95 Buick Century Electrical Problems/Battery/Accessories

[Str8angel]

I am brand new to the forum but I can see from the posts how great many of you are at trying to help people solve problems. Hopefully, I can get some good advice as well. I have a 95 Buick that I call Grandma cause she has so many aches and pains. Plus she is old and grey and looks like a "grandma" car -no disrespect to any grandmothers out there.

Two weeks ago I started having problems- she seemed to act like she did not want to start, but she did. It seemed like the battery, but I knew it was not that old. Then I started having issues with the accessories-the radio/clock loses the presets, the motorized antennae, the horn, interior lights, map light, don't work. I went to Checker after work and they tested the battery and the guy asked me to turn on my headlights and they would not come on. He told to take the battery back to NAPA so I did. A friend of mine helped me put it in and it started up but none of the accessories worked. He checked the fuses and they all looked fine. He also said my compressor wasn't working at all but that could be a separate issue. I drove around with a new battery this week and it died on Thurs. I got a jump drove home and then it started on Fri. I drove to work and as soon as I took my key out the car just died. It is stuck at work and didn't take a jump- I would appreciate any help/ideas?-besides a new car

[GTP Dad]

It sounds like the battery is dieing prematurely probably due to a bad connection in the wiring. I would check all grounds and the positive wire. Based on your description it must be one of the two. Check the main ground which usually connects to the engine block. Remove it from the battery and clean the terminal. Do the same with the positive. Also check where the wires connect to the starter solenoid as you may have a bad connection there. If this doesn't remedy the problem then you may want to consider replacing the battery with a new one or having that one recharged.

[Str8angel]

Thank you so much for your help. One of the wires that led to the fuse box past the gang connector was burnt up causing the accessories to go out. I ended up having to take it in and they cut out the wire and bypassed it. I thought it might help my compressor but of course no such luck. It wouldn't start because the fuel pump fuse was burnt out. The mechanic said he thought it might have shorted with all the fiddling under there. Thanks again for your advice--I really appreciate it. Now I just have to fix the A/C and the turn signals and I will be doing alright.

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

It sounds like the battery is dieing prematurely probably due to a bad connection in the wiring. I would check all grounds and the positive wire. Based on your description it must be one of the two. Check the main ground which usually connects to the engine block. Remove it from the battery and clean the terminal. Do the same with the positive. Also check where the wires connect to the starter solenoid as you may have a bad connection there. If this doesn't remedy the problem then you may want to consider replacing the battery with a new one or having that one recharged.