Jump to content

On Going "ghost" Problem...


bezee

Recommended Posts

OK here is the story...I changed my alternator about a month ago because it was destroyed by my leaking power steering pump. After it was installed for about a week the car functioned fine with no problem. There was no blinking of the headlights or interior lights when i pressed the brakes or when i had the bass from my system cranked up. Then all of a sudden the ghosts were back! :censored:

Now again when i press the brakes the dash lights blink and if the headlights are on they blink as well and the radio will pause for about 2-3 seconds. Also if the bass is cranking from my system that causes the light to pulsate as well. The battery has been checked and it supposed to be fine as well as the alternator.

Now what is even worse somtimes i get in the car to start it up, i stick the key in and the lights are dim but when i press the brake while turning the key the car comes to life and starts up. But when it starts i still have the same light blink and radio pause problems. Ive cleaned off the ground connection that is kinda under the battery and it is clean.

I dont know what else to do and im frustrated now and i aint the most mecanically sound guy either. Any suggestions???? Im thinking maybe the battery is malfunctioning? Or maybe the negative battery cable needs to be changed?? The battery i have is only a year old BTW. Help!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The connectors are clean and have been sanded about 3 or 4 times already. Also in experiencing these problems i have never had the battery light come on as a warning which leaves me to believe the battery might be ok. And the battery light works cuz before this battery it came on to let me kno it was dead

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you tried checking the altenator power cable or the part of the neg. batt. cable that attaches to the car?

It sounds like you could be suffering from a loss of voltage (when brakes are pressed) due to a bad ground. :huh:

I know that a few lights on my dash blink ever so lightly when the turn signal is on, when I get some time i'll make a make-shift grounding kit and see if that helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks i will check the alternator cable and the negative battery cable. Hey Another thing that was weird is today when i shut the car off and i turned on the map light and stepped on the brake the light dimmed out. So would that mean that the problem has to do with the battery since the car was shut off??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes and no. Yes it does have to do with the batt. but the batt. is still part of the overall electrical system. It's all connected, whether its the alternator or the batt. giving everything power, somewhere you are getting a loss of voltage.

A couple extra grounding points couldn't hurt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is changing the neg. battery cable a DIY job?

This is a very common problem which I've had myself. It is one of four things. Alternator, battery, terminals or neg battery cable. You've already replaced the alternator so you know that's not it. You should now check your battery. You can do it yourself with a simple voltmeter or bring it to Sears or AutoZone as suggested and they will check it for you. If that checks out OK then you'll want to check the terminals and make sure that they are clean and tight. This was one of my problems. Even though I cleaned the terminals and battery posts really good I found out that I still need to replace them because they were not getting tight enough. You should also check the neg cable itself and the grounding point on the car body. The neg. cable grounds to the body just behind the battery tray. Look at the cable where it connects to the terminal and look to see if there is any green color to the copper cable. It most likely does. This is corrosion that is affecting the cables ability to conduct electricity. If you have a voltmeter then you can check the voltage drop across the negative cable. First check what the voltage is by touching the red lead to the +batt. terminal and the black lead to the -batt. terminal. Then move the black lead to the grounding point on the body and see if it's different than the previous reading. If there is a drop in voltage then the cable needs to be replaced. I bought a premade cable and connected it to a new terminal and the grounding point on the car body and I installed a grounding kit from teckkits.com. The problems went away for good. I hope this helps you out and good luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well yesterday i popped the hood and wiggled my Neg battery cable and i havent been having any problems so far. I am assuming i need to change the cable. Where can i get one and is there a specific one i need??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership