Gilgamesh Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 So first some background, 08 Spec B with 95k and change. Owned it since it had 5k on the odo. All maintenance on schedule. Been throwing and intermittent airbag light for about 2 months. I replaced the battery two weeks ago after a few hard starts. (Was still on OE battery) Today, as I was leaving work, I noticed the VDC, brake and ABS lights were on. Odd, so I thought I'd just "reboot" the old girl and see what was up. So I shut her down, and I have nothing now, no juice whatsoever. Can't even turn on the hazard lights, no dome light, not even a dim one, nada. Got a tow home, and put the volt meter on the car. I have continuity through the negative cable, between battery and the two ground connections I can access. Battery while still hooked up shows about 2 volts on my meter. I have not pulled the cables yet. (I started poking around about 4 hours after the initial event, had an appointment to make so I could not check around right away) Even more odd is that my tach is parked at 1200 rpm, right at high idle. Never seen that before, at least on an electronic tach. I'm at a loss. Any ideas out there? Edit: to clarify when I say VDC light above, I mean the active light that you get on loss of traction while accelerating.
firehawk618 Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 If you are reading 2 volts at your battery then that's a really good place to start. 10' CTS-V, A6, Airraid, 2.4 upper, ID850's, self tuned. SOLD:06' LGT Wagon. BNR16G, Catless UP, DOWN, Hexmods VB, Hexmods diff bushings, BIG TMIC. Best 0-60: 4.651 by AP 1/4= 13.678@100.73 mph, 1.945 60', Automatic transmission.
Moderators BarManBean Posted January 12, 2014 Moderators Posted January 12, 2014 Yup. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock
ehsnils Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Too low voltage is either the battery or the alternator. The high idle - if the ECM has been reset, then it needs to re-learn, and during that period the idle can be either too low or too high. If the idle is stuck too high after everything else checks out I would check if the system tries to run the AC but the compressor don't engage. It can also be a temperature sensor that indicates too low and the engine attempts to run warm-up even though it's already warm.
MAP Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Sounds like a bad battery. When car is on and charging the voltage should be around 14V. A good Battery should be 12v or higher when car is off. Sounds like maybe battery has internal short. Take battery back to the place you bought it. Get yourself a good one.
finse Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Check your alternator. If your reading 2v on a new battery after two weeks, sounds like a charging problem. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Gilgamesh Posted January 12, 2014 Author Posted January 12, 2014 I would normally have assumed bad battery but not 20 seconds before I had a good, clean start. Looks like I'm heading back to the parts store.
baconbits Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Too low voltage is either the battery or the alternator. The high idle - if the ECM has been reset, then it needs to re-learn, and during that period the idle can be either too low or too high. If the idle is stuck too high after everything else checks out I would check if the system tries to run the AC but the compressor don't engage. It can also be a temperature sensor that indicates too low and the engine attempts to run warm-up even though it's already warm. I think he means his tach is parked at 1200rpm with the car off, not that his idle rpm changed but that it doesn't show 0rpm with the car off.
JmP6889928 Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Battery shorted. Can happen instantly if a piece of plate was already loose inside.
Gilgamesh Posted January 12, 2014 Author Posted January 12, 2014 I think he means his tach is parked at 1200rpm with the car off, not that his idle rpm changed but that it doesn't show 0rpm with the car off. That is exactly it.
ehsnils Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 I see - but if the battery voltage goes too low everything can go nuts.
doccrowley Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Mine did this recently when my alternator was failing. It was not my battery (which I had changed twice).
Gilgamesh Posted January 12, 2014 Author Posted January 12, 2014 Well, I guess my voltmeter is on its way out... Ran the battery over to the parts store and it checked out fine. Hooked it back up and the car is back in business. The slip, abs and brake lights cleared after 1 minute at idle. The terminals are and were clean but I disconnected. The battery and gave them another good brushing. I guess I wasn't as thorough as I thought when I changed it out last week. I should be ashamed of myself.
JmP6889928 Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Well, I guess my voltmeter is on its way out... Ran the battery over to the parts store and it checked out fine. Hooked it back up and the car is back in business. The slip, abs and brake lights cleared after 1 minute at idle. The terminals are and were clean but I disconnected. The battery and gave them another good brushing. I guess I wasn't as thorough as I thought when I changed it out last week. I should be ashamed of myself. <slap slap>....Feel better now?
rob-2 Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 You can test the alternator while the car is running to see if it's charging properly.
MAP Posted January 13, 2014 Posted January 13, 2014 Gilgamesh, that's how you learn... I bet you wont make that mistake again.
GTPpilot Posted January 13, 2014 Posted January 13, 2014 Wouldn't there be an idiot light that comes on for a failing alternator ? If there is, is it like the oil pressure light ? Too late by the time the light comes on.
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