Hi,
Thanks for taking the time to read my question as I hope someone can provide me some direction. The details will be a little long so I don't leave anything out....here goes...
I am having problems with my 2000 Convertible.
-About a month ago I started to see randomly the voltage gauge slowly creep to 18 volts over a 30 second perios while I was driving then all my gauges would shut down. This happend every now and then over 2 weeks.
-That went away. Then just when I went below a 1/4 tank my fuel gauge would cut out. This started about 2 weeks ago and has been consistent. I would see a code about fuel circuitry fault along with others.
-Early this week(before any rain), the car would not start after going to get something to eat(it did not even try to turn over like a low/dead battery). The remote would lock and unlock the car, however, the alarm was not chirping nor would the security red light on the dash come on. Also the radio and the trunk release would not work. However all other electronics worked such as lights, air, windows, seats, etc. It sat overnight, same issue. I checked to see if the passenger floor board was wet as I read that on the board it is was dry as it had not rained. Then by reading the board I decided to jiggle the steering wheel(there was no errors pertaining to the steering wheel such as mentioned in the recall on the board) and all of the sudden the car started.(It threw about 14 codes from everything...PCM, BCM, IPC, HVAC, LDCM, RDCM, ALOT OF 1060S and 1064s). I also saw a few codes such as the BMC a few times)
-Yesterday again after eating(maybe I should stop eating) the car would not start. I battery voltage was low this time. I got a jump box and got it to the dealership. They said the battery was bad, replaced the battery and I picked it up this morning.
-Today I went to the Post Office and again it would not start. It showed a low voltage and I noticed the passengar side floor board was wet from the rain yesterday.(The electronics behind the raised part of the floow were dry). It showed the battery low again and after messing with it for 15 minutes with no luck I tried the jiggle the steering wheel trick and it started.
-Now the dealership is telling me to replace the alternator. Does anyone think this is really it? If it was, why would the jiggle of the steering wheel work on the two times the battery was not low? Then I am not sure how that may or may not tie into the fuel gauge problem. Also, they want $750 for the alternator and I got quotes for after market units for $199. Do I really need to go with a GM alternator? Will the aftermarket ones work? One other thing, why does the passanger floor board get wet?

Thanks for your help!!!
bob

 

One other thing....today before it died, I got a door ajar message but I was driving, all the doors were locked and tight. I closed them all again and it did not go away.

Bob

 

Certainly, the alternator could've killed the battery, especially one on its last legs. But why didn't the dealership check the alternator before or right after replacing the battery? Another thing to suspect if weird electrical issues surface are the wiring harness connections. Bill Curlee has some great info regarding this issue (connections should be thoroughly cleaned).

 

Dave,
Thanks for the repsonse. I doubt the battery they replaced was bad as I had the same issue 10 minutes after they replaced it. The respone I received was "these things are weird, sometimes you just have to keep eliminating things". Which I guess is ok from their perspective as I just keep getting billed until they get it right. My big question to them on why they think it is alternator is how come when I jiggle the steering wheel then the car starts. That would seem to eliminate the battery and possibly the alternator unless the alternator is occasionally throwing out high/low voltage which a meter and the dash gauges do not seem to indicate.

Thanks for the follow-up!
bob

 

At this point, you might want to consider taking your car to an auto-electric specialist. Many years ago, my 68 had a weird electrical drain that no one could figure out. I took my car to the local auto-ekectric specialist and within 30 minutes they found that the windshield wiper motor had internally shorted and was draining the battery rapidly. They work on weird stuff everyday and tend to know how to pinpoint the problem instead of simply replacing everything that could be the problem. I'm thinking that the starter may be faulty, but that's just a wild guess - it's time to call in the big guns to find out for sure!