Automotive

Grand Caravan - lights auto off?

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  • Jul 28th, 2018 3:47 pm
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Dec 8, 2010
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Grand Caravan - lights auto off?

I foolishly left my van's lights on for, I think, the last couple of days. I only noticed when I opened the tailgate this morning and saw the license plate lights were on. I don't think, though, that the battery is flat. I immediately put my charger on the battery - didn't want to start it and turn it off again if the battery was low. Remote locks worked, etc.

Does anyone know if the main lights turn themselves off after a while, if the van is off and the doors locked?

This is a base level van, CVP. Lights were in the 'on' position. Just wondering if I've discharged the battery significantly or not. Now - this van doesn't get driven much - so I have a solar trickle charger plugged in all the time too. But I am guessing that if the lights did NOT turn themselves off, the thing would be fully dead with the lights on overnight. I'm pretty sure I stuck my head out the door and would've seen if the main lights were on, too...

Thanks!
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Jul 21, 2008
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daverobev wrote: I foolishly left my van's lights on for, I think, the last couple of days. I only noticed when I opened the tailgate this morning and saw the license plate lights were on. I don't think, though, that the battery is flat. I immediately put my charger on the battery - didn't want to start it and turn it off again if the battery was low. Remote locks worked, etc.

Does anyone know if the main lights turn themselves off after a while, if the van is off and the doors locked?

This is a base level van, CVP. Lights were in the 'on' position. Just wondering if I've discharged the battery significantly or not. Now - this van doesn't get driven much - so I have a solar trickle charger plugged in all the time too. But I am guessing that if the lights did NOT turn themselves off, the thing would be fully dead with the lights on overnight. I'm pretty sure I stuck my head out the door and would've seen if the main lights were on, too...

Thanks!
The CVP trim level doesn't come with an AUTO position. Its either ON or OFF. So if you left the lights on and closed all the doors, the lights will stay on indefinitely. The thing that saved your battery was your solar charger!
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Slono wrote: The CVP trim level doesn't come with an AUTO position. Its either ON or OFF. So if you left the lights on and closed all the doors, the lights will stay on indefinitely. The thing that saved your battery was your solar charger!
No I know there is no AUTO. Just wondering if there is an 'idiot' timer that turns them off after half an hour or something, to prevent the battery being drained.
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daverobev wrote: No I know there is no AUTO. Just wondering if there is an 'idiot' timer that turns them off after half an hour or something, to prevent the battery being drained.
Ah, ok. Sorry not sure about that one... though it would be great if it had some sort of safety shut off if the battery drops below a certain voltage. I somehow doubt, however, that Dodge would have such a feature in a budget vehicle.
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daverobev wrote: No I know there is no AUTO. Just wondering if there is an 'idiot' timer that turns them off after half an hour or something, to prevent the battery being drained.
Some Chrysler products have "battery saver" mode. You'll have to look in the owners manual. There's usually an idiot light on the dash that tells you when the mode has triggered.
Last edited by l69norm on Jul 28th, 2018 1:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Nov 13, 2012
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I believe there is some sort of feature to kill the lights. The interior lights for sure. My kids have left the van sliding doors open and I find the lights off and everything working fine in the morning.

As far as the exterior lights go, I think they will turn off between 2 and 5 minutes after the engine is turned off. Give it a try... it’s a pretty short wait to get your answer ;-)
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You didn't mention the year
But IIRC as of 3rd-4th gen Caravans had low voltage cut off protection built in.

I don't think they ever removed that feature since it one of the number one pet peeves of owners of caravans were kids leaving lights on.
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Thanks all - the lights do in fact turn themselves off after ~7 minutes or so. Door chime doesn't go off either.

Battery voltage still seems low after being on the trickle charger for a few hours. The battery ALWAYS seems low though, so I don't know (that's why I bought the solar charger in the first place - to try and keep the voltage up).

It's never not started so I'm not worrying. But I have plugged it back in to the trickle charger.

Edit: It's a 2016, btw. There is no actual manual, just a DVD, IIRC.

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