fatcat2

Hey everyone,

I am having strange electrical issues on my '99 LS and would appreciate some help.

My check VSC light comes on with no other warning lights on.(except 1x check engine at startup but that went away and hasn't come back)
Sometimes the check VSC comes on at startup but then clears itself after about 10 seconds.
Most of the time it stays on for the duration of my trip.
every few days it starts up with no problem/lights.
this has been ongoing for about 2 weeks.

Other symptoms:
randomly can't keep idle and stalls out. this happens every once in a while but isn't common.
battery losing a bit of charge.(battery is 4 months old, alternator is 1.5 years old, battery terminal 1.5 years old)
-checked the voltage and the battery was at 12.2, put it on the trickle charger and it came right back up to 14.3.
-checked voltage while running to verify alternator charge before i put it on the trickle charger, alternator is outputting 14.3.
occasionally will hear a bit of grinding at startup, but it goes away once start engages. Similar sound to low battery startup.(starter is 1.5 years old)
doubt this is in same category but it happened at the same time, dome light burnt out.

Michael88

My 98 was able to do a lot with a bad battery, but had the same types of problems. 12.2v when the car is off is slightly below acceptable, 12.5v is good. I know but trust me these cars are particular. It should have 14.3v when running and be able to maintain it. If it drops, then that isn't good. What brand of battery is it? If it is a cheap battery, then they don't tend to hold up to the electrical demands. I would remove and inspect all the vacuum hoses, too. I just found a big crack in the back of the PCV hose to the intake. It was hidden from sight. Is the idler pulley squeaking? If so, replace it. This can throw the sensors into fits. Clean air filter? Running premium gas, not regular unleaded? I would start with those things. Then consider things like coolant temperature sender, MAF sensor cleaning, throttle body cleaning, O2 sensors, and the dreaded ECU capacitor leaks.