92 olds CS possessed!! Help!

[Lissa]

Hi all! I've been lurking for a few days to get a feel for this forum, so hopefully I'll get this right. With that said, I am new here, so please forgive me if I make a mistake!

 

Here's my problem:

I have a 92 Olds Cutlas Supreme S (118,000K), 3.1L, V6. Back in October(I bought it in August) I began having trouble with it starting. It'll take a jump, but if it sat for longer than one night, it wouldn't start without being jumped. As time has passed, it's gotten to the point where it's got to be jumped if it sits for more than 1/2 an hour or so.

 

Here's what I've done:

New battery twice (one cheap one, one good one)

New TPS

New alternator

disconnected most of the interior lights(glove, backseat, trunk, hood)

had the rear windshield brakelight reset

had the starter tested

replaced the positive battery cable

 

There's some other stuff, but I can't remember what now. I had this car at the mechanic's 4 times. They never could figure out what's wrong with it. They did numerous parasitic drain tests and found nothing.

The car is acting as ifsomething is draining the battery, but I don't think that's the problem. I think something is preventing the power from distributing from the battery to where it needs to go. We'll be changing the negative battery cable today. Does anybody have any other ideas what this might be? I'm a single parent, so there's not a whole lot of money to buy testing equipment, and I really need to get this car fixed!

 

Thanks so much!

Lissa

[SigEpCutlass]

Why was the negative cable not replaced at the same time? Have the grounds been checked?

[White93z34]

pull all the fuses in the fuse box and see if it still does it overnight.

 

get a multimeter and measure the load with the car off.

[Lissa]

hi there! Thanks for the responses!

 

SigEpCutlass,

The neg cable was not changed at the same time as the positive because I was given some bad advice to only change the positive cable. Since I'm definitely not a mechanic, i din't know any better. Trust me, now I do. This is not the first time someone has mentioned the grounds, but whenever I've asked exactly what that means, I've not gotten a response. How do I check those? Thanks!

 

White93z34,

should I pull all the fuses from all three of the fuse boxes, or just one of them? As far as the multimeter thing, it's just not in the budget at the moment, I'm trying to budget it in, tho.

 

I'll keep you guys posted!

 

Thanks!

Lissa

 

 

[fastbird232]

Sounds like you need an old priest and a young priest.

[joey b]

for a multimeter, you can get one from Harbor Freight for like 4 bucks. Where are you located? Maybe someone local can help you out.

[Euro]

yeah i'd try a ground somewhere like SigEp said

 

and wow, i have a cousin we call Lissa......although she doesn't have a 92 cutty lol

[SigEpCutlass]

hi there! Thanks for the responses!

 

SigEpCutlass,

The neg cable was not changed at the same time as the positive because I was given some bad advice to only change the positive cable. Since I'm definitely not a mechanic, i din't know any better. Trust me, now I do. This is not the first time someone has mentioned the grounds, but whenever I've asked exactly what that means, I've not gotten a response. How do I check those? Thanks!

 

Grounds are important to make sure your car runs properly. A ground is "a conducting connection, whether intentional or accidental between an electrical circuit or equipment and the earth, or to some conducting body that serves in place of the earth." The conducting body in this case would be the metal of your car in one of many areas. I'm unfortunately the wrong person to ask about where all the grounds in your car are. I can only think of the battery grounds off the top of my head, so you might try sending GnatGoSplat a PM if he doesn't see & respond to this post.

 

However, this is what I would do before you go searching for grounds:

 

The first thing I would do it check the positive cable for corrosion by pulling back the plastic jacket a little that covers the wires. If the positive cable has corrision under the plasticy jacket, get the cable replaced. Even if there is no visible corrosion, you might want to have to replaced anyway if it's old or original.

 

You might also want to check that the Aux Positive Post, aka Auxiliary Positive Terminal is not corroded, and grounded correctly. I know in our cars sometimes these Aux Positive Posts go bad. I had to replace mine because I was unable to jump my car using it one time, and had to jump the car from the battery itself.

 

Hopefully what I told you in brief will help. Keep us posted.

[89GP_SE]

when that happened to me in my old car, I just hooked a switch up to the battery, and then after I shut off my car, I would turn the switch off. When I wanted my car on, turn the switch on. Someone could maybe lay that out in more detail for you. I am a little on the stupid side

[slick]

Definately a drainage problem. Were you ever able to meter how much of a drain you would get over night?

 

Grounds sound like the culprit here. You said you were replacing them today, hopefully that does the trick. I also hope that whoever does them cleans all the ground points before re-attaching them.

 

As someone else asked, if you are close enough to one of us, we are more than willing to check out your car.

[Lissa]

hi all! Okay, There's been a lot of responses, I'm gonna try to give an answer to everyone's questions. If I forget one or two, please forgive me, I'm having a ditzy day!

 

 

fastbird,

no exorcisms, please, they give me the creeps, lol.

 

joeyb,

I'm in Colorado Springs. I've tried finding someone to help out, but not a whole lot of luck on that front. I've found a few message boards online that have been very helpful, this one included! My biggest question now is how much money do I sink into this car before I just give up. I lovet his car, but sometimes I just wanna go out there and kick it, ya know?

 

SigEp,

The psoitive cable is barely even a month old. We literally just put it in. and the car's only been run for about 30 miles since it was installed. I don't think corrosion is even a possibility at this point. Picked up the negative cable today, will install it tomorrow, if it stops raining. It's interesting that you pring up the aux post. I can't jump the car off of it. I have to wedge the clamp down between the air filter housing and the battery to get to the terminal, and put the neg cable on the brace. I've never been able to jump it off the aux post. you think that might be my problem? How would I check the ground on that?

 

never satisfied,

I sent you a PM, if you get a chance, it'd be great if you could respond!

 

grandprixse,

thanks for the idea. If all else fails, I may that give that a try!

 

slick94prix,

The four times I took it to the mechanic, the tried doing that, and they never came up with a drain. They'd go outside the next morning and it would start up just fine. Finally they told me that I must be parking it next to something that was draining it(???)

I'm really hoping that one of ya'll maybe does live close to me, cause it would be great to get someone who lives within driving distance and has a clue what they're doing to take a look at this. I'm at wit's end!

 

 

Thanks to everybody for responding to my questions, and for responding to them nicely! I know I must sound like a total dummy, but hey, you can't learn if you don't ask questions, right? Anyway, I'll keep checkin back, and I'll keep you guys posted!

 

Lissa

[slick]

Well, there is doucebag Aaron that lives out there, but he is banned from this forum.

 

You say your having problems with the auxilary post? I would inspect the cable that go's from the battery to the post and make sure it has nut fallen off or corroded badly.

 

As for parking it by something that is draining it, they're nuts. You would probably have to be parked by some crazy strong electronic field for that to happen. Or, maybe elves are using your battery at night while your not looking

 

Lets see what the new ground cables do for you, then we will go from there. Like I said before, whoever does the ground cables, make sure they scrap/grind/sand away any paint, rust, corrosion, etc.... before they bolt down the new cables.

[89GP_SE]

just to let you know that if you do go with the switch idea, its like killing your battery everynight, so you will have to be aware that you will not have correct time on your stereo clock and stereo settings will always be reset.

 

just remember that my fix idea is only temporary until you can get it fixed correctly, but it is an easy solution for now, its cheap (around 5 bucks for everything) and easy for any car guy to do. Make sure you get someone you trust to do this wiring for you cause believe me, you dont want someone to F up your wiring and totally screw up your 1/4 of a working car. LOL

 

Hopefully you can get it fixed correctly soon and not have to resort to this idea, but it should work. Good Luck.

[SigEpCutlass]

SigEp,

The psoitive cable is barely even a month old. We literally just put it in. and the car's only been run for about 30 miles since it was installed. I don't think corrosion is even a possibility at this point. Picked up the negative cable today, will install it tomorrow, if it stops raining. It's interesting that you pring up the aux post. I can't jump the car off of it. I have to wedge the clamp down between the air filter housing and the battery to get to the terminal, and put the neg cable on the brace. I've never been able to jump it off the aux post. you think that might be my problem? How would I check the ground on that?

 

If the Aux Post is bad, that entire post & associated wiring needs to be replaced. It could be what is draining your car. I can't picture where the Aux post ground is located it in my head right now, so I'll have to look if I get a chance tomorrow.

[Lissa]

okay, one thing I discovered... The neg battery cable that's on the car right now (haven't gotten the new one on yet) has gap on it. Where it connects to the engine block, the rubber casing is not connected to the connector. There's a 1/2 inch gap where the wires are showing. I'm thinking this indicates that the cable is pretty old. I'm not sure though. Either way, it's gettin replaced. I'm also going to take the battery down to Checker to have it tested, cause I'm thinking the constant draining is probably not too good for it. Anybody else have any ideas of things I need to do? Thanks!

 

Lissa

[SigEpCutlass]

Uncovered wires under the hood are never a good thing. Get that replaced ASAP! I would think it would be advisable to have the battery checked to see if it's still healthy and able to maintain a good charge. However, if it's not wait until you find the source of the problem before you replace it. Otherwise, you may end up chewing up another battery. I'm going outside to take a pic right now of the said AUX post. I have a '94, so please keep in mind what's under my hood will look a little different from what you see. Either way, the AUX post should be in the same location on the drivers side of the vehicle. BRB.

[SigEpCutlass]

Here's the AUX Post on the right side of this pic behind the washer. I took a few closer up pics too. Excuse how dirty my car is under the hood right now & I need to put on those new blue looms I bought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make sure that the ground under that post it tight and make sure it's tight where it grounds to the body.

[Lissa]

SigEp,

 

That cable is definitely being replaced. I've already got the cable, I'm just waiting for b/f to get back from my parents with the tool I need to get to the bolt for the ground on the underside of the engine. I dunno bout where you guys live, but here, it is a pain in the butt to get parts for this car! I have to go through carquest or the dealer. Since the dealer charges an arm, a leg, and my firstborn child, I stick to carquest. Drives me nuts though. Autozone sold me the wrong cable. I think they figured they could get away with it cause I'm a girl. Then they got snippy with me when i inisisted they take it back. ugh! anyway, I took out the battery, and am hooking it up to a charger. There's no point in charging it in the car, since whatever's draining it will just continue to drain it. My neighbor's a mechanic, and he said that once we get the battery charged up, he'll take a look at it for me and see if we can't find the drain ir short or whatever it is that's causing the problem. If it turns out to be a drain, I'm going to start a serious smear campaign against the mechanic's shop I took it to!! I just want to say thank you so much to everyone here that's responded to my posts. I think it's wonderful that all of you take the time to help people out this way. Oh, I got a multimeter yesterday, so once the battery is charged, I'll let you guys know what the reading is. Somebody told me it should ideally be 14.4V, but anything between 13 and 15 would be acceptable...sound right to you guys?

 

Thanks!

Lissa

[SigEpCutlass]

Anything over 13.5v IIRC should be okay & we're here to help.

[Lissa]

hi again! okay, so here's the sitch now. It'a darn good thing my battery is under warranty, cause it don't work no more. I think it's cause i let it sit for too long without starting it, but now, the car won't even jump start, and the battery won't hold a charge, even if I take it out of the car to charge it. so I gotta call the repair shop that installed it to get a new battery and take it from there. The new neg cable is installed, but I don't know yet if that solved the problem, cause the battery's gone all wonky on me. shouldn't take too long to find out tho. Anyway, I'm off to call the repair shop!

 

Thanks!

Lissa

[SigEpCutlass]

If the battery's totally dead, then that might be why it won't start. Were you just unable to jump it from the AUX Post, or unable to jump it from the battery terminal too? Hopefully your problem is fixed when you get that new battery.

[Lissa]

Hiya! I was unable to jump it from either the aux post or from the battery terminal itself. I just called the repair shop and will be taking the battery in on Wednesday to have it tested and exchanged. I'm hoping that having changed both the battery cables will have solved the problem and the new battery will completely solve the problem, so cross your fingers for me! I'll keep ya posted!

 

Thanks,

Lissa

[slick]

Yep, when the vehicle is running, you should read anywhere between 13-15 volts. When the vehicle is off, hopefully you are above 12 volts.

 

Hopefully with the new battery and the replacement cables your car will be running fine.

[Lissa]

okay, update time! Took the battery back to the shop, got a new one(thank goodness for warranty coverage!). Put it in, and the car started right up, no problems. tested the alternator, read fine. got the multimeter reading, read 14.2. Now all that remains to be seen is if it will continue to start! Cross your fingers folks! And PRAY!!! lol I'm sincerely hoping that the cables were the original problem, and that changing them didn't work cause the battery was no good, and now it's all better. I'm also seriously hoping that I'm not living in a dreamworld, lol. Anyway, thanks for all your help, and I'll post back in a couple days and let you guys know how she's doing and if she's still draining.

 

Thanks!

Lissa

[slick]

Good! Keep us informed!