Hi all, my beater is a 94 Grand Prix and there is an electrical problem with the car. I'm at the point that I'm looking for an axe to put in the hood:af: . Well I thought I'd try you guys for some advice on what it could be. The car shut off 4 times on a 10 mile drive the other day and had to be boosted everytime. And the speedometer & RPM needles move when I touch the brake or use the turn signals. I used the turn signals the other day and the car shut off. Do you think it could be th altenator not charging the battery and using the brake lights and signal lights drains it in such a short time??? Any advice on what to look for would be greatly appreciated I am at wits end. Thanks guys. Gerald Lynch
My advice is to avoid buying any GM product after the '74 model year. The problems you describe are those experienced by most of my unwary car buying family members after purchases of similar year and model. If you talk to the GM shop manager he (or she) will inform you it is all your fault and then they'll keep your car for 17 days while parts come from 90 whole miles away.
FIRST!.. make sure that each of your battery cables have a good, clean connection. GM/delco/delphi batteries have a bad problem with breaking inside and losing their connection ... sometimes when you try to unbolt the cable from them, the part the the bolt is threaded into just falls right out of the battery.:jd: sounds like a bad alt could be the problem.... i would guess that if you had the battery charged and tested and the alt tested, you would soon have an answer. keep us posted on your progress. :TU:
Thanks for advice. I brought my altenator to a friend of mine who rebuilds them and he called me shortly after telling me the rectifier was burnt out hopefully thats all my problems. I'll keep it posted when I find out.
It is possible for an intermittent ground to be the source of all of the problems, including the burned rectifiers. It is also possible for the defective alternator to be the source. I would be on the lookout for both.
