words you have a altinator that is going bad.