I think I have a problem :eek: I just replaced my battery after it died...I suspected a faulty head light motor helping the battery to die. I have the new battery installed. Now with the ignition key in place and in the "run" position(not in the start the motor position) I have a "check gauges" light in the section around the tach/speedo area, and a battery symbol showing at the drivers information center with a service engine light also :confused: :confused: :confused: My at rest current showing on the cars volt meter is 12.4. I don't have any thing showing in any information areas when the car is running. What am I missing here....

Do I have a draw on the battery at rest and where should I start to look first? I diconnected the suspect head light motor. I still get the same symbols. can I pull each fuse in the fuse block one at a time until I find the system with a problem? Any help here would be nice. Thanks Larry. :(
The Corvette is a 94 coupe/automatic..no electronic A/C, no powers seats, no FX3

 

Larry,

i think that a more accurate way to determine if you have a battery draw would be to park your car, and using a voltmeter get the readings from the battery, then go back an hour later and check it again......

That should tell you if you have a draw or not....

 

I could do that with the Vettes volt meter in the dash, Plus I will hit it with a hand held volt meter, thats the first task in the morning while I'm walking the dog..I'm pretty sure I have a problem ..or I would not be getting the symbols...Thanks, Larry :cool:

 

But at 12.4 you should not be getting the check battery sysmbol....

this one is beyond me (like most other things), keep us updated with what you find out.......

 

I don't think these symbols were there before. I do think that it is trying to show that there is a draw on the system that is above the norm. I just have to find it so I can isolate it and fix the prob :yesnod:

 

If your previous battery ran down, why didn't you just charge it back up instead of buying a new one?
Also, without the engine running and the ign on, all the lights in the dash turn on as a test so you can determine if any lamps are burned out. And....12.4 volts on the dash voltmeter is pretty normal and you can check its accuracy by measuring the voltage at the battery terminals with a separate voltmeter.
I recently measured the leakage current on my 87 vette and it was 26 ma. You need to disconnect one battery cable and put an ammeter in series with the cable to the battery terminal and wait for the courtsey lights to go out. Then you can switch your ammeter down to a more sensitive full scale to measure the leakage current. Knowing the current with the ign on but the engine not running doesn't have any value because a number of circuits are activated and you don't normally leave your car parked with the ign in the on position. Your car sounds normal to me.

 

Well jfb; that sounds like one of the train of thoughts I was having on this issue. I will be checking the battery this morning :yesnod: I replaced the old battery after it ran down thinking that it was getting near the life end of the battery...the old one was 3 1/2 years old and he had gone through a very hot few weeks here in Ga. :yesnod:

When I connected the new battery the left head light motor started to spin up :eek: Thats when I started thinking that the motor had a short in it and it was drawing the battery down :eek:

My other train of thought is that at run on the ignition switch I'm getting these 3 symbols staying lit. Check gauges, battery and service engine.
All the others symbols light up then go out :yesnod: Only those three stay lit, so I checked the volts on the Vettes meter and it was showing 12.4V. I'm thinking that the car is saying there is a drain on the battery at this time and there is 12.4V in the battery :eek:

I will run my test this AM and find out what is going on and post my results here :yesnod:

Thanks for the help with this guys. If I have a problem with this I want to isolate the system and find the bad part, wire or ground. If I don't have a problem thats great. Thanks, Larry

 

I am inclined to agree with jfb here...if your above description means the engine was not actually running, thats normal and even designed that way so you can see that all the lights are really working.

 

If the system is checking it's self at rest, then why are only the chech gauges, battery and service engine staying lit, after the others go out?

I now have the battery reconnected and will let it sit for 1 hour before I go take a reading on it. It was at 12.8V at rest after I shut the motor down

Thanks, Larry

 

All right...I have had the battery connected and at rest for an hour. The volts at the start of the hour were read at 12.8.Now an hour later I'm at 12.4V. I'm going to let it set for another hour and take a reading again.
What should the volts at rest be at? Anyone know? Thanks, Larry :cool:

 

The battery light being on with the engine running tells you that the alternator is not charging. When running and cold, the alternator will put 14.3 volts on the battery and when the alternator gets to its operating temperature, it runs 13.3 volts. Sounds like you have an alternator problem. The service engine light is on because you have an error code stored in the computer and you need to retrieve it to start looking where a problem is indicated. If you connect your battery and one headlight activates, then the relay for that headlight most likely has contacts stuck shut and needs to be replaced. I am not familiar with the check gauges light, so another CFer needs to enlighten us. A lead acid battery fully charged has 13.2 volts and one considered discharged has 12.0 volts, so your battery test shows something drawing excessive current when the ignition is off. Measure your ign off current, it should be less then about 30 to 40 ma. Get a battery charger and charge your battery up before you cannot start your vette any longer.

 

My alt is at 13.8 with the car running and a few things on..radio, A/C. I don't get the battery light or check gauges with the motor running...only when the key is in the run position. I did not heck the headlight relay I will look there next. Perfect. A relay in the closed position will make the motor spin and draw currant out of the battery at rest.

I checked the battery after the second hour and it was at 12.2V down from 12.4V. Thanks for the help, I'll keep you posted on what goes on
Thanks, larry :cool:

 

Hello,

Couple of points. The "Check Gauges" light SHOUULD illuminate and STAY illuminated when ignition is in the run position BUT engine not running. This is because the the oil pressure is zero when the engine is not running. (Even says this in my 90 owner's manual, couldn't find it in the service manual) When the engine is on, the light will illuminate when you have high coolant temp, high oil temp, or low oil pressure. It is bascially telling you to check the analog gauge's readings.

Sounds like you have some parasitic drag. If you have the service manual, head for section 6D1. Should be somewhere around there and may list the milliamp draw for various components. If you do not have a factory shop manual, take out a loan on your house and buy one. Really good stuff.

For 90 and above, the key in the ignition, even in off position, will cause CCM to be in the "awake" state and more current will be consumed.

Would definitely do the draw test and see how many miliamps are heading south. Then you can pull fuses or disconect componets and find the offending item. (The one that causes a significant drop) Sounds like it could be the headlight area. Make sure the doors are closed when doing the test, all lights off, key out of ignition, etc. You must use the milliamp setting on the voltmeter.

When you have the swith on and engine off, the battery light on the DIC will remain on. I forget how much voltage the alternator output is required to extinguish the light.

Hope this helps.

dlmeyers 90 coupe zf6 3 speed shocks (no codes this week)

 

Man...that was a ton of good info :yesnod: :yesnod: Thanks I will be hunting down the headlight relay for the left side :yesnod:

I have a shop book...only $65.00 from a place in Canada..with the ZR-1 book included. I will head for section 6D1 and read on. I checked the battery again at 2 hours it is holding at 12.2V :cool:

I'm going to pull the head light relay and hope for the best :cheers:

This is what the forum is all about..helpping a fellow Vette owner with good info to help fix the problem :yesnod: :yesnod: For this a will raise my glass and :cheers: Thanks, Larry :cool: