Well, I've been driving the van for the past couple of days with no issues... Yesterday the wipers didn't work when I drove to work in the morning but they started working on the way home!
The voltage has been holding steady between 14.5 to 15 volts! I had mentioned before that having the blower on and lights was bringing the voltage down to 10.5!!! With that bypass in, the voltage has been steady at 14.5 volts! The voltage did drop for a bit at idle with the blower and lights but went back up in drive.... Maybe it has nothing to do with the overcharging problem but thought I'd mention it anyway...
I'll be back in a few days to post my findings in the wiring!
Its not uncommon to have the charging voltage, drop while the motor is at an idle while in gear, if there are a lot of things drawing power (the blower motor, the lights, the radio, and any other electrical device connected to the van is pulling power from the battery). The motor RPMs are probably not turning the alternator quite fast enough to put out enough voltage to cover what is being drawn out of the battery. As son as the rpm increases, the voltage should jump up. Sometimes a poor connection between the battery posts and the battery cables can be the cause of this voltage drop, those battery post to cable connections have to be clean, shiny, and tight. Often times its just a matter of a low idle rpm. As long as its not dramatically dropping and returns to a charging condition as soon as the vehicle is moving again, I wouldn't be too much concern over it, but do make sure the battery post to cable connections are clean and tight.
