Electrical problem! please help
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 183
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From: San Antonio TX
Electrical problem! please help
My car is a '91 and earlier I got in and put the key in the ignition...no gauges came on and of course after that indication it wouldn't start although I decided to try it anyway. Now every once in a while my interior lights stay on for no apparent reason but usually go off after 20 min. or so but it has happened a few times that for whatever reason they stayed on until the battery died. I figured this was what happened and went and got a cheap trickle charger. I hook the charger up and it indicates right away that the battery is charged. I have cleaned up the mating metal surfaces of the battery terminals etc. and do not know what might be the problem. I don't have a voltage meter but will try to find someones that I can borrow in the next day or so. Also, I checked all the fuses in the box by the glove compartment on the pass. side. SO does anyone have a clue what might be the cause of my problem? Any opinions or suggestions very much appreciated.
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 72
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From: Huntsville Alabama
Re: Electrical problem! please help (redvetteC4)
I had the same problem with a '93 that self-healed. Not counting the individual light switches, one electronic item controls the lights. The CCM supplies a ground to the courtesy lamp relay. The timing you mentioned is interesting. The CCM when it wakes up and sees that the lights are on, the CCM will attempt to turn the courtesy lights off after 15 minutes. This is to prevent running down the lights with the door ajar. Could be that you have a bad door switch or wire. The lights could stay on forever if the CCM see what it thinks is the door closed and the lights are actually on. Also could be a bad relay.
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 183
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio TX
Re: Electrical problem! please help (art1217)
That does sort of help but the main thing I am concerned about and wondering about is why there might be absolutely no power at all for gauges or anything even though the trickle charger indicates a charged battery. I am most likely going to solve the interior lights problem by pulling the fuse and taking it out of the equation but the thing is I am not at all sure if that is what caused the battery to run down... I guess at this point I don't even know if the battery is run down at all? :confused:
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville Alabama
Re: Electrical problem! please help (redvetteC4)
Do not know about the 91, but if ii is similar to the 93, the LCDs are also controlled by the CCM. Starter enable as a result the PASS-key resistance controls starting. Could be the CCM is toast, but chedk everything else first. The CCM is in the dash area and requires disassembly of the driver side knee panel to get to it.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
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From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Re: Electrical problem! please help (redvetteC4)
I think the 91 has a wire that comes off the positive battery cable and goes to a block of fuses behind and towards the center of the car and this wire carries current to almost all of the electrical loads in the cockpit. I would check the connection of this wire to the fuse block and also its connection to the cable lug by tuggin on it and watching the courtesy lights for flickering.
