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Today - if I have time - I am breaking open the connector clip that goes to the ALT. On my 95, it broke anyway with me ripping it out (not really). Anyway, it leaves you with 3 wires that mount perfectly onto the alternator. If it's not that... I am seriously stuck.
I need help. Anyone in Kissimmee? Who has some free love and wants to save somebody's dream car? Soon I'm getting a 2nd car and I really don't want to just have Lexi2 sit. But it's ok if I have to.
Ask StereoRob - I have changed my mind 10 times whether to sell it or not... Hah.
At this point, I think the middle wire for the voltage regulator isn't connecting right. It would explain the symptoms... Kinda... If it had a loose connection and lost it then I guess boom, won't charge right.
But yes please, fuse diagrams. 95-97 would probably work.
Question. Somebody left a half of a 60v (?) fuse under the hood. They didn't realize you need to unscrew it... Anyway, would that have shiznit to do with it?
Like I said, the last car I loved this much that I sold - was so regrettable. Even though I got a 96 Saab 900SE Turbo afterward which was a really cool car. But what I sold was an 89 BMW 325iX, 1 of 1500 AWD cars in the US.
I'm ranting. Gotta take care of some stuff - will be back to work on the car.
Engine compartment
Good luck with everything. Don't sell her. Even if it takes along time to figure it out it will be worth it. Your only other option is to buy another LS400 if you want one.
I got it to finally charge between 13.4 to 14.4 or so while driving. This lasted for about two weeks until the battery light came back on.
What did I do? There is a piece of plastic on the bottom of the negative terminal connector. I cut that off so I could slip the connector onto the terminal more. More contact... You know?
That could be an issue. The thing the nuts screw onto there is a ~2" long stud sticking out of the rectifier module. There is supposed to be a piece of black plastic, then one nut screws on to hold that in place, not so critical. Then you put the B+ terminal (the only thick wire going to the alternator) on the stud, and put the second nut on to tighten it down. What you need is a tight electrical contact between the B+ terminal and that threaded stud. Do you have both nuts there? Is the second one tight so the terminal is clamped tightly between the two? To repeat differently, that plastic is not critical, but you do need two nuts on there with the B+ terminal tightened between them.
Originally Posted by Rokas
Anyway... It was sitting for 2 weeks before this. I jump-started it and lo and behold... No more battery light. Good readings from the voltmeter.
It wasn't even overheating that bad. Everything looked OK except, after two weeks like I said, the battery light came back on when I started the car. Wait...! Actually I was driving it. The only thing I did different was put my window all the way down. Coming back up, it seems to lack the energy - somehow - to go all the way up. For example, if I'm ready to get out of the car, I have to sit there and wait cause the window will slowly go up by half an inch at a time. Revving helps.
One thing - could a short in the door cause all of this?
I don't know if these are related but soon after, there's the battery light. Keeping the car charged at 12.5 or so at all times. Not cool.
...
A true short in the door would blow a fuse so the door window motor or whatever is malfunctioning would just stop working at that point. A weakened motor could draw more current, which would be weak, and would put more load on the alternator. Not enough to damage it, but if you've got a marginal situation to begin with, sure it could put it over the top. But I would not think to fix that door thinking it would solve your charging problem.
Regarding your later post on the 3-wires in the connector to the alternator, typically one of those wires will be an input signal from the ECU to the alternator that basically tells it whether to charge or not. I don't know the details of your '96 (I have a '91), but from other cars, I have definitely heard of cases where as part of debugging or work-around, the alternator was made to charge by either removing that control wire or removing it and applying 12V on it.
If you want to go down that path, step 1 would be to figure out which of the wires is the control wire. A parts diagram should have the wires color coded. If one is blue, I'd guess for that one, if I can't find more reliable info. Then figure out how to disconnect that one wire while leaving everything else connected.
BTW, I would trust a voltage measurement at the battery before just believing the red charging warning light. I believe on my '91, the red light is in an old school circuit, where the light directly indicates a difference between alternator voltage and battery voltage (so when the alternator is putting out battery voltage, no current flows through the light and it stays off). But on newer cars, that light, like everything else, is directly controlled by the ECU, which is not always as smart as it thinks it is. So if you get 14V while running, at the battery, don't worry if the red light is on.
On your other comments on the fusible links (the plastic fuse thing with a clear top), the numbers are all for Amps, not Volts. And the alternator probably has a 120A one. As you mentioned, they screw in from below, requiring partial removal of the fuse block to change them. If you've got a problem there, it will definitely prevent charging. A voltmeter should be able to confirm things there.
stick with it. dont give up on her man. youve already gone as far as you have with her and replaced a ton of stuff. not much left to worry about and best of all you know this car now like the back of your hand.
option 2 is to get another LS400 which would be another 25 year old strange to you LS400 with god knows what kind of gremlins. stick with the one you got. its a cool car dude i like it!
option 3 is to get a different car, which isnt an option. why settle for less then the best? you got the best car money can buy. just needs some more love. and remember, the stuff thats failing on it is almost 25 years old. everything you replace on it, thats one less thing you have to worry about for the next 25 years! thats how i justify it with my 95. -my 95 is starting to talk **** again so im dealing with my crap as well..
07-02-19, 03:45 AM
