1986 Lesabre Estate Wagon Not Charging

Hello All:

I have another car question, this time, it's my dad's car. He has a 1986 LeSabre Estate Wagon, 5.0 ltr V8 with rebuilt Jasper motor installed last fall. Car ran fine and before the winter season, I replaced the alternator, water pump, battery and belts/hoses. ** Never used the car much after dark because he had another car. Mainly used the wagon for hauling.

About a couple of weeks ago, he was driving at night and after about 30 mins of driving, the lights in the radio started to dim and the turn signals would only blink very slowly. He said the car even began to lose power until he shut off his headlights and then the car got a boost of power until he was able to limp it home. Checked under the hood and didn't see anything out of the ordinary; no lose wires on the battery or alternator.

Then next day he went to start it and it was dead, just a click from the key. He put the trickle charger on the battery and was able to fire the engine -- let it charge up and drove it the following day, this time during the day. The car seemed to drive ok, so he took it to his mechanic who actually installed the rebuilt motor.

According to the mechanic, the charging system was not functioning properly. Duh!! He checked the alternator and even made me take back the one I purchased and get a new AC Delco unit. Still not charging. As you may know, on the center dash of early 80s Buicks, there is a string of lights that go to the oil, battery, wiperfluid level, etc.

When he turned on the key, the light for the battery didn't come on. According to the mechanic, because the light on the dash is either blown out or otherwise not functioning, the charging system won't allow the alternator to kick in an complete the system. As a result, the battery is simply getting drained while driving.

I've heard of a lot of weird car stories, but I've never heard of a car not charging because a $1.99 bulb in the dash blew out. Has anyone ever heard about this happening on older Buicks or GMs? The mechanic didn't have time to pull the center dash cover and replace the bulb.

I will go ahead and do it for my dad, but if the bulb still doesn;t light up, what else do I need to check? I read thata there is also a fuse link going down to the starter that could be going bad or damaged. Hopefully, the bulb does the trick, but if it does, does that mean I have to drive around with a replacement bulb in the glove compartment in case it blows again?? Frustrated and confused in IL.

Any info you all can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Ted, Chicago

Hello All:

I have another car question, this time, it's my dad's car. He has a 1986 LeSabre Estate Wagon, 5.0 ltr V8 with rebuilt Jasper motor installed last fall. Car ran fine and before the winter season, I replaced the alternator, water pump, battery and belts/hoses. ** Never used the car much after dark because he had another car. Mainly used the wagon for hauling.

About a couple of weeks ago, he was driving at night and after about 30 mins of driving, the lights in the radio started to dim and the turn signals would only blink very slowly. He said the car even began to lose power until he shut off his headlights and then the car got a boost of power until he was able to limp it home. Checked under the hood and didn't see anything out of the ordinary; no lose wires on the battery or alternator.

Then next day he went to start it and it was dead, just a click from the key. He put the trickle charger on the battery and was able to fire the engine -- let it charge up and drove it the following day, this time during the day. The car seemed to drive ok, so he took it to his mechanic who actually installed the rebuilt motor.

According to the mechanic, the charging system was not functioning properly. Duh!! He checked the alternator and even made me take back the one I purchased and get a new AC Delco unit. Still not charging. As you may know, on the center dash of early 80s Buicks, there is a string of lights that go to the oil, battery, wiperfluid level, etc.

When he turned on the key, the light for the battery didn't come on. According to the mechanic, because the light on the dash is either blown out or otherwise not functioning, the charging system won't allow the alternator to kick in an complete the system. As a result, the battery is simply getting drained while driving.

I've heard of a lot of weird car stories, but I've never heard of a car not charging because a $1.99 bulb in the dash blew out. Has anyone ever heard about this happening on older Buicks or GMs? The mechanic didn't have time to pull the center dash cover and replace the bulb.

I will go ahead and do it for my dad, but if the bulb still doesn;t light up, what else do I need to check? I read thata there is also a fuse link going down to the starter that could be going bad or damaged. Hopefully, the bulb does the trick, but if it does, does that mean I have to drive around with a replacement bulb in the glove compartment in case it blows again?? Frustrated and confused in IL.

Any info you all can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Ted, Chicago

I remember that some cars (and they were old ones as yours) had the bulb's filament wired in series through the field circuit for the alternator. If the bulb blows, it will create a noncharging situation. I don't know if your year and model applies as I don't have a wiring diagram for it. Do you have a diagram to look at which could verify this? Before I pulled the dash out, I would get a diagram and take a look. Have you put a voltmeter on the alternator/battery to check for a charging condition at any time? If it doesn't charge at all, then a fusible link, broken wire or even that bulb could be your culprit.

Hi Stuzman:

Sorry I didn't respond to your suggestion -- thank you for giving me your advice. I ended up pulling the center dash cover and the instrument bulb section and sure enough, the bulb for the charging system was blown. I put a new one in and turned the key and voila', it lit up. Then, I reinstalled the dash parts and put the charger on the batter, which was dead. I don;t know if my dad ended up ruining the battery in the process of running it completely down. I haven't had the chance to talk to him since he charged up the battery and drove the car.

My question still remains though -- what would cause the bulb to blow if no electrical connections have been tampered with and nothing appeared loose? Do I still need to keep a pack of #194 bulbs in the glovebox in case this happens again? I assume I should tell my dad to get the charging system checked again at his mechanic's, but I'm guessing he is going to end up paying for a test that will reveal the charging system is working fine now.

I will keep you posted and truly appreciate your input.

Ted, Chicago

Hi Stuzman:

Sorry I didn't respond to your suggestion -- thank you for giving me your advice. I ended up pulling the center dash cover and the instrument bulb section and sure enough, the bulb for the charging system was blown. I put a new one in and turned the key and voila', it lit up. Then, I reinstalled the dash parts and put the charger on the batter, which was dead. I don;t know if my dad ended up ruining the battery in the process of running it completely down. I haven't had the chance to talk to him since he charged up the battery and drove the car.

My question still remains though -- what would cause the bulb to blow if no electrical connections have been tampered with and nothing appeared loose? Do I still need to keep a pack of #194 bulbs in the glovebox in case this happens again? I assume I should tell my dad to get the charging system checked again at his mechanic's, but I'm guessing he is going to end up paying for a test that will reveal the charging system is working fine now.

I will keep you posted and truly appreciate your input.

Ted, Chicago

Ted

I had something simular happen on a 93 Taurus. To make a long story short....when I bought the car the seller removed the fusE for the gauges so I woudn't see the check engine light come on because of a bad O2 sensor. Well....I drove the car for a while and thought....this thing is getting really good gas millage! This gauage hasn't even moved. After I just about ran out of gas, was able to chug to a station, and filled it up and the gauage didn't move then either. I pulled the dash apart thinking that there was something wrong with my gas gauage. When I put it back together, I didn't get the plug put back into the dash all of the way. This caused the alt. not to charge. I replaced the alt. Still no charge. For some reason, I thought to check the plug. I don't even remember why I checked it. Sure enough, that was the cause. I hope this helps someone out.

Regards

Dan

Hi Stuzman:

Sorry I didn't respond to your suggestion -- thank you for giving me your advice. I ended up pulling the center dash cover and the instrument bulb section and sure enough, the bulb for the charging system was blown. I put a new one in and turned the key and voila', it lit up. Then, I reinstalled the dash parts and put the charger on the batter, which was dead. I don;t know if my dad ended up ruining the battery in the process of running it completely down. I haven't had the chance to talk to him since he charged up the battery and drove the car.

My question still remains though -- what would cause the bulb to blow if no electrical connections have been tampered with and nothing appeared loose? Do I still need to keep a pack of #194 bulbs in the glovebox in case this happens again? I assume I should tell my dad to get the charging system checked again at his mechanic's, but I'm guessing he is going to end up paying for a test that will reveal the charging system is working fine now.

I will keep you posted and truly appreciate your input.

Ted, Chicago

Sounds like you've got the system charging. The bulb is just like anything. I'm sure that it probably died of age as bulbs do when they get old. Vibration, constant heating and cooling of the filament will eventually catch up with any bulb. You shouldn't have to worry about it blowing for a long time. It wouldn't hurt to just keep some around, but like I said, it should be awhile before you have to change it out again. You could put a voltmeter across the battery while it's running and put a load on it and see what your voltage says. It should be around 14.2-14.5V. Keep us posted on how it goes.

I assume I should tell my dad to get the charging system checked again at his mechanic's, but I'm guessing he is going to end up paying for a test that will reveal the charging system is working fine now.

Some older cars really did rely on this bulb. It is a known issue. If the bulb fixed it, and your charging system checked out fine before other than the bulb, then you should be set. I have had to go through a similar thing before... :)