Chrysler Repair: 00 minivan: electrical system discharging, chrysler town and country, temperature gauge

Question
I have a 2000 Chrysler Town and Country 3.8L Limited.  I bought it used about 3 years ago.  I have replaced the radiator and the computer and had various other minor work done on it.  Recently, the van has started having trouble while idling.  If it idles for very long, the voltage light comes on and the electronics slowly die as the battery drains.  Often, this is accompanied by an increase in the temperature gauge above the normal running temp.  So far, this has not happened if I let the van sit in neutral while idling.  The weather since this has started has been uncharacteristically hot, into the 90's, I believe, on the day this started.

Answer
Hi Joshua,
The voltage light means that the voltage on the system is lower than the battery voltage, so the battery will discharge over time. It could be a shorting out of current or a failing of the generator. I would suggest that you try for fault codes using the ignition key:"on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less elapsed time. Then watch the odometer window of the instrument cluster to see if the mileage reading is replaced by a 4-digit number(s) preceded by a P. Let me know, if so, and we'll go from there.
Roland