electrical hell
 

I've replaced my alternator twice now, and it appears to be working now with the brand new optima red top I put in with it (bosch reman).

I have el gauges powered from the parking light switch on the lower left side of the dash.

I have a 750 watt amp and a 1 farad cap.

that said I have gone through a variety of electrical problems since I lost the first alternator. currently, my stereo (sony MEX-1HD) bugs out periodically, I find that if I leave the face plate off overnite, it will work fine the next day, but if I leave it on, none of the button or knobs on th stereo work, and it sort of just changes tracks on the hard drive or slides through the menus randomly....

ALSO.... the dash lights (not the el) and the center console shift indicator lights are on when the car is on, until I turn the headlights ON and then they turn off, fortunately the el light come on so I can see the speedo, but not the odo.

about 2 weeks ago my stereo stopped working entirely, I pulled the deck out unplugged the harness, pulled the fuse out (20 amp) checked it (it was good) put every thing back and the stereo worked fine, I did some cleaning up in the car for about an hour with the radio on with no problem, later that evening, I went to the store, and poof, no stereo again. this time my 15 amp radio fuse was blown under the dash, so, I replaced it, and within a day, pow, blown again, so, I replaced it again, determined to make it blow again and figure out what was causing it. that fuse has been good for about a week now.

none of this really affects the way the car drives, other than the mind bending frustration when I can't control my stereo, however I do believe that the situation is slowly making me insane...... what the heck is wrong with my car?


Skip

intermittant short circuit on radio or gauge install? not easily diagnosed over the internet......all i can suggest is to pull the radio and gauges and check your wiring. make sure all connections are good and secure/insulated.

Re: electrical hell
 

A 1farad cap will act as a short circuit when it is first switched on. It needs a resistor in its feed line to limit the current flow.

Harvey;)

Re: Re: electrical hell
 

I use an H3 fog lightbulb to do so.

my recommendation is to check all your fuses ....what can happen is a blown fuse will always resemble a ground (with high resistance) but can sometimes be very low resistance ......when this happens the circuit backfeeds ground into anything else that is connected to that circuit .....basically - u turn stuff on, and something else shuts off.

Good luck