Electrical problems, please advise......

[demarpaint]

I'm having electrical issues with a 95 Chevy Caprice. I am thinking the alternator is bad, but after about 3 months the battery has not died and its been very cold. I don't need the car so I haven't really gotten too deeply into it yet. Now that its getting warmer and the days a little longer I want to try and wrap this up.

Upon a cold or hot start the car starts fine and charges fine, as you drive it seems the alternator gauge starts to slowly drop toward the middle of the gauge, as if its not charging the battery. Mind you the battery never dies and restarts are very strong. Now about once or twice a month you'll be driving along and lose all electric, nothing works ZERO electric as if someone pulled a plug. The car won't restart. At this point I grab the positive battery cable that goes to a fender mounted fuse block and just move it slightly and the car restarts perfectly, and will work for 1-2 weeks before this problem happens again.

At this point I ran a heavy wire from the positive side of the battery to the fender mounted fuse block and haven't stalled again. I also left the factory cable in place, and plan on cutting it and capping it but haven't had the time (not sure if this will matter, but it could be internally corroded and causing the problem?????????????). The alternator reading is still the same, strong after the start, then gradually drifts lower until its in the middle.

I plan on selling this car but would like to fix the problem, but don't want to toss parts at it. Mechanic checked the alternator and said it was working, and at $80+/hr I didn't want to get too deep into him trouble shooting it.

All connections are clean and tight, and no water is entering the fuse block.

Thanks in advance,
Frank D

 

[MrCritical]

The battery cable is an excellent place to start.

 

[cmhj]

You may have answered your question with the jumper wire.

 

[mechtech2]

If touching a wire fixes it, why are you asking where to look???

 

[Steve S]

Diagnosing an eletrical problem on line is the way to go .As mentioned you may have repaired it. Could be a fuseable link in the wire you jumped.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint

Upon a cold or hot start the car starts fine and charges fine, as you drive it seems the alternator gauge starts to slowly drop toward the middle of the gauge, as if its not charging the battery.


That sounds normal, as the voltage output from the alternator does decrease as it warms up.

You should connect a multimeter to the cigarette lighter socket and get an actual reading while this is happening.

 

[Kestas]

If touching a wire gets a reaction, clean all contacts in that area. A rather normal situation for a 13yo car in the rust belt. For me this falls under 'maintenance' and not 'repair'.

 

[brianl703]

After cleaning them apply silicone dielectric grease to them.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
If touching a wire fixes it, why are you asking where to look???


I guess because I am not 100% certain if its fixed yet (time will tell), and was looking for additional advise before I pull an alternator out of a junk yard. I should have made that a little clearer.

The other issue is the alternator needle never dipped this low, and that had me thinking. I will continue to run it and if the problem doesn't show up again its fixed.

Thanks for all the replies.

Frank D

 

[Tosh]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I also left the factory cable in place, and plan on cutting it and capping it but haven't had the time (not sure if this will matter, but it could be internally corroded and causing the problem?????????????).

Don't cut the old wire. With the new one you added, the old one's doing no harm (unless the insulation has broken).

 

[demarpaint]

Thanks, I left it as is.

Frank D