Eldorado Electrical Issues

[waterzap]

The indicators in my Eldorado flash very slowly. I do think I have some electrical issues somewhere. Fused have blown. Bulbs have blown. I even installed a gauge with volts, coolant temp and oil pressure. The voltmeter stopped working in a day. The car runs fine, and everything seems to work. I always disconnect the battery else it would be dead in a few days. How do I track down the pesky gremlins? Something is off, and I would love to get that fixed.

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Did you try a new flasher?
Greg Surfas

[waterzap]

Yup. First thing I did. Two actually. The one was too quiet for my liking

[waterzap]

Someone mentioned. Well, not too nice. My car is slow, even my flasher is slow.

[mgbeda]

The slow flashing means  low voltage to the turn signals.  Could be a bad alternator, a bad battery, bad connections or a low grade short that isn't blowing fuses but is bleeding some electricity off, which would also explain your battery going dead every few days.

The engine harness that goes down to the starter runs awful near the exhaust and the heat makes the insulation break down.  And if it touches the exhaust of course the insulation burns through.

I had a similar problem in the 90's that took me years to track down. I replaced just about every part of the main electric system.  It turned out the insulation was cracked on a wire near the headlight dimmer switch.  There was just a little current bleed from the headlights to the floor that kept draining the battery.

-mB

[waterzap]

How did you find the current bleed?

[bcroe]

How did you find the current bleed? 

First issue is to see if the problem is inadequate generation, or bleeding off your charge. 
Find leakage with a small (193 dash) bulb between the positive battery terminal and the
cable that normally bolts to it.  If it lights, start disconnecting things till it goes out.  The
last one I had, was the trunk light not going out when closed.  Brake lights staying on
due to switch adjustment isn't unusual. 

Check that your alternator is capable of maintaining a good load.  Starting the engine,
the voltage should rise to around 14V.  Turning on some loads; high beams, high heater
motor; the voltage should be maintained (perhaps with a bit more rpm).  Failing, fix the
generating system.

You could have high resistance wiring, which will show up as drooping voltage with loads. 
One way to find the problem is trace V drop in the + and ground circuits.  Put a meter
lead on the engine block, move the other to the alternator case, the Neg battery terminal,
some spots on the body.  If any read more than a couple tenths, walk back along the path
to the other test lead, to find the failure point. 

The + circuit is similar.  I'd put a meter lead on the battery +, then move the other lead
to the alternator output terminal, and all over the + distribution system.  Drop may be a
little higher, than for grounds, but more than half a volt I would try to improve. 

Don't assume the original wiring is entirely adequate. 

I read of a lot of people trying find faults by looking around & just guessing.  Sure, check
frequent failure points first.  Failing that, understand how the system is supposed to work,
then use your instruments to see what it is REALLY doing.  The instruments will take you
directly to the fault; otherwise you might never find it.  Bruce Roe

[waterzap]

Thanks Bruce. Start work on this. Car runs good, but definitely some electrical things. Lights also dim when I let off the throttle.

[bcroe]

If alternator output is inadequate, it might have a bad rectifier diode.  Bruce Roe

[waterzap]

I did replace the alternator and the battery when i got the car. Few years ago, but very few miles. The car was a beast to start at that time.

[mgbeda]

How did I find the current bleed?  Dumb luck.  The dimmer switch finally went bad and when I replaced it I noticed the break in the insulation. After fixing that the car's electrical gremlins went away.  I figure those wires were prone to wear from all the years of being stepped on.

-mB