Electrical Gremlins

suki243 · Aug 6, 2009

Hey, all so my first problem was with my car stereo, after market; it randomly restarts, it'll be playing music and then all of a sudden it'll go quiet and then i'll hear a beep (usually when you turn on or off the stereo). a second or two later the music will come back. I thought maybe it was a bad ground; the ground was in the same area the wipers, and gauge cluster ground; i thought maybe 3 was too much so i moved it to under the dash; it seemed fine for a few drives then again it happened again; this time much worse, instead of restarting once it did it like 20 times in a row before it stopped.

Sometimes it happens right when i start the car up sometimes its randomly as i'm driving.

#2
When i moved my ground, i must've hit something, but i'm pretty sure my gauges were working after i moved it because i remember thinking wow my oil pressure gauge is reading pretty high; thats abnormal. but then i looked down again and saw that all the gauges had died. they're all at 0 except the amp meter that's not connected so its in the middle. Is it the IVR? the ground seems fine the lights turn on but not the gauges, speedo works but its mechanical. Its the stock IVR.

suki243 · Aug 7, 2009

So I was going out, and i started the car up and as usual the stereo started, died and started about 15 times in a row with the headlights on Wiggle some of the wires behind around and nothing happens. I put the car in reverse and i push the brake, and then entire car dies. Restart it, stereo restarts but when i turn the lights off it stabilizes it seems. Then i turn the lights back on and bam restarting again, i throw it in reverse and push the break and bam again the car dies. Restart it, rev it a bit, and turn the stereo off completely everything seems fine. I don't have to bump the starter at all it starts right up; After driving around a bit i turn on the stereo its fine. Sooo i'm not sure what's going on here...

I did short part of my head light switch out a while ago, i simply just put a fuse in it just so i can get my dash to light up. If that might contribute anything.

tx65coupe · Aug 7, 2009

What brand is the stereo? If its an Alpine from the last 10 years then thats most likely the problem with it. I have seen a lot of Alpines turn off and turn back on or freeze up and the controls don't work. So, If thats the case then try a different radio.

I'm thinking that your problem with the radio and the problem with the car's gauges and it stalling may not actually be related. I wouldn't rule it out though. I installed a relay that is switched on with the ignitions switch for my stereo and the AC. This way nothing is pulling current from the ignition switch.

Since the radio seems to be affected by the headlight switch, is the illumination dimmer on the radio connected? If it is disconnect that and see what happens.

suki243 · Aug 7, 2009

Its actually a pretty new head unit; is a JVC hdr01 the first hd radio one.

I don't think the stalling and the dead gauges are related either. Unfortunatley don't have my multimeter with me, to check to see whether the IVR is receiving voltage in the first place, if its not then maybe its a fuse. And if its not outputting voltage, then a bad IVR. if a bad ivr i'm going to make a solid state one Like the one in the link; anyone heard of this or done it themselves? New IVR's are int he 50-60$ range, thats a little too much for me.
IVR

It is connected to the headlight switch last time i checked; i dont remember if i was too lazy or not to connect it; i'll definitely check it out.

suki243 · Aug 7, 2009

I'm starting to think that the stereo issue has to do with power, the problems seem to be reoccurring at lower rpms. If, i put it in neutral or park or rev it a little the starting goes away. Is this a possibility or just a coincidence?
The P.O. used a bungee cord as a tie down and with my stiffer suspension that battery is flopping around and its evident with all the acid and paste everywhere in the compartment now. I'm thinking this is a contributor.
Or is it that the alternator isn't powerful enough? specs in the sig. the headlights do in fact dim with engine speed or when the bass hits. How would i find out? its 120 amps 3g 1 wire rebuilt by a guy in town. when i first put it in, it was putting out 14 volts, and i had it tested and it was fine. anyone have a amp calculator or algorithm.

iskwezm · Aug 8, 2009

your alternator isnt the problem, i have twice the wattage you have and more electrical acc. Check for the battery shorting out or the battery cables. Disconnect the Radio and that will isolate it from the car.If you have to,remove it and bench test it.Then start isolating different circuits of the car.

tx65coupe · Aug 8, 2009

A new IVR is about 30 bucks for the regular ones. In my opinion those are junk. I went through about 3 of them and none of them worked right. Both NPD and Paddock Parts have the electronic / solid state version for about 50 bucks. I think Paddock has it for 40. We did make our own like you mentioned and it works fine. It cost less than 10 bucks. My Dad is an electrical engineer and made it slightly different and it fits inside one of the cases and looks factory. It works great.

I agree about possibly having to isolate some different circuits to figure it out.

suki243 · Aug 8, 2009

So, The gauges problem was solved, it was a blown fuse sigh, i remember when it happened now that i think of it.

Just for kicks i decided to check the voltage on the battery, it about 14.6 with the car off... with the car on at idle in park it jumps to 15.7- 15.9 volts, correct me if i'm wrong but isn't that too high?

iskwezm · Aug 9, 2009

Battery at rest is usally about 12.5 volts and the alternator output running is usually about 14.5V

tx65coupe · Aug 9, 2009

I agree with Iskwezm about the voltage.

Something that was a big help for me was the electrical wiring on CD that I got for about 10 bucks. Most Mutang parts places have it. Its alot easier to see the schematics when they are in color and you can zoom in to view them.

suki243 · Aug 12, 2009

How is it posssible that it puts out that mouch voltage at rest? Is it possiblethat the voltage regulator is malfuncitoning,overcharging the battery and consequently it is damaged?

iskwezm · Aug 12, 2009

Verify your voltmeter is correct in the reading. IF the battery is over 14 volts at rest, its probably overcharged.Im assuming your alternator is internally regulated, it not working correctly and cooking that battery.

Tim65GT · Aug 13, 2009

Before measuring a battery at rest, you should remove the residual charge by temporarily applying a load to it (Like cranking it over a couple seconds). At rest voltage should be from 12.5 to 12.8V

Charge voltage over 14.5 is too high. It will boil the acid out of the battery and there will be excessive corrosion around the terminals. It should be 13 to 14.5V

As far as I know, the 3G is not a one wire alternator. Did the guy who built it give you any documentation with it? Where is the yellow wire tied to? That is the sense wire. Also the green wire is the "turn on" signal which should be tied to an ignition source.

suki243 · Aug 15, 2009

Ok, so I left the kill switch off and cranked it over for a few seconds a few times and looked at the voltage, it dipped to about 13.8 but with the car off it became climbing back up to 14.1. I verified my multimeter is right, i tested a few household batteries and what not.
I was finally able to look at the part number in the back F749SE, the next line reads 0997CN 12V; it seems to be off a 94 mustang.

He said it a 3g alternator with a 1 wire conversion on his ad; he didn't give me documentation. There is one large wire connected the starting post of the solenoid as well as a wire coming from my harness i'm assuming my ignition wire, i can't tell exactly since the name kinda rubbed off, both connected to the same post on the alternator along with one of the ASI wires i forget which one.

There isn't much corrosion on the terminals, we completely coated it with grease last time I had battery problems. But i can see the acid has done quite a bit of damage to the bottom, where the frame rails and battery tray are. Corrosion that wasn't there before.

Neutralizing acid requires baking soda and water, last time i used this it became a paste do you spread the paste over it or the water portion?

Tim65GT · Aug 15, 2009

That still seems too high of voltage. Is it the same battery you had before you put the 3G on it? Did you have a more normal reading before the 3G? Do you have another multimeter to verify your output? Look at the 3G connector. Where is the "A" terminal tied to? Usually it is a yellow/white wire.

suki243 · Aug 17, 2009

I went over to my grandpa's house and borrowed 2 of his multimeter and sure enough both read 14.2 while the car was on and about 13 at rest. I hooked up mine simultaneously and it read high 15s. So, mine was bad.
As for the stereo, it seems to be happening less and less but i think it might be a bad ground or loose connection somewhere i'm gonna have to trace it around, and maybe hook up a multimeter in line to see if voltage is dropping.

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