1992-1999 Series I L27 (1992-1994 SE,SLE, SSE) & Series II L36 (1995-1999 SE, SSE, SLE) and common problems for the Series I and II L67 (all supercharged models 92-99) Including Olds 88's, Olds LSS's and Buick Lesabres Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.

A problem

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Old 04-10-2006, 07:42 PM
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Default A problem

Ok here it is. I was sitting in a parking lot and noticed my voltage drop significantly. And the car almost shut off. Well then it was fine for a while, but as of a few days ago i notice that if at idle i push the window switch buttons i can walk the voltage bounce. Is it my alternator?
Old 04-10-2006, 07:44 PM
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yeah sounds like a weak alt...i mean it is sometimes normal to see a LITTLE bit of change when moving the windows, but not a whole lot. how far did the gage drop to?
Old 04-10-2006, 07:48 PM
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Sounds like a battery actually..

Get to a shop and have a full test done on your charging system....The battery maybe old enough now that it can't carry the load any more and could possibly be taking the Alt with it.

Does the car crank kinda slower than normal when you go to start it?
Old 04-10-2006, 07:52 PM
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yea it does take a second or two. The battery is new but could be bad. I am going to go to autozone and have them check my alt. When i play with the buttons it goes down if i push up all four it goes right into the red. Not good :?
Old 04-10-2006, 07:53 PM
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Its a good possibility. You can have Autozone , or the like, test it for you for free.
It could be the battery or the grounds too. Clean the grounds good, check the battery cables for corrosion, and check the voltage on the battery w/o the engine running. It should be better than 12v. Turn on an accessory like the stereo (w/o amps & subs) and the battery should stay above 12v but drop a few tenths. I once had a battery that would drop to 9v when under the kightest load but has 13.6 v with no load on it.

In the old days, if you disconnected the battery while the engine was running and it stalled then you definitely had a bad alt. I don't know how true or safe that test is with todays hightech systems. Perhaps someone could chime in.
Old 04-10-2006, 07:54 PM
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Ya get that checked out at "Ricer Zone" lol

Sounds like you're battery may have bit it......
Old 04-10-2006, 07:56 PM
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yea i noticed i have that grounding buss sound. Maybe that has something to do with it. At first i thought it was the fuel pump but i turned off the radio and just sat and listened and it is definently in the car. I am going to see if i find out where it is coming from.
Old 04-12-2006, 07:41 PM
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update i noticed today even when stopped at a stop light with the signal light on i can watch the voltage drop everytime light blinks, and when i turn on the head lights boom right down.
Old 04-12-2006, 07:53 PM
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Alt and/or battery is shot.....get it tested out
Old 04-17-2006, 05:53 PM
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Brought it to auto zone and put it on the tester. He told me it was the alternator and it was $186.75 so i was like um let me think about it. So we went outside and bullshited for a while and he was talking about my amp wire and felt it and was like ohhh here is your problem. It was hot as hell and we disconnected that and now everything seems to be better. He said he thought something was wrong with the wire, maybe a break in it somewhere and it was grounding out. But now i have a new problem. The INSIDE of both my driver side tires are completely worn and on the passenger side are pretty wore too. I have only had the tires for about 6 months or so and the outsides are perfect. Also at about 59 MPH and 70 MPH my car shakes pretty bad and you can watch the passenger seat shake. Is it like the tires unbalanced or something??[/b]


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