1996 Grand Am electrical problems

bluebritusa · #1 11-22-2003, 09:51 PM

My lovely wife came home last night to say that her 1996 Grand Am has an electrical problem.....looked at it today and can ensure her it does have major electrical problems. The list of problems is as follows.

1. Gauge lights pulse with engine rpm.
2. Front / rear lights will not work
3. Interior lights are on all the time...(this has been an intermittent problem in the past which is solved by taking out the int. light fuse when vehicle parked and installing a manual switch in the dome light when driving)
4. Some relay is clicking continously behind the dash (not the one in the fuse panel as took that out)
5. The rear window defrost indicator is on permanently and cannot be switched off
6. The engine will idle OK but will not rev up smoothly.

How can a car go from working pretty smoothly to this in a 3 mile journey!!!
Anyway would appreciate any suggestions about where should I start with this???????

mycivic · #2 11-22-2003, 11:05 PM

check all wirings for loose connections including the wire towards the fuse. if lights are always on...check the switch. switch may be stuck in such a way that even if u turn it on and off...the conductor stays in a place in such a way that it will keep the light on. as for the engine i dont know about that. hope it helps.

bluebritusa · #3 11-24-2003, 09:37 PM

Problem solved.....

After a long search, finally found my multimeter and got to the serious work of finding out what was wrong with the Grand Am.

Firstly battery voltage was real low....charged it up.

Put battery back in car and had no electrical problems....but on checking the battery voltage didn't have the +13.5V plus as expected, actually only reading 12.4V. Checked the output of the alternator....dead. Trip to the local parts shop for an new alternator and 30 minutes later the battery was reading 14V and car working fine.

More importantly the wife is real happy...

Julie88 · #4 06-18-2004, 10:04 PM

I actually just bought my first car today. It's a 96 Grand Am. Every older Grand Am I have ever looked at to buy, has had some thing weird about the door panels. I guess what grand ams are known for is thier electrical problems... the stereo knobs, power locks, and power windows always go out. The car I bought today has no power lock button on the drivers side door, the speaker cover is cracked on that side, the reflector thing is missing, and the cloth on the door is all loose. Fortunatly, the dealer agreed to fix the lock for free.I figured I can buy a speaker cover and a reflector for next to nothing and the cloth isn't really noticable. The car is really in good shape other than that, and only has 62k on it. I guess the electrical problems are just what you can expect buying Grand Am's.

justin0717 · #5 06-18-2004, 11:17 PM

My 96 when i bought it had almost the exact same problems, i am missing a reflector on the drivers door, the cloth was comming off on both doors (glue fixed this very easily), my speaker cover was cracked on the passenger side. Wierd.

Julie88 · #6 06-19-2004, 12:35 AM

That is weird. I didn't think the speaker had anything to do with the lock. I just thought someone kicked it or something... How long have you had your car? I just got mine today and i'm wondering if im gonna hate it after ive had it for a while...I kind of got it because I want a car before my birthday, and I couldn't find anything else. I like it though, its purple.. my interiors different than yours, thats the only difference really. Does your steering wheel look all worn and faded? I dont know what the deal is on mine, it only has 62k on it, the steering wheel looks like its been through hell and back.

justin0717 · #7 06-19-2004, 11:15 AM

I got mine around february after i crashed my other car. No my sterring wheel is fine. I think mine has always had sterring wheel covers on it, you could put on on your to cover it up, if it looks that bad.

Julie88 · #8 06-19-2004, 06:12 PM

yeah I bought one. I dont know why its like that cuz it doesnt have that many miles on it but the steering wheel, and the seat both look really worn. Maybe it just sat in the sun or something...I don't have my car yet, we bought it but their fixing the door for me and I wont have it till Monday. I'll put pics on here when I get it though.

Bigceeloc · #9 06-20-2004, 05:46 PM

I got my car June 18th, and it's almost identical to your car Justin. My dome light is always on as well. And sometimes, my headlights will be on in the daytime, and sometimes my DRL's won't come on. The car has 105k.

justin0717 · #10 06-20-2004, 10:03 PM

yea my drl's dont work sometimes either, i have looked and looked and cant find a reason for it, on your car does the high beam indicator flash when they are not on?

Bigceeloc · #11 06-21-2004, 05:40 PM

Hmm nope. I don't see the High Beam indicator come on when that happens.

justin0717 · #12 06-22-2004, 12:06 AM

hmm mine flashes, and in the manual, it says when it flashes, something wrong with drl, but i cant figure it out. doesnt bother me any, but it must seem wierd if i follow the same car for a while and my headlights are on one mine and off the next and then back on again. Oh well.

cfaris · #13 06-24-2004, 06:23 AM

I know the reason for the DRLs not coming on. Starting in 96 they put a daylight sensor in the dash right under the main defrost vent. The problem is that the drivers side wiper covers it most of the time making the car think it's dark.

Bigceeloc · #14 06-25-2004, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfaris

I know the reason for the DRLs not coming on. Starting in 96 they put a daylight sensor in the dash right under the main defrost vent. The problem is that the drivers side wiper covers it most of the time making the car think it's dark.

Wow man. You solved alot of questions in my mind!! Sometimes in the morning my headlights will come on and I won't know why! haha thanks!

And yeah, this dude might be right about our problem, Justin.

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