Ok guys.. I am kinda at a loss here trying to figure this one out.

Two times now in the past 2 weeks (once on New Years day and then again today) my car flipped out while I was driving it.

First time.. I was driving down the interstate and my cars interior lights started dimming. I looked at my gauges and the DIC started reading Low Voltage. I checked the voltage hand and it was reading all the way in the red (think it is 8 volts). I have been having issues with the battery not wanting to stay charged (Optima Red Top that I installed in March of 07) if I let the car sit for a few days, but never had any issues once I had the car running until this.

Today.. I was sitting in the drive thru of a fast food place and I get the Low Voltage on the DIC.. voltage hand all the way down again. I cycled the DIC through to the Battery Voltage and it was reading 0.0.. then up to 1.x.. 13.6.. 0.0... just all over like that. Then I also started getting a High Oil Temp warning.. when I moved over to that it said Oil Temp Low. After a couple mins it got stable again.. and no more problems.

I have checked to connections on the battery.. both are tight. What else could this be.. what should I check??

In bad need of some help here.. so any advice is appreciated.

 

A battery should last longer than a year. The problems you are having do sound like the battery being bad but the question is why?

The Optima is warrantied for 3 years so take it back and get a new one

That said, you shouldn't have those problems once its running so I'd say theres a bigger problem there. Assuming the battery and alternator connections are tight and clean, it would be worth checking the alternator output to make sure you're charging properly. Any codes being set?

I'm sure one of the electrical gurus will chime in.

 

I will go out to the garage today and pull the codes to post them. I will also go ahead and check all the ground connections to make sure none of them or loose or dirty.

 

While checking the battery connections, also check the battery to starter connections.

 

Ok.. here are the codes..

10 PCM

P1626

40 BCM

B0432
B0503
B0508
B2483
B2587
B2592

58 SDM

U1000
U1096
U1064

60 IPC

B1512
B1517
B1522
B1527
B1532
B1537
B1543

99 HVAC

U1064
U1096
U1160
B0338

A0 LDCM

B2282
B2284
U1255
U1064
U1016
U1096

A0 RDCM

B2283
B2285
U1064
U1096

A6 SCM

B0851
B2860
U1064

B0 RFA

C2100
U1255
U1064
U1096

Ok.. I am sure most of those have nothing to do with my problem.. but thats all the codes the car had on it.

I also checked all the connections (except the starter connection).. everything was tight and seemed pretty well clean.

I also hooked up my battery tester/charger. It read the battery to be at 11.2v, but only showed it being 20%. I started the car to test the alt and it showed it performing at 100% and showed that the battery was charging with the car running.

All of this points to the battery, but why would it die after less than a year?

 

Sometimes batteries are no good to start with...just some bad ones. I suggest you clear all the codes then start it up again and see what codes pop-up. Also note which are H - Hostory or C for Current.

 

Thats a serious bunch of dead battery codes

Clear out the history and maybe the problem will be clearer. Next thing is probably to run Bill Curlees drain check

 

Your loosing charging voltage some where. Syart at the battery cables! Yea,,I know you said you checked them. The battery wires are "CRIMPED" on the cable terminals. The crimped areas can corrode and come loose. Carefully examine that area.

Then the POSITIVE battery wire goes to three places. The underhood fuse center:



From there, that terminal feeds the passengers footwell fuse box.


The battery cable splits and also feeds the starter and connects to the solenoid.

From the solenoid, the positive wire also goes to the altermator and attaches at the terminal on the BACK of the alternator.

Check that terminal for tightness and make sure that it is NOT discolored.

The starter solenoid is a PRIME area for this problem! The solenoid see's a LOT of heat and vibration. I see many of them loose. If it's loose, it could also be charred!

BC

BC

 

So if I understand you correctly Bill.. the Pos wire from the Alt goes to the Starter.. then from the Starter to the Battery? Correct?

If that is the case then I MIGHT have found the problem. I checked the starter and the wires were not TIGHT.. they were not dangling or anything.. but I could wiggle them around some. I took the nut off and cleaned up the connection some (didnt really show any discoloration or corrosion). Put it back on and made sure to get it tight so we will see if that solves the problem.

I also charged the battery yesterday and when I finished with all the checks I tested it again. It showed 40% so I am about to take it back to Cosco and replace it.

Will post any update I come up with. Thanks for the help so far guys.

 

[QUOTE=bbentley40;1563604601]So if I understand you correctly Bill.. the Pos wire from the Alt goes to the Starter.. then from the Starter to the Battery? Correct?

YEP!! Bud,,,if those wires were loose, you should have solved the issue!

BC

 

Ok.. so after tightening the nut on the starter and returning the battery for a new one (better safe than sorry) I am proud to say that the car is now outputting about 14.3 volts while at idle.. as opposed to before when it was never really above 13.6.

I think this might have solved the problem. I will update if anything changes. Thanks again guys!

 

So have you had any problems since the nut tightening and battery replacement?

In case anyone has any suggestions. I have a 2000 coupe with a manual transmission and have some of the same problems as mentioned above. The voltage guage will drop all the down to completely counterclockwise and I'll get a low voltage warning on the DIC. Or the guage will fluctuate from completely counterclockwise up to about 13.X-14 volts or so. I also get a "high oil temp" indication on the DIC. Also, sometimes every single guage will simultaneously drop down to complete counterclockwise all of a sudden. All of these problems happen at random when driving the car or when idling and don't seem to be related to how the car is being driven. I'll have any one of these 3 problems occur and then disappear (as in, the guage\guages will go back to normal operation and any errors\warnings on the DIC will disappear) within a few seconds or minutes anywhere from about one to as many as ten times in a one hour period. Also, the problem with the voltage guage dropping to complete counterclockwise or fluctuating anywhere from full counterclockwise on the guage or zero on the DIC all the way up to 13.X-14 volts will occur even if i have the car parked with the key in the on position with the engine off. Thanks in advance for anyone with help or suggestions!

 

If you haven't done so, it would help for you (and others) to read (all the way through, it is long) Bill Curlee’s Electrical Stick at the top of C5 Tech.

Grounds also play havoc with multiple systems at the same time (or individually). Loose connectors too, of course.

This is an excellent sticky - as are the other stickys.

 

Looks like your # 7 or #8 with this issue!

Read this post COMPLETLY and see if it fits your problem. Let me know what you think!

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1564187998

BC

 

I thought tightening the nut on the starter fixed mine, but it started doing it again. Only does it occasionally.. and always seems to be rainy or at least damp outside when it does it the most.

I have decided it either has to be a ground wire (although I checked the obvious ones under the hood) or the alternator is just going bad slowly. I am off work tomorrow so I might try to check the grounds again, if that doesnt work then I might just go ahead and replace the alternator. I have some chirping when I cut the car off so I am planning on replacing the belt too. Oh, and I found out (while under my car looking at the starter) that I think my water pump is leaking a little. Might as well replace that while I am taking it all apart.

 

You have to love electrical issues..

(sorry.. another long post but I need some help!)

Ok, so here is an update since my last post. I started thinking my issue might be caused by the added amp draw of my carPC install. It seemed that the car only really acted up when it was raining and at night (wipers and headlights on). I had been debating doing a Big3 upgrade on the car for a while more as a cant hurt and its easy so why not. So this past weekend I did just that.

Now I have a 4ga power wire from the Alt to the battery, 4ga Gnd wire from battery to passengers side front ground and a 4ga Gnd wire from the engine block to the same passengers side front ground.

Now for my new problem... a few times now (again only occasionally) I have got a High Voltage warning on the DIC and it shows voltage jumping up into the 16s. It generally doesnt last more than a minute or two and everything returns back to normal. Well it did it last night and my instrument panel just stopped working. The panel would flicker on and off while I was driving. Finally it came back on and worked fine the rest of the way home. (Note: while the instrument panel was acting up the HUD was working just fine.. not sure if that means anything).

I got home and tried to pull the codes.. the DIC buttons were not working so I couldnt.

This morning I am coming into work and it starts doing it again pretty much as soon as I leave the house. High voltage, IPC losing all power then coming back on again. After a couple miles it was acting normal so I tried pushing a DIC button and they all functioned. I pulled into work and was going to pull the codes, but the DIC buttons stopped working again.

Just a minute ago I decided to go out and give it a try when I put the key in and turned it on I heard a funny noise that I have never heard before sounding like it was coming from behind the DIC buttons. The buttons worked though so I was able to pull the codes, but while scrolling through them the buttons stopped again.

Here are the codes I pulled this time:

B1226 - Excessive Wheel Speed LF

B1512
B1517
B1522
B1527
B1532
B1537 - all of these deal with a DIC Switch Short to Gnd, thinking this might be part of the problem.

U1064 Loss of Comms to BCM (this was in a couple places)

B2282 - Battery Fault 1
B2284 - Battery Fault 2
B2264 - Vertical Position Sensor Fault (no clue what this means)

B2283 - Battery Fault 1
B2285 - Battery Fault 2

I have read just about all the posts I can find about this, I am going to check the G104 ground tonight and the SP208, but I have not found anything that tells where the SP208 splice pack actually is located, can anyone help there??

After that I am out of ideas.. I need help!

 

If I were you I would pull the IPC out and inspect all the connections. There are plug in cards and modules inside the IPC and I would check them also. Make sure all the connectors on the IPC are clean tight and in working order.

BC

 

The next time this happens, see if you can rotate the ignition key slightly left and right (while remaining in the RUN position) and see if it effects the symptoms. If you checked the wires on the starter, alternator and battery all that left is an ignition issue. Im looking for my ground schematic to send you for all the splice packs:

Here is an example why I suspect the igniton switch: Damn,,just figured out that I cant attach digital schematics. Send me your e-mail address.

What I was trying to show you is the battery voltage for the IPC and volt meter all come from a contact on the ignition switch. If that voltage is bad, your going to get fluky readings.

BC

 

PM sent with email addy.

 

Bill, I'm wondering if his alternator might be flaking out even though this kind of a failure isn't the usual? Alternator's internal regulator? We know the PCM controls the alternator load by commanding it too...PCM issues possible?