I hate DSMs! Electrical Problems. [Merged 2-9]

[NJGSX96]

Well the other day I went out and bought a new alternator and battery for my 1G. Of course the bolt for the alternator was in backwards and couldn't come out without removing the turbo/manifold/O2/exhaust, but thanks to my friend Phil and his Sawzall, that was a minor issue. Anyway, when I went to the parts store, they had a 75AMP and 65AMP. The 75AMP is for automatics, but was identical to the 65AMP, which was for manuals, so I went with the 75AMPer. Why not, right? Get it installed, everything plugged in, clean up the battery connections, install the new battery, fire it up, all good. This was Monday. Tonight after work I go back to the car and figure I'll add some goodies I got for my b-day while the car is down. About an hour later I have installed my nice new cockpit adjustable hallman MBC and I swap out my plug wires for the NGK wires I had on before since my Magnecors bit the dust... again. That is it. I do nothing else. Plug up the laptop, start the car, fire up TMO, log battery. 5 seconds into starting the car I hear a high pitched occillating whine and with it the lights are dimming and brightning. TMO battery log looks like I am logging O2 dipping to 11v and rising to 14.5v over and over. Finally steadies at 13.9v and the whine becomes constant, whih is coming from the alternator. I let it idle for 10 minutes. All looks good. I got out for a little test drive and as soon as I get to the bottom of my hill the log shows 12v and i can see the lights dim! Every time I come to a stop it dips to 11v and the dash lights for battery, coolant come on, then go off. I get back home as quick as I can, and park it. At this point the lights are all dim and the log shows 11.6v.

Is this for real? Is my alternator already f#cked up? In all my years of driving I have NEVER had to replace an alternator. is this common for them to die or come bad out of the box? Is the 75AMP not compatible with my car? Where the f#ck do I start to check now or is it just the alternator?

 

[crankbender]

Originally posted by Nautica985
no one ever anwsers these weird electrical problems. I am having a similar problem and this is really ####ing pissing me off. Is there any charts or anything that tells where all the relays and fuses are in DSM because all of the fuses and relays under the hood and in the fuse box are fine. maby there are hidden ones?

We do our best....relax man.

It isn't like you are paying us..... if ya want to donate though .

Take a look at the fusable links i posted about.

 

[Defiant]

Of all the buckets of troubles people bring us on the forums, probably the hardest to work on by email are electrical. If the obvious fixes don't correct them, then it's time to either pull parts and test them on the bench, or start tracing the circuit with a voltmeter.

Only so much we can do by psychic link.

 

[Enigma_Man]

Originally posted by Nautica985
no one ever anwsers these weird electrical problems. I am having a similar problem and this is really ####ing pissing me off. Is there any charts or anything that tells where all the relays and fuses are in DSM because all of the fuses and relays under the hood and in the fuse box are fine. maby there are hidden ones?

Yeah, there's plenty of charts, but nobody's going to want to help you if you cop an attitude. Nobody here gets paid to do this, we do it out of the kindness of our hearts.

I'm going to even give you advice, and tell you how to fix it:

FIND THE SHORT, OR LOOSE WIRE.

Happy hunting jerky.

-Jesse

 

[laserblue]

WAR !!

But anyway........ 'shorts' blow fuses and cook wires, 'opens' make stuff not work........ SO you probably have an 'open' connection. It may be that "fusable link", but I'm not sure.
---------------
What's happening is.....
•By turning the key to 'on', voltage is going 'backwards' thru some wiring, and supplying 12 volts to all the stuff, sort of "bypassing" the break. Now your job it to find that break!!!!
---OR---
•I seems that your battery is not 'connecting' to the electrical system when the engine is not running [When the alternator isn't making voltage, nottin' goin' happen!!].
---------------
My local dealer lets me look thru service manuals whenever I want [yes, really]. Maybe you can find a dealership with an equally nice staff.

Good luck.... I hope that my dribble doesn't confuse you!

 

[Nautica985]

Hey guys I didn’t mean to sound like a dick or anything but these electrical problems are just really pissing me off. The problem is the 12v constant and accessory wire in the radio wire harness and temperature sensor are only getting between .20-.40 volts. The power door locks, dome lights and key buzzer also do not work. None of the fuses in the fuse box by the drivers kick panel or under the hood are blown. Could it possibly be a relay or the ECU? Where do I go from here?

I appreciate all your help

 

[92redman]

Did you check the fusible links like stated above? Do you have a voltmeter and really know how to use it? Did you hook a DVOM accross a fusible link or fuse you should essentially get 0volts, if you get high voltage it is open? Have you checked the fuses that are in the little box hooked to the B+ terminal(there is one in here that will cause pretty much your exact problem)?

 

[Nautica985]

the multimeter is set right, it reads 12.00+ volts at the battery.I checked all the fuses with a continuity test(i think thats whats its called, where you hook the meter up to the fuse and it beeps if its good). the battery + termial is the fusible links right? they are ok. i dont even know wtf a DVOM is.


Thanks

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by Nautica985
i dont even know wtf a DVOM is.

Neither did we for the first six months of working on cars.

(well, I didn't for the first six years, because the digital stuff was only in some labs, not anyplace a mechanic would ever see one. And they were thousands of dollars. Where ARE all the old Simpson 260s?)

It's a Digital Volt, Ohm, Milliampere meter. Sears has a really nice one on sale for ten bucks, through Saturday.



Ten goddamned bucks. Bless progress.

 

[crankbender]

Simpsons rule for diagnosing electrical problems. The current developed by a digital MM is so low that it doesn't show you bad connections, corrosion, partially blown fuses, cold solder joints, etc. But a simpson on the other hand!!!!

We still use them in the military (or did I am out now) for really tricky problems.


The fusable links (on a 1g) are located in the fuse box under the hood...but you have to take them out with a screw driver/wrench. The big 80 amp one in the corner caused this exact problem for me.

It is labeled ALT i believe.

 

[92redman]

Like crankbender said, the fusible links are not on the batterypost. They are in the fuse box.

Little info on fusible links:
Fusible links are short lengths of wire that are in series with the circuit they are protecting(just like a fuse). The wires are usually 4 gauges smaller than the wires of the circuit they are protecting. By being smaller than the wires they are protecting, when you get a high current through them, they burn open just like a fuse.
Fusible links were used all the time for high current circuits, but sometimes would cause underhood fires from the heat they produced when burning open. Today, very few, if any, fusible links are used in automobiles.

Now back to testing them... Once you have located them, you have a couple options to test them.

The first would be to probe each end of the link with a t-pin and measure the voltage(warning, don't put your meter on resistance unless you have disconnected the battery or you won't get an accurate reading and you could damage the meter or blow a fuse in it). Now if you get a high voltage, let's say close to battery voltage, then you have an open in the wire. If you have a very low voltage(close to 0), then it is fine.

On the above method, if you aren't sure about your readings, disconnect the battery and do the same thing checking resistance in the link instead of voltage drop.

Method 2 would be to pull the wires out and measure the resistance to see if you have continuity(be sure to have the battery disconnected). High resistance or "OL" or "Out of Range" means you have a bad link. Low resistance(close to 0) means it is fine)

Hope that makes sense because like it was mentioned earlier, it is HARD to diagnose electrical problems online.

 

[G2Talon_TSi_AWD]

I had some welding done on my car and afterwards i couldnt roll up the wondows or unlock the doors using the power locks, my fan for my a/c didnt work, my radio didnt work, and my turbo timer wouldnt work..now it works but clicks on and off if i turn on a turn signal, now my car will not even start...sounds to me like an ecu problem maybe due to a shortage from welding....does this sound right if my car wasn't properly grounded?

 

[luv2rallye]

Your question sounds very probable. Electric welding can fry electronics (like ECU and radio). Always disconnect the battery positive and ground the welder to the frame properly before welding. Check your fuses but be prepared for a fryed ECU.

 

[91GSTBro]

My car has been overcharging the battery for a little while if i drive for more than 10 minutes acid boils out and it smells like rotten eggs from the gas. It started doing this after one night of driving when my high beams blew. I went to turn them on and it blew them out after getting really bright. If i put a new pair in it still blows them just the high beams. My lights inside and out get dim when im at rest and then get bright again usually when i give it gas but they sometimes get bright when im sitting still. Had the alternator tested and it was fine. Now my isc seems to be messed up to and i have a very irratic idle that that goes from 1000 to 1500 very roughly but only when its in park or N. My dad doesnt believe in going to mechanics unless its his last resort because he used to be one so any thought would help.

 

[Korndogg]

check the voltage with a(n accurate) multimeter as you rev the engine up to higher RPMs.. should be between 12V and 14.5-15V no matter where the rpms...
also, with the battery "boiling".. it's possible that something is shorted... but i don't know why it would only do that while driving..

 

[91GSTBro]

thanks ill try to check if its a short

 

[spyder dst]

check your voltage regulator

 

[T5Kthrasher]

Just needed to clean off the posts/terminals.. every thing is workin now

 

[buckeyecrazy]

well ill start the car and while it running ill turn the a/c on and it idles rougher, then i'll depress the brake and lose more idle and the dash light dim. if anyone could help that would greatly be appreciated

 

[RoasT BeeF]

Sounds like a possible alternator or battery. Get a volt meter and test it.

 

[Steber]

Yeah, sounds like an alternator problem..

do you have power windows? try putting it down while the car is running, does it make everything dim? if so it sounds to me like your alternator may be going bad.

 

[buckeyecrazy]

yes the dash lights do dim when putting the power windows down. how much do alternators usually run?

 

[SVision]

And they were thousands of dollars. Where ARE all the old Simpson 260s?)

They were 48 dollars back in '66. Still available today for 194 dollars.

 

[Robster]

Okay, so I thought my misfiring problems originated from possible leaking capacitors in the ECU, so I took that out and took it apart and replaced them. Put it all back together, same problem. I have two relays that click for some reason, the one on the firewall directly behind the throttle body. As well as the one behind the interior panel on the drivers side which looks like it might have something to do with the seatbelts. My battery is also going dead very quickly, so I don't really know what is giong on, and what are those two relays for. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[rjgeier]

Have you tried borrowing an ecu?

 

[MattnGsx]

sounds like a bad relay maybe, or just a bad ground... Have you added any electrical devices (radio, tt timer, afc... ya de ya da)

My friend had a similar issure when his coilpack was burnt out. His battery constintley dies, nevere started unless jumped sometimes. Eventually his car didn't start again, and we thought it was the altenator, which we replaed but didn't fix the issue. We eventually worked are way down and found out it was spark related, traced it back to the coilpack, replaced and everything seemed to work pretty smooth.

Damn DSM's, causing headaches since 1989.