What the @#$%!!!!! >:(
 

Well today isn't my lucky day for my SVX.. Went to pay some bills today, so went to the bank and cashed my paycheck.. Go to start my car, nothing.. What the hell?? Make sure it's in park, still nothing.. Tried one last time, starts.. Whew, maybe that wasn't anything major.. Same thing at the post office! Now I'm upset.. Went to get gas, left it running.. When the tank was almost full, started sputtering really bad! Had to keep the revs up to about 1200 RPM for it to run smoothly. Stereo starts cutting out on me! Antenna started going up and down and up and down.. Took faceplate off and paid for my gas then drove away.. Look down at my gauges, now the ABS light is on!!!! >:( Pull in my driveway and leave it idling while I pop the hood.. All belts are in place and look good.. I had the problems with my stereo before, but I did the alternator wiring upgrade last weekend and haven't had those problems until today.. Anybody know what's causing all this???

Sounds like an alternator problem or maybe a loose battery cable. Have you replaced the alternator recently??? Start with the simplest thing first, the battery.

I'd be looking for a bad ground somewhere, pay particular attention to the battery cables and clamps.

Update.. After my car sat for about an hr after I got home from that mess, my battery was dead.. I have the charger on it now.. Checked my battery terminals, everything is tight.. Could a bad ground kill my battery like that?? I did the alternator wiring upgrade with the 4 gauge wire and it seemed to help..

I know this sounds weird, but, you might check the wiring in the sun visor. This had been a major gremlin for some, and a booger to diagnose. That's just one thing on your list to check. If you pop off the "elbow" cover on the on the visor arm, pull the wires to see if they're broken, bare and possibly shorting.

That's a nice set of Avatars you got there Zeppelin.:eek: From the title of your post I thought you were trying to draw some attention to them! :D :D :D

I like things that draw attention! :) Check out the pics in my locker for proof.. Just don't rag on me too bad :rolleyes:

Check your wheels... They are on backwards. :D :D :D

Lwin

Oh Oh. This is supposed to be Randy's car
:D

Zepplin...
 

I like the engine bay... nice work. What kind of paint did you use that will stand up to high temps, oil, etc?

My rims aren't on backwards! Yours are... :)

The paint was just automotive body paint that I had left over from my old car.. Worked pretty nicely

The first thought that came to mind was 'alternator', but since you recently did some work in that area, I'd be suspicious of something going wrong with that first. Just doublecheck all the connections. Also, if you monitor the voltage at the cigarette lighter, you can tell when the alternator is working or not working. My wife's alternator went out and it displayed those same type of symptoms. If it's daylight when it happens, the dashlights may be too dim to tell that something is up. Your first clue is when it doesn't want to run or start. The ABS light and another one (can't remember which) come on. ABS is almost full bright, the other one is very dim. She didn't know what all that meant, so she drove it until it died. By then, the battery was dead. So I went and pulled the battery, took it home, trickle charged it, put it back in the car, and drove it home just off the battery. I did the same thing to get it to the dealer. Just charged the battery overnight, and then monitored the voltage while I drove it down there.

Good Luck-
Rich

Well after the battery died, I tried to charge it up.. Wouldn't take a charge at all! So I went down to Walmart and bought a battery and charged it up and installed it.. No problems yet! I really thought it was my alternator, but I guess the battery decided to let go.. I'll have the garage check my alternator tomorrow morning, though..

Heh, heh... that reminds me of another car story. One time the battery in my wife's minivan shorted. She came out of Mervyn's, and it was dead. The car would jumpstart, but not run unless you kept the revs up. I limped it home like that and then tried to figure out what was up. Finally, I removed the battery, jump started it to the battery cables, and drove all around the neighborhood, no problems at all. The battery being shorted was dragging the motor down. One of the weirdest battery deals I've run into. Sorry I didn't mention that story earlier, I had forgotten about it.

When you mention "the battery being shorted", do you mean internally shorted? Or was it externally, and if so, where?

Thanks