Diagnosis for battery terminal wrongly fitted

Batteries are usually quite easy to change. Do this with the ignition OFF and the key in your pocket.
First take a good look at exactly which way around the battery is positioned. This helps avoid connecting the battery leads the wrong way around and 'Shorting' the battery.
Start by disconnecting the negative, (Black), lead. Next disconnect the positive, (Red), lead.
Across the top of the battery there is a metal bar held in place with a nut at each end, remove the nuts and lift this bar up and off. Lift out the old battery. You may need to wriggle the battery a small amount to get it out.
**NOTE** The battery is very heavy so be careful.
Lift the new battery into place making sure it is the same way around as the old battery. Check the battery terminals as there is often small plastic caps fitted to prevent accidental Shorting as the battery is stored for sale. Refit the metal cross bar on the top of battery, making sure you Don't touch the two battery terminals as you do this. Connect the Positive, (Red), cable to the '+' terminal and the negative, (black), cable to the '-' terminal. Insert the ignition key and turn it to the Ignition ON, Engine OFF position. Give the dashboard lights time to turn off. Finally turn the ignition key to check the vehicle starts.

DOUBLE CHECK that you have connected the battery the right way and haven't put the positive on the negative. This is sometimes a warning that you have the terminals the wrong way round. If the battery is fitted correctly check the fuses.

CHECK THE MARKINGS ON THE BATTERY + & - ARE GOING TO THE CORRECT TERMINALS

1. I assume this is a car battery so the first thing you do is to disconnect the vehicle cables from the battery terminals. The negative first and then the positive. The positive terminal is marked with a plus sign ...+ ... When refitting the cables to the
battery after it is charged you fit the positive cable to the positive battery terminal(+) first and fit the negative(-) last.

2. Now that the battery is unconnected from the vehicle you can fit the charging cables to the battery terminals. The charger you have should have 2 cables leading from it , a positive with a red plastic insulation on the clip and a negative cable probably with black insulation on the clip.The instructions with the charger will tell you in which order the cables are to be attached to the battery and the order you remove them. Each of the 2 cables has to be clipped onto the correct battery terminal. The positive cable(+) from the charger goes to the positive battery terminal (+)and the negative cable(-) from the charger goes to the negative battery terminal(-).

3. Once the cables from the charger are properly connected to the battery, you can plug in the charger and turn on the power.

4. Batteries generate explosive gasses when being charged and it only takes one small spark to ignite them. Don't reconnect the battery after charging for a half hour or so and make sure the area where you are charging is well ventilated.

Your charging system is not working correctly. Unlike most other vehicles, the alternator in yours does not have a built in regulator circuit. Some troubleshooting must be done to find the defective component. Most of this can be done with the vehicle still assembled.

First, check that you don't have a blown fusible link. In most newer cars, these will be in the underhood fuse panel, and look like giant fuses. If good, you will read very nearly zero volts and zero ohms when measuring between the positive battery terminal and the alternator output terminal. If either measurement doesn't read zero, find the loose connection, bad wire, or blown fusible link.

Next, check the ground connections to the engine, battery, and car body to make sure you don't have a bad wire or connection somewhere. Again, measure voltage and resistance between the negative battery terminal and all associated grounding locations. For a quickie test, you can rig a jumper cable between the battery negative terminal and the alternator case. If there is a spark when you make the connection, you have a bad ground somewhere.

If your battery is well connected to the alternator, the problem may lie in the control circuit. Most Chrysler alternators have two control wires that control the field coil. Some control the battery current and have constant ground supplied, and some have battery voltage applied and control the ground current. To test, disconnect the control connector and measure the voltage of both terminals with the ignition in the "off" and "run" positions. Make a chart of each terminal and its corresponding voltage.

Start the vehicle and measure both terminals again. If the terminals tend to be zero volts, except when the vehicle runs you have voltage on one terminal, you have a system where the computer controls battery voltage. If the terminals tend to be 12 volts when the ignition is on, then one terminal goes low when the engine runs, the computer controls ground current. If the voltages of one terminal change but not the other, this suggests a bad computer.

To do a go/no go test of the alternator unit, you can connect the control pins on the alternator with the control connector disconnected. Simply connect jumper wires to the two control terminals of the alternator. Connect one jumper to a known good ground, leaving the other jumper loose. Connect a voltmeter to the battery terminals or to the output wire on the alternator. Start the vehicle and briefly connect the second jumper wire to the positive battery terminal while watching the voltmeter. While the jumpers are both connected, the battery voltage should rise dramatically.If it doesn't, this suggests a bad alternator.

If all this sounds too complicated or dangerous, a good mechanic can perform a similar diagnosis in under an hour with definite results. Good luck.

make sure the starter is wired properly... you would be surprised how many people forget where the little wire from the solenoid goes.

If you indeed installed the positive battery cable last and the neg first you blew the computer possible, you will need a complete diagnosis.

Open the hood of your Venture and use a wrench to remove the retaining bolt on the negative battery terminal. Remove the negative battery cable from the terminal and set it aside.

2 Raise the front of the van with a jack and support it with a set of jack stands. Position the stands under the front suspension, making sure they are stable and then remove the jack.

3 Locate the starter motor on the front of the engine, working from under the van. Remove the retaining nuts from the terminals on the back of the starter solenoid with a socket and ratchet then label the wires with a piece of masking tape and a marker. Remove the wires and set them aside.

4 Remove the two mounting bolts from the starter with a socket and ratchet then lower the starter out of the engine compartment. Raise a new starter into place, install the mounting bolts and tighten them to 35 pound-feet with a torque wrench and socket.

5 Install the wiring connections on the terminals on the back of the solenoid, paying close attention to the label you placed on them when you removed them from the old starter. Install the retaining nuts on the two terminals and use a torque wrench and socket to torque the "S" terminal to 27 pound-inches and the "B" terminal to 89 pound-inches.

6 Raise the front of the van off the jack stands, remove the stands from under the van and set the van back on its wheels. Install the negative battery cable on the negative battery terminal and tighten the retaining bolt with a wrench.

Assuming you have a battery charger. Do not plug charger in until after it is connected.
1. Open hood & locate battery.
2. Identify the positive terminal of the battery (usyally has a red cover or red marking.
The battery has side terminals (not posts like nonGM batteries)
4. Connect the + red clamp the the positive terminal wiggle it a little to get good connection.
5. Connect the negative black clamp to the engine block, a handy bracket on engine or the negative terminal on the battery. DO NOT CONNECT TO ALTERNATOR
6. Be sure connections are secure.
7. Plug in charger it should show charging. Leave it over night
8. Before disconnecting charger disconnect power to the charger.

THE FUMES OF A BATTERY ARE EXPLOSIVE DO NOT USE FLAMES NEAR BATTERY
DO NOT ALLOW SPARKS NEAR BATTERY!

check the Battery connections, specaily earthing or ground which come from negative terminal from the battery how is fitted and where you fitted.