i have a 1967 4door buick lesabre passed down from my grandfather. however, ive been running into alot of problems. my main question relies with the charging system. i have a new batt, and alternator. but when i come home turn the car off and turn the car back on to see if it will start it wont crank or it cranks really sloooow. i have a feeling that something is draining the battery but dont know what it is and cant pinpoint the problem. i think it may be in the regulator but am not totally sure. if anyone can help, older kats anyone, it would be greatly appreciated. thanks, orale
one more thing i forgot to mention when i am driving on the road, my ammeter wont read that the car is charging, when i step on the break, use a turn signal or move my power window up or down, the afermarket radio will go off. sometimes aswell, my car windows wont go up at all and i have to pull it up by hand while im reving the engine. so though that might give some more insight to my problem. thanks again.
welcome to the board first put a voltmeter on the battery & see what you get.should be 14 volts.since you have done the alt & battery,plug a new regulator in(make sure its grounded)& see whats up.if its been sitting,i would bet on the regulator points/spring being shot :TU: did you stay with the stock style alternator? more info from you =more from us :TU:
thanks aside from the fact that i cant start my car at the moment, because the battery is so drained, i assume. it still reads about 12 volts. so i cant move or even staart my car to see what it reads when it runs. im going to let it sit and see if it will start, if not then maybe get a new batt to power it up atleast. i did buy an alternator that is similar to the old one. same look and stlye. not sure about the amps. the store gave me one that is for that particular car. im assuming its the same. ill try the regulator next. any other suggestions or insights?? thanks alot for the reply. -rick
Don't forget that the car has to run for a while before the battery will be recharged. I doubt that just letting your car sit will make it start better, unless you have it on a charger... -Bob C.
When you put in a new battery of jump start it, does it turn over properly? If so, certainly put a new voltage regulator on it. That should be done when you replace the alternator, if you can't tell which one is bad... ou:
when i got home last night, i turned the car off and it wouldnt start back up. did the same when i came out of the movies about 2 hrs before. luckily i had another batt in my trunk. so it started, struggled, but started. so at home i took off the positive for the night and let it sit. it started up in the morning but then when i was goin on my lunch break, nothing!! i even took off the positive before going into work. just to make sure. my buddy came thru to help me jump it and it wouldnt even turn over with the jump. so im pretty lost as to what is draining this m#(*&$& &*&#. remind anyone of any similar problems??? thanks for the feedback.
only thing is that it seems that my charging system isnt working so the batt wont charge and keeps draining. thanks
what to do?? so i replaced the battery, brand new, 700 cca and nothing. i have a lead wire from the starter that i use to remote start the car. i touched the positive wire to the starter line and nothing happend. no clicking, no cranking. im not sure what is going on. the starter is no more than a month old and is the same as the original. is this a wire short problem perhaps. please help!! thanks o No:
sounds like a fuseible link/connection problem.you should have constant battery voltage to the large solenoid stud & power to the "s"terminal with the key in crank position.also,if you get the 2 small solenoid wires reversed,it wont do ANYTHING,not even click.double check that :laugh:
hmmm. ill have to check the link then. i know that the battery is properly connected. the car ran not more than a day ago. but all of a sudden it stopped working. maybe the fuseable link is shorting out somewhere some how. thanks alot. like i said i just got a brand new battery and it still refuses to click over, now i have to figure out why it wont crank and what is draining the batt. hopefully it all relies in that the fuseable link is drawing power out when it shouldnt. thanks again.
are you saying the new battery is dead from just sitting overnight?that would be a pretty healthy drain,like leaving your parking lights on overnight type drain.or are you assuming its dead because it still does nothing?the link wont cause a drain,btw.i still lean toward a bad battery cable connection,check the ground cable also
no the battery wont drain from just sitting. it drains as the car is running im assuming. that was with the old batt btw. but i got a brand new one yesterday and the car still will not turn over. so i just left everything unhooked so as to not risk it draining overnight. im hearing that the voltage regulator isnt working. so that may be draining as im driving. ONE LAST question, will the voltage regulator, assuming its bad, keep the car from turning on?? thanks alot
Try yanking all the fuses for a night and if the problem goes away, you've got a short. Then it's just trial and error until you find it.
just an update. i got under and checked all the wires to the starter, put new connectors and the car started fine. replaced the regulator and wouldnt you know it...the car charged up real nice. took it for a cruise around the neighborhood, and alll of a sudden my ampmeter shorted out, threw spraks and stared smoking and now my car wont start once again, no power to the car at all, no lights, radio, power windows. the regulator is meant for that specific vehicle, but maybe put out too much power???!! the starter works cuz i have it wired to a switch under the dash so i know the battery is good and all the fuses look ok, but other than that im stuck. guess im gonna have to take it to a professional now.... o No: any other suggestions. thanks alot
Suggestion #1: Ditch the ammeter!!! Every time I hear someone install an ammeter, I have heard of a car fire. I'm sure there are exceptions but I will never get one! Instead just get a voltmeter. Even one of those digital ones that plugs into your cigarette lighters from JC Whitney. -Bob Cunningham
you blew the fusible link :rant: the regulator is not the culprit,but may have been damaged from the ground/short.sounds like a bad ammeter or connection to it.im not fond of ammeters myself,but for a different reason than bob.
thanks alot guys. im just glad the car aint done for yet. im taking it in tomorrow to see what the mechanic can do for me and any suggestions. thanks again for the help. rick
just an update for anyone who cares. i finally took the car in and the mechanic had it for 3 weeks. got her back about 2 days ago and everything seemed fine. but yesterday, while on a date, the car didnt want to turn on. seemed that the battery was too low. so i had to end up getting it jumped by a tow truck 2hrs later. that mechanic is getting an earfull later on today.
