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HELP! Electrical gremlins

Joined
8 April 2003
Messages
354
Location
Indianapolis, IN
SYMPTOMS:

1. Brake lamp warning light on dash, only outermost taillights seems to be working others at least very dim, light on spoiler very bright as if brakes being applied.
2. Side marker lights very dim with headlights on, headlights off normal brightness.
3. Radio antenna goes up and down randomly and slowly regardless of radio status.
4. Radio display blinking off and on in sync to turn signal.
probably some others I'm forgetting.....

RECENT HISTORY:

Battery was dead wed. evening after I got home, car had been sitting for 5 days. I jumped it using the fuse box as advised in the owners manual. After got it running realized I left the interior lights on when I was removing the cell phone last week. Let it idle while I washed it and got gas to recharge the battery, probably an hour or so total. On the drive home from the gas station was when I started to notice the problems.

Any thoughts? Could I have screwed something up removing the cell phone or is it more likely a result of running the battery down? A short? I have no idea, all I know is everything seemed to be working fine prior to this. I'll probably end up going to the dealer but just wanted to hear if it might be something simple first. Thanks for your help.

Nate Nichols:confused:
 
What voltage are you showing on the dash gauge? (not that I trust it 100%).

I would first get a digital volt meter and read voltage at the battery terminals as well as the jumper lead in the engine fuse box. How old is the battery? You could have ended it's life:).

Voltages out of spec, too high or too low will do some very strange things, so let's look at that first.

HTH,
LarryB
 
Symptoms sound like low voltage.
Get a voltmeter and read the battery voltage with the engine off and then with the engine on.
Off should be 12.6 volts +/- 0.1 volts.
Engine running should be around 13.0 - 14.0 volts.
Check it at idle and also at around 3000 rpm.
 
Oh boy, what fun!

Check your battery operating voltage, 14V is good. To check load you'll have to go to your local parts place ( Pep Boys and such will sometimes do it for free...)

Likely to be the battery or the connections. Pry the lids off and add pure water until the water surface tention is broken.

If not, I suspect a loose ground and/or a high resistance short with a 12v wire somewhere.

You might have a couple of things wrong, builds up over time and manifests itself when the entire system degrades too much.
 
Larry Bastanza said:
What voltage are you showing on the dash gauge? (not that I trust it 100%)

Just went out and started it to make sure, showing 14V and it starts perfectly, not like the battery's weak at all. The battery was replaced the day I bought it 2 months ago. The first time I looked at the car it had a dead battery and had to be jumped. I didn't think much of it at the time because they had left the key in it in the ACC position and I figured it just ran it down. Anyway I had them replace it just to be sure they hadn't killed it completely.

I don't think its related because its been fine for two months with NONE of these symptoms. I will go get a voltage meter tonight and let you know what results I get. Thanks for the helps guys I appreciate it.

Nate Nichols

p.s. Novice question here but it just occurred to me. When I do go to test it, obviously the positive lead should go on the positive terminal. Should the negative be connected to the neg post or to a good ground?
 
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OK,

With that said you should retrace your steps and look for a loose wire/connector. If you battery is fine, then somehow you probably have a loose ground terminal/connection somewhere (most likely around where you were working). If the car starts readily your battery terminals are probably tight, but check to be sure.

This is truly hard to diagnose on a forum conversation:(. Even though this is an electrical issue, looking with your eyes, and wiggling things can be as effective as a meter.

Good Luck,
LarryB
 
Hey, thanks Larry. Yeah I figured this was one of those issues that might take a little more investigation than could be easily communicated here. At least it reassures me so far that it isn't some major, i.e. expensive, problem.

When you say loose ground wire, where else should I be looking? I guess this is when a service manual would come in handy. When I removed the phone and its amplifier could I have disconnected a ground that any other systems are reliant on?

Nate
 
Yes, that is a definate possibility. Remember the service manaul is online here:). It is about 53meg, you can download it, if you have DSL or cable modem, pretty easily.

Look for any connection that has a bolt/screw or gray connector, especially those with black wires (ground/return).

Good Luck,
LarryB
 
Looked in my electrical trouble shooting manual and located the ground connection G551 in the front left corner of the trunk. It is used for the tail lights and the antenna. That location in the left front corner of the trunk is also used for the cell phone unit. If you removed the cell phone your must have had to disconnect it's ground which more than likely was connected to the G551 connection point, you may have forgotten to retighten the bolt.
 
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gremlins

Nate:

I just put my trunk back together last week after having installed an amp in the stolen tool-kit space, and I had all the carpets out while I did so.

I would definitely check to see that there's not a loose wire/connector there on the left hand side of your trunk behind the carpeting near the antenna. Nearly all of the wiring for the devices you mention pass through right there.

Good luck!

Don
 
Okay, finally finished my new garage roof this morning so into the trunk of the X I went.....

BrianK and Don thanks for the info, on your suggestion thats the first place I looked. If you're talking about the ground screwed to the side of the trunk just forward of the antenna it appeared to be secure. Theres also a whole mess of other wires fed into a connector that attaches there.

After looking at all that wiring I decided the simplest plan was just to undo what I had done and hooked back up the cellphone ?amp? in the trunk. Lo and behold problem solved! I have no idea why disconnecting that harness would interfere with the grounding of those other systems.

Thanks for the help guys, I really hate electrical problems, and the thought of having a problem with my two month old car (to me) was really bumming me out.

Nate
 
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