**Few Problems - Car almost dies + high idle - ABS INOP** HELP

[Camaro_SLP]

A have a few problems with my car....they seem to happen once every few months, but here's what happens..

First my ABS INOP light will come on. Next my battery gauge will get really low, all the way in the red, almost at the very bottom. The tach says my car idles at 1600 :eek: ...very rarely my speedo will fluctuate when I'm at a complete stop, and go past 70 MPH..I put it in neutral and rev alittle and it drops back down to 0. My radar detector will also start turning off and on..and if I play music, there's a popping sound coming from the back speakers.

Does anyone have any idea where the problem might be coming from? In another post, someone said their ABS light came on, and their speedo was messing up too. I believe all my problems are related to one thing, because they all of a sudden happen at once. My gauge cluster gets really dim and my check gauges light even came on for about 3 seconds. I cleaned the battery terminals thoroughly thinking it might be a bad connection. Obviously that didn't solve the problem.

This BS has to happen on a friday night.. :mad:

[hockeyman]

Just to eliminate possibilities, I'd replace both the pos + and neg - terminals on the battery, and check all connections to the alternator. The battery cables could have some corrosion inside of them causing them to fluctuate the electrical current. You may also have a bad ground wire somewhere.
I'm not sure, but can we replace the voltage regulator in our alternators?

-Marc

[Camaro_SLP]

well...here's a nice update..

I can't get my car started..good thing I have it in my driveway. When I turn the key, it 'clicks' rapidely..I tested the battery with a battery tester and i'm getting a steady 12.05 volts..so my battery is fine. Maybe a bad starter? or alternator? Would those cause all those problems I had?

I tried jumping the car, but that didn't do anything. For awhile, it wouldn't even 'click' rapidly. It would just click once. I was still able to roll up my windows, and my lights can still be turned on.

Good ol' F-bodies.

[Camaro_SLP]

I just tried to start my car and it hesitated a little and started right up..no ABS light and it idles ok..I wonder what the hell the problem is..

[fenderman]

Have the battery load tested.... I know that a few times at the shop, we would put a meter on the battery and get 12V. However, when we put load on the battery, the needle plummeted to 0. It sounds more like a bad battery than anything. A healthy battery at 12V should be carrying the proper amperage to start your car. Bad starters do not usually make the gauges fluctuate as you are describing unless you have some sort of freak electrical problem.

EDIT: Be sure to first check the battery connections for corrosion or other contamination and see that they are also tight- first rule of diagnosing a no start situation. Bad connections could also cause this electrical failure, and the dirt is not always apparent from the outside.

[ August 16, 2003: Message edited by: fenderman ]</p>

[hockeyman]

Yeah, what fenderman said...bad battery. That would be my suggestion.

-Marc

[Camaro_SLP]

But when the car is running, doesn't it rely on the alternator and not the battery? Or the other way around? Could it also be a bad starter?

The damn thing has a mind of its own. It won't start today. I'm going to try jumping it again and see if that works at all.

[hockeyman]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Camaro_SLP:
But when the car is running, doesn't it rely on the alternator and not the battery? Or the other way around? Could it also be a bad starter?

The damn thing has a mind of its own. It won't start today. I'm going to try jumping it again and see if that works at all.<hr></blockquote>

Once, the battery on my 86 T/A went bad without warning. I went shopping at the mall, and when I returned to my car, I opened the doors with the alarm and tried to start the car and just got a wierd clicking sound. I called a tow truck, and he tried jumping my car, and still got the clicking sound
Had it towed to my house for $90, and the next day I replaced the starter, battery wires, and alternator, but still that damn clicking sound. I put a new battery in, and "POOF", just like new again...
Turns out the battery had a bad cell inside of it, and ruined my whole weekend :mad: One mechanic told me that the pos+ and neg- lines were crossing inside of the battery, and no matter how many people tried jumping me, it wouldn't have started.

-Marc

[ August 16, 2003: Message edited by: hockeyman ]</p>

[95slowcar]

I have had a similar thing happen to me, (Not in my Camaro though) but in another car, all of a sudden the gauges got dim, all of the warning lights went off, and then the car would'nt start afterwards. I had a bad alternator. :( But that's an easy fix. Test it out and see if that is your problem. Good Luck....

[Camaro_SLP]

Is this a sign of a bad battery?

-I tested it before the first start of the day when the engine was OFF..it read around 12.10 volts...

-Tested the battery when the engine started for the first time today..It jumped to 14.xx volts..

-Tested it after driving it around for awhile...read 11.xx volts

-Tested it as I was turning off my radio/lights/detector..battery jumped to 12.xx volts.

Should the battery have ever gotten into the 11's? And my lights seem to be a big difference in the volts. Also, when I brake, my battery gauge goes down quite a bit. I never got the ABS INOP light tonight though,,so that's good.