alright so i posted a while about this problem where sometimes when i start the car the interior lights slowly dim on and then i have to hold the key on for a number of seconds (at which points the lights dim) and then ill hear a couple clicks and vrooom she starts. then slowing down to stop light (only when i put the brakes on) i get a sharp voltage drop, my head unit shuts off, and i get RF noise for a while. so someone suggested I replace my alternator and battery. I did. i just got done with it tonight and man am i confused. when i first got everything connected with the rebuilt alternator and new battery and started her up i put the multimeter across the pos and neg battery terminals and got 13.2 v which is pretty low, and with the car off it was like 12.6 i think. then a little while later i actually got a reading of 12.8 with the car on. so WTF NOW??? WTF!! argh! i mean its supposed to read from like 14 to 16v with the car on right, and 12.4 with it off? am i missing something here? im gonna cry.. (not really) oh, and i installed belts (new ones) and the deflection is ok. i think there might be a little slack on the airpump/waterpump/drive belt, but the airpump will NOT budge so i cant adjust the tension on that belt but its about 1/4 deflection maybe slightly more but not more than 1/2 inch. i couldnt find anyplace to get any leverage with a prybar to move the thing. so what now guys, im dieing here.

 

I am in the middle of un-f'ing all kinds of electrical issues too, and all I can tell you is that after about 18 years all of my FC's electrical hardware is potentially suspect, especially in the engine bay, where it has been cooked by hot turbo heat, yanked on and f'd with by lame mechanics, etc., to the point where I see cracked insulation and broken wires at terminals all over the engine bay. I am seriously considering getting a new engine harness and systematically going through the whole car to check every electrical connection to make sure it's all okay.

You haven't given much detail as to previous work you've done on the car, so I'm sort of guessing here. BUT...have you installed a stereo recently? Is your ignition switch old? Did the car get flooded down in the passenger footwell area? (Your ECU is down there.)

It's a modern day archeaology dig, dude. Learn to love it. Get some bright light on the wires. Get yourself the FSM (factory service manual) at the dealership. Study the wiring charts and even make some enlargements of the important pages at the local copy shop so you can read them easier and make notes on them. Get a DMM (digital multimeter) if you don't already have one.

Good luck!

 

no stereo, just a crap cd head unit and stock speakers. as far as the ignition switch.. uhm, i assume it's been in there since 1986. the car has never been flooded (with water). i do indeed have a digital multimeter (i didn't test the battery voltage with my tongue you know -.o ). i've got misc electrical problems, clock fades in and out, wiper only works on one speed, etc. but nothing i need to get rid of as bad as this crap. i get horrible gas mileage, and someone said it might be due to this alternator/battery thing, ie the plugs not getting hot enough to burn all the fuel. which makes sense to me. but how the heck can i get this thing to put out the voltage its supposed to. q.q

 

Check/replace the wiring of the charging system ....

Make sure the charging system grounds are good ...

You should have 14.4 V at idle with no electrical accessories on. If you don't have that, something's wrong.

It is very possible also that you got a bad reman alt especially if you got it from a parts chain like autozone. The stock alts are good, the ones you get from the parts store not always good.

Hugues -

 

your wiper problem may be the infamous wiper switch relay. It's a cheap fix if you decide to do it yourself and are halfway handy with a soldering iron, otherwise your can pick one of from icemark.

Wiper Switch Thread

 

Have you checked/redo any of the grounds yet? If you haven't, I'd spend a day doing that, then get back to us. They are the cause of many electrical problems, not only in our cars, but in any electrical system.

Remember: One weak link in an electrical system is the same as haveing a weak system.

 

Your original ignition switch could become an electrical snafu culprit if it already isn't one.

And, yes, I half guessed you had a multimeter.

Good luck.

 

Check the ground wires
my car was stalling like crazy this past weekend. and i found out my main ground wire was fried....

replace the orignial Ground wires with THICK CRAP.... that actually helped my whole electrical system.
my power windows come up faster =D and my engine is more stable.

 

today ladies and gentlemen, we do the grounds. ill post results tomorrow.