>putting out enough juice (and it's really a guess because I don't know the
first thing about any of this).  Can >anyone tell me if there's a simple way to
test the output of the alternator without having to take it out and take >it to
a mechanic.  Can't I just test some wires while the van's running?  Any advice
would be appreciated as I >really am starting from scratch on this.

Hi Danny,

     There are others on the list who are much more qualified than I about this,
but since none have jumped in I'll tell you what I can. Put a multimeter across
your battery terminals while the engine is running. You should have a reading of
greater than 13 volts --- anything less and you're not going to end up with a
charged batttery. Since you've got the mulitmeter out anyway --- you could try
measuring the voltage stored in the battery(s) after you turn the engine off ---
and again when you go to start the van next time to see if you're getting a
noticeable drop. If you are then you've got a short somewhere that it draining
your batteries. In my Westy (an 84) there is a little switch on the LED panel
that turns the indicators off, if yours run all the time look for this switch
and turn them off. Though I doubt that they're your problem.

Good Luck,

Doug Alcock
'84 Westy
Toronto, Canada