battery drain and rough start/ run
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 270
Likes: 4
From: columbia mo
battery drain and rough start/ run
On my 1986 383 I am having trouble with the battery draining, first of all. It is a brand new battery and the alternator passed with flying colors. Second whenever I get the battery up enough to start the car it runs rough and even has a rough start. Whenever it warmed up enough once and decided to run good enough to move I went to turn on the headlights and it bogged down and almost died, so i decided to check with you guys before something worse happened. Let me know what you guys think, I'm thinking grounds???
Thanks,
tyler
Thanks,
tyler
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: O Fallon IL
I had the same problem- soon as I got her goin, I stepped on the brakes before shifting to drive- and shed run like poop, and/or just go out completely
I checked every one of those fuseable links- waste of time all were good- then I bought a new battery- waste- then I bought new terminals--- new cables.... waste.... hopefully you may have the same problem- the power distribution block located behind the battery- loose nut... problem was solved.... I think maybe the space between the connections was letting corrosion set in and producing really terrible contacts- enough to start it, but soon as I close another circuit, it'd just die or get really rough and then die
If not, I'm afraid you may have to get out the old multimeter and start testin circuits...
I checked every one of those fuseable links- waste of time all were good- then I bought a new battery- waste- then I bought new terminals--- new cables.... waste.... hopefully you may have the same problem- the power distribution block located behind the battery- loose nut... problem was solved.... I think maybe the space between the connections was letting corrosion set in and producing really terrible contacts- enough to start it, but soon as I close another circuit, it'd just die or get really rough and then die
If not, I'm afraid you may have to get out the old multimeter and start testin circuits...
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Pull the neg cable and place an ammeter between the cable and the neg batt post and after the courtesy lights time out, switch down the ammeter to lower scales to measure the leakage current. GM says it shouldn't exceed 50 milliamps, my 87 draws 27 ma. and I don't have batt problems. What is the battery terminal voltage engine running? It should be 14.7 volts engine cold (alternator cold actually). Measure the battery terminal voltage during cranking, it should not fall below 9.0 volts or you have a discharged battery, poor batt cable connections, or a batt at the end of its life. Measure the battery terminal voltage everything off. 12.0 volts and below, discharged, 12.9 volts and above, fully charged and linear in between. Rough running engines covers a lot of territory and a scan tool will help. The injection system was designed for a 350 engine, not a 383 and you should consider having a tuner look at your engine and computer settings.
