confused about my volts.

[cleanmerc01]

alright guys if yu have been follwing my other threads i messed my car up trying to wire 2nd battery. i tok t dealer and they ran sme test and they wanted to run a test on my light processor(light control mod.) said test costs 125 to do and if that it gonna cost another 550 to replace. the guy said that the lights dnt go off all the time with switch i never nticed that before. when you first start up car volts drop very little if any and after driving highway awhile the same but drivin in town wahile they drop alot.if sitting in idle with heat on high i hit brakes put in gear and they drop enough car sputters. i just spent 100 getting nowhere at dealer i not rich wife says have to wait till tax check now so on 11th it goes back so if you guys have any ideas please share

[1987cp]

Does your alternator test good? (AZ does this on a fixture for free)

Have you verified that your alternator wiring is correct?

Any weird extra draws on the juice?


Oh, yeah .... SFAIK, any car should run, drive, and idle just fine with NO alternator ... at least, until the battery runs down.

[cleanmerc01]

yea they did a charging check at dealer put loads on the battery and the alt. they said everything in spec. i have a weird warranty on the car. they said have to have it tested and have dealer call them and tell them what it is and if they say yes they cover than ok but if not then i pay. i call them tonight to see if the dealer test and it test good then do i pay or do they pay. i just over this electrical problem. i taking back to dealer and see what they can do to get warranty people to pay. this is what the paper says from dealer.
ran charging system and battery load test: passed
ran key off load test on battery .07 amps
spec is no more than .05
caused by after market cd player.
the lighting control module is not working properly lights sometimes dont turn off with switch.

[1987cp]

Your car has a computer controlling the lights? That's messed up. Was this lighting module thing some fancy option, or was that just the way they did it for that model year?

Also, I'd be pretty perturbed if a dealer refused to honor a warranty, but then, torquelover had a similar experience when the stock flywheel on his gently-driven stock Focus fragemented, ventilated the transmission case, and tried to neuter him besides. I hadn't realized you had a car still under warranty, which would explain you taking it to a dealer in the first place.


Cardone PN 7371001 is $130 after core refund from Rock Auto, BTW. Minus 5% for your GMN coupon code.


Seems odd that with a lighting malfunction such as you describe, a brand-new CD player would be the ONLY thing causing funky current draw.

[Lonnie]

Sounds to me like he has an aftermarket warranty on the car in which case the service writer at the dealership has to contact said company for authorization and since these aftermarket warranty companies are rarely any good they often either refuse certain work or not pay anything near what parts and labor realistically cost. As a mechanic I have gotten burned by these companies many times over the years.

If it was Ford factory warranty any problems resulting from installation of non Ford parts or non Ford accessories are usually not covered by the warranty.

Lighting Control Modules have been used by Fords for years and i replaced a number of them back in the late 90's early 2000's when I was still working in the Ford dealer.

I'm not saying it's absolutely the problem but they (LCM) have been troublesome in the past.

[cleanmerc01]

yes i have that jack legged warranty crap frm dealer. even the dealer said they going to say no. i know its not the LCM. i have never had a problem with my lights. the problem is i hit the frame with 60 amps lol. the is a short somewhere in wiring harness. i going in the morning to talk with the machanic this time so he has a better idea on where to start. i have $1000 for the repair. oh yea i put stock stereo back in there so they cant say it's the TV this time. wish me luck.

[1987cp]

I thought you just said the lights fail to function properly from time to time.

the lighting control module is not working properly lights sometimes dont turn off with switch.

But perhaps I'm not understanding you properly.




What do you mean by "hit the frame with 60 amps"?



.

[cleanmerc01]

sorry for not being clearer but thats what the dealer said they found but i have never had a problems with lights. i was hooking up second battery and long story it got shorted out to the frame. not sure about the amp thing it just what i was told.

[1987cp]

Interesting. Good to know that the headlights thing was their findings and not yours. Seems silly to replace a part you've never had trouble with, and crazier still to pay them $500 you don't have for the favor.

So basically the positive cable to the second battery touched the frame? What all was it attached to at the time?

[cleanmerc01]

i had it just hooked to the isolator up front. i went and taked to the master tech at the dealer today. all info was through wife so kinda not all there. the tech said he worked on it for like 4 hrs. and they did do test on LCM just didnt charge cause they were waiting on wife to call back and thought i was going to say ok but haha i said no. anyway they said it came back not good. also when he reached up under dash and played with wires to light switch and LCM volts dropped bad not enough to kill motor but enough to show a problem there. so i guess they replace this week sometime and get me for $550. the tech said if he a betting man thats what he would replace. said might have shorted out some other stuff but he check when he in the dash.

[cleanmerc01]

i dont know much about wiring on newer cars to many wires but i learning i just confused with this one

[montanaghost]

confused about my volts

I have an 87 EFI 302 non woody wagon, and had one of those 100% mechanical gauge packs installed. My volts always read as follows: cold engine, not running, key ON 12v While starting: 8 1/2V, after running 1 second: 14V all lights on w/brights: 13.9 V heater blower motor, when turned on:12.5 V, then works up to 14V after 2-3 min. Another 100% free way to give a "rough test of alternator": while engine is running, unhook the battery with ALL electrical options off. IF your engine keeps running just the same, then your alternator is working ok! Your car actually runs on the alternator, and JUST USES THE BATTERY TO ACTUALLY START THE ENGINE! I cannot stress enough to stopping at a good auto parts store, buying a $40 3 gauge pack (oil press/water temp/Volt gauge) some come with AMP gauges, I prefer VOLT GAUGES! shop around, as 1/2 of shops will charge $140ish to install, some will charge $400 to do the exact same thing! Did you know that the crown vic has no oil press idiot light even? visit this link (my photobucket site) to see my gauges installed.
http://s481.photobucket.com/albums/r...other%20stuff/

[1987cp]

Um ... Cleanmerc? I think it's seriously time to either figure some things out or start writing cheques. Lots of cheques. Take your pick.


Let's back all the way up to the beginning. What's your actual complaint about the vehicle? It sounded from the original post like your issue is that it splutters when you put it in gear. Is this correct?

[cleanmerc01]

yes sometimes when i have already started and lights heater blower on high if i put in gear and try to back up it has died but only couple times. the real problem is when i drive around town stop and go with lights and heater on when i hit brakes lights dim and volts drop and dont go all the way back up. if the car stays at high rpm highway driving then get off highway i hit brakes cant hardly see gauge move and no dimming of lights. also if i dont have heater on high and driving around town for awhile then turn on high volts drop and go up slowly but not back to where sarted at. even dealership said gauge shouldnt move lights shouldnt dim but for me not to beleive gauge. they played with wires underdash for LCM and switch said they could get volt gauge to drop all the way down but car still ran so something not right with gauge and LCM or switch.

[1987cp]

Logically, the only thing electrical that should engage with the brakes are the brake lights and the little circuit that tells the cruise control to cut out.

Unless your car as ABS ....? If so, maybe it'd be worth seeing if it still does it if you unplug the ABS controller?