kcac Posted October 27, 2007 Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 I'm posting this here and on 60degreev6 hoping someone has run across this problem before and has some advice to give. I'm hoping it's just an old, tired battery, but the way it's acting doesn't seem typical for a dying battery. The car is a 1995 Cutlass, 3.4 DOHC, 68,000 miles on it. The alternator was replaced 2 years ago and has about 3000 miles on it since then; battery is at least 4 years old. The car is stored during the winter. The car has run fine until yesterday. But yesterday when I started the engine, the engine ran rough, and three warning lights were lit: ABS, Brake, and LOW TRAC. It sounded as though something was clicking under the hood - maybe an ABS sensor? I (probably unwisely) continued to drive, getting on to a 60 MPH parkway. As I got up to speed, the engine continued to stumble, the "Service Engine Soon" (SES) light came on, and I also noticed that the clock on the radio had been reset. Then there was a popping sound under the hood, the warning lights and SES light went out, the engine smoothed out and ran fine as I drove 12 miles home, including some stop and go traffic. This morning I started the car and got the same symptoms as yesterday, the three warning lights lit, the engine ran rough. I shut off the engine and tried to restart it. It wouldn't even turn over, and all power to the car was dead. I checked under the hood, the battery connections seemed tight. When I got back in the car, I heard the "key in the ignition" chime going off, but at a very low volume. I turned the ignition and the car started, but still with the warning lights lit, and a rough idle. The clock on the radio had been reset, again, too. I'm going to take a look at it either later tonight or tomorrow. Besides having the battery tested, what other things do you suggest I check? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadz34 Posted October 27, 2007 Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 Sounds like you need another alternator.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted October 27, 2007 Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 Definitely sounds like an alternator, which sucks, because you have a DOHC. Check your aux. positive battery post though, make sure the nut is tight and there's no problem with the cable. Check the cable on the alternator too, but the problems are usually with the aux post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcac Posted October 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 Thanks for the replies. I got a chance to look at the car today. Alternator is putting out 14 volts at idle, so I think I'm good there. I swapped batteries with a known good battery from another car. That solved the problem, the car ran fine, and no idiot lights were lit, as before. I'm going to run the "bad" battery over to the auto parts store tomorrow to have it tested - it's most likely shot. Since I will be storing the car for the winter in a couple of weeks, I'll probably just wait until spring to buy a replacement battery rather than buying one now and then just having it sit on a trickle charger all winter. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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