Electrical Weirdness
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3
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Electrical Weirdness
Hi All,
I have a 96 Exp (EB) with 159K miles that has started acting weird. The battery gauge will spike up to the "H" side and immediately drop back down to the normal position (middle). At the same time, the A/C fan speeds up briefly and then cuts off, the red battery warning light shines briefly too. The ABS light comes on and stays on until the engine is turned off. The really funky thing is once this has all happened, I turned off the AC, but it comes back on by itself.
This whole scenario has occurred twice in two days. Both times it followed having set idling while I was in the store. I know the easy reply is to don't do that, but can't help but wonder if there is more going on. BTW, I went to Autozone and the CHECK ENGINE light did not give me any clues. It's on, but for cat converter issues.
If anyone could help, I would appreciate it a lot.
Thanks.
I have a 96 Exp (EB) with 159K miles that has started acting weird. The battery gauge will spike up to the "H" side and immediately drop back down to the normal position (middle). At the same time, the A/C fan speeds up briefly and then cuts off, the red battery warning light shines briefly too. The ABS light comes on and stays on until the engine is turned off. The really funky thing is once this has all happened, I turned off the AC, but it comes back on by itself.
This whole scenario has occurred twice in two days. Both times it followed having set idling while I was in the store. I know the easy reply is to don't do that, but can't help but wonder if there is more going on. BTW, I went to Autozone and the CHECK ENGINE light did not give me any clues. It's on, but for cat converter issues.
If anyone could help, I would appreciate it a lot.
Thanks.
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 544
Likes: 0
From: West Virginia
Well I guess the first thing I would do is look for a loose ground wire. Check under the dash and in the engine compartment. If you don't find anything there then I would look for loose connecters or bare/burnt wires. You might have to take it to a mechanic thats good with trouble shooting electrical systems. Hope this helps.
Fitter
Fitter
Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,516
Likes: 1
From: SoCal
Like fitter sez a bad ground can cause some crazy stuff.
Another thing that I would check is the alternator output.
Should be around 14 volts and steady at different RPM's
Another thing that I would check is the alternator output.
Should be around 14 volts and steady at different RPM's
Last edited by 87 XLT; Jul 27, 2005 at 02:47 PM.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,574
Likes: 1
From: Phoenix
Voltage regulator was my first guess too. ABS has a seperate controller that inputs into the PCM that can then throw the CEL and you will have a code. But the ABS idiot light is driven directly off the ABS controller. All that is meant for is to tell the mechanic to look for ABS issues. Most of the time these are dirty sensors in the differential(s). But given the rest of your issues, I would guess the ABS controller is getting spiked to 17+ volts and just freaking out and lighting your idiot light. The AC turning itself on is a little weird though. I would think you may also have a suspect AC "turn on" switch that could be jumping some voltage when the regulator spikes. The AC clutch relay has to be tripped for the AC to come on so it would take a good jump across the switch to do that.
