couple 95 supreme problems

[Double_D650]

hey guys. my cutlass has been having a few annoying issues lately that i could us some advice one. first off, the car seems to have some sort of power issue, electrically speaking. i notice that the lights, both interior and headlights, randomly dim and then go to normal brightness a few seconds later. i just had the battery replaced (different story) but that didn't help. could this be an alternator problem or could i just be a loose connection somewhere?

also, my abs light is on about half the time i drive the car. i've checked the brake fluid and thats fine. along with that, the parking brake light randomly comes on maybe 3 times a month with the abs light. any ideas on that one?

thanks for any help!! -Derek

[94cutsupreme]

the dimming thing sounds like an alternator to me but you might wanna have someone check it out before replacing it cuz i'm not an expert....but i was having issues with my headlights being really dim and then they would get dimmer if i touched my radio or heat or windows...i went to a mechanic to have my battery checked and i found out it was the alternator, so chances are, that's the problem with your car...

the brake lights, i also had issues with...for about a week i would go to stop and my brakes would slide a lil bit like when you're sliding on snow...i would slide about an inch and then stop. it really scared me for a while until eventually i would start the car and my anti-lock brake light and my normal brake light would come on and my brakes would work perfectly fine...i had my rear brakes replaced but that didn't solve the problem with the lights and my mechanic couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. i still dont know what was wrong with it considering i dont drive it anymore...

i know this doesn't help you figure out what's wrong with the brake lights but maybe it'll help knowing that it's happened to other people with the same kind of car.

good luck with these issues!

[richtazz]

As with all electrical problems, check the battery cables and the remote post near the left front strut to be sure they are clean of grease, dirt and corrosion, and that they are tight. All secondary electrical power is fed through the remote positive post mentioned above. Make sure all wires attached there are not frayed or corroded.

[Double_D650]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. The ABS light went out last week and hasn't come back yet so I'll just assume it fixed itself for now. However I have bigger problems now. The electrical issue has gotten to the point to where I can't drive the car. I replaced the alternator after Autozone told me mine was bad. I had them check it because the voltage drops were becoming more frequent and more severe. Well, now my car won't start. It seems that there is no electrical power getting to the engine. Headlights and interior lights and other things work normally as long as I'm not trying to start the car, but as soon as I turn the key everything goes dead until I let off again. I think something might be lose cuz I'm pretty sure the bump from a set of railroad tracks caused the car to die, and sometimes it'll start normally then immediately die, but I'm not sure what to check. Any ideas are greatly appreciated! -Derek

[jmblimo]

Make sure the battery side post connectors are tight? Have you tried to charge the battery?

[Slade901]

You need a small battery charger/start that connects to a 120V AC around $40 or so. Have your battery charged up all the way and then try to start the engine again. The lights might be on but probably not enough to crank the engine.

[thomas_covenant]

Originally Posted by Slade901

You need a small battery charger/start that connects to a 120V AC around $40 or so. Have your battery charged up all the way and then try to start the engine again. The lights might be on but probably not enough to crank the engine.

What are you talking about, Slade?
The dude said nothing about cranking. He has replaced the battery. What are you trying to suggest? Perhaps you should reread the original post.
Thomas

[Slade901]

Originally Posted by thomas_covenant

What are you talking about, Slade?
The dude said nothing about cranking. He has replaced the battery. What are you trying to suggest? Perhaps you should reread the original post.
Thomas

Thomas, perhaps you should read the previous post yourself and provide your own additional help to this guy that has problem. Thomas, it does not matter if you bought a brand new battery gold terminal whatever as long as you have driven the vehicle and have been driving it, there is chance that the battery has been depleted if you have some electrical issues or loose connection specially around the alternator side or its connection.

To eliminate battery issue, you must make sure that it's fully charged. Using a volt meter alone is not enough if the battery is fully capable of cranking the engine but probably just enough to turn on some accessories like interior lights, etc. Thomas, I'm not sure if you are a mechanic or not. A do-it-yourselfer always have a battery charger even a cheap one at their disposal to track down electrical issues when dealing with battery and alternator.

A brand new battery that is depleted because the alternator is not able to recharge the battery and instead the engine is using the battery to power itself will eventually deplete the battery. If the trip is not that far then you can come back home without your vehicle drying on the street or highway. Brand new battery will almost recover itself if it is been depleted but then eventually it will not be able to recover itself and then needs to be fully charged by a battery charger.

[Slade901]

Originally Posted by Double_D650

Headlights and interior lights and other things work normally as long as I'm not trying to start the car, but as soon as I turn the key everything goes dead until I let off again.

Thomas, use your reading glasses and read this carefully word for word. I don't know what you are smoking and I'm not sure if you can read either . I would consider that as cranking the engine.

[Double_D650]

Hey guys. I think I found the problem. I found a pretty heavy gauge wire that was a little loose on the remote positive post, so I tightened it down and haven't had any problems since. I probably didn't even need the new alternator but oh well. Thanks for the ideas!