CadiKing Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Help!! Long Story shorter... Drivers Window Stuck down, Master Switch Popped out! Rainstorm Soaks car, towel placed on window switch. Switch does get wet, but not soaked. Drive car, no charge warning comes and goes through out the day. Car Dies, no charge. Put in new battery and drove home... spent days removing alternator, no easy feat... Called to have it rebuilt, man said the two, wet window switch and no charge condition, probably not related... Took alternator to have it rebuilt instead of swapped with someone else's trouble... Called, and I am assured I can have it rebuilt there. Get there next day, cannot have it rebuilt, will be swapped with another. Car has now sat for three weeks due to work schedule and vacation... Install, start car, charging @ 13.5 volts on fully charged battery... Took for ride, everything good. Made several heavy braking runs to get rid of the rust on rotors noticed under light braking... Sort of like bedding the breaks... Everything is fine for the first four, then on the fifth, I get flashing display... car may not re-start message...security fault... Take home car, does not re-start... Try different key, restarts...!!! Does not say it is not charging, however, voltage is at 12.5! Display is going nuts... There are all kinds of codes, but they seem related to the lack of voltage... What would you recommend I do?!?!?! Are there any actions to be taken before removing alternator again? Would codes be inportant? I figured allthe codes were related to low voltage... Thank you in advance.. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 I don't think 12.5 volts would cause the DIC problems--I suggest first cleaning battery cables and connections. The DIC could be going nuts because there is loss of PCM data caused by corrosion on battery terminals/cables. However, if the alternator is aftermarket or rebuilt it's possible it went bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadiKing Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 I don't think 12.5 volts would cause the DIC problems--I suggest first cleaning battery cables and connections. The DIC could be going nuts because there is loss of PCM data caused by corrosion on battery terminals/cables. However, if the alternator is aftermarket or rebuilt it's possible it went bad. Thanks MAC, I'll Re-Clean the Terminals tonight! jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 The positive cable is three connectors in a sandwich, all contained in the red plastic terminal end. Be sure and clean between them. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 The security problem may not be related to the battery problem at all. Clean the key especially the resistor and put some WD40 on the key and work it in and out of the cylinder to distribute and clean the contacts in the switch. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadiKing Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 The positive cable is three connectors in a sandwich, all contained in the red plastic terminal end. Be sure and clean between them. Jim It is acting like a bad connection, I could not get the car to start this morning, after fully charing the battery out of the car. I have the connections as clean as I can get them. I used battery terminal connector cleaner . I did get the security message again, after trying to start the car killed the dome light. It would not crank. Didn't have time to go after it again. What kind of grease can I use to increase the connection. Maybe it is a bad ground? thanks jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadiKing Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 The security problem may not be related to the battery problem at all. Clean the key especially the resistor and put some WD40 on the key and work it in and out of the cylinder to distribute and clean the contacts in the switch. Body, I will try that tonight. Last night I put in the freshly charged, (out of car), battery, and the car started right up! 12.9 then 13.5 then 13.7 volts. It idled at 13.7 til it warmed up. I let it idle for fifteen more minutes. I then shut it off and restarted it and drove it. I went 9 miles total. The voltage varied from 12.6 to 13.7 the whole time! Anytime I slowed and turned a corner the voltage appeared to go right back up to 13.5 or 13.7! The voltage did not respond to throttle input directly. It appeared to go up and down independent of what I was doing, except turning the corners! I did NOT get a NO charge message at any time, but sometimes it read 12.6 for a mile at a time. As I pulled back into the driveway, the squares around the PRND21 started to flash so I knew I was in trouble! I pulled the battery, which made the charger jump to 7.5 amps. Tells me the alternator was not charging even though I did not get and lights or messages. I have concern about getting a good battery connection. Maybe I have a ground problem. I put the battery in this morning and could not get it to crank. It killed the dome light and acted like a bad connection. Must be some grease I can add to the connection. The terminals are clean. I wonder if it could be the alternator even though the voltage runs from 12.6 to 13.7 . Help! thanks jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 The security problem may not be related to the battery problem at all. Clean the key especially the resistor and put some WD40 on the key and work it in and out of the cylinder to distribute and clean the contacts in the switch. Body, I will try that tonight. Last night I put in the freshly charged, (out of car), battery, and the car started right up! 12.9 then 13.5 then 13.7 volts. It idled at 13.7 til it warmed up. I let it idle for fifteen more minutes. I then shut it off and restarted it and drove it. I went 9 miles total. The voltage varied from 12.6 to 13.7 the whole time! Anytime I slowed and turned a corner the voltage appeared to go right back up to 13.5 or 13.7! The voltage did not respond to throttle input directly. It appeared to go up and down independent of what I was doing, except turning the corners! I did NOT get a NO charge message at any time, but sometimes it read 12.6 for a mile at a time. As I pulled back into the driveway, the squares around the PRND21 started to flash so I knew I was in trouble! I pulled the battery, which made the charger jump to 7.5 amps. Tells me the alternator was not charging even though I did not get and lights or messages. I have concern about getting a good battery connection. Maybe I have a ground problem. I put the battery in this morning and could not get it to crank. It killed the dome light and acted like a bad connection. Must be some grease I can add to the connection. The terminals are clean. I wonder if it could be the alternator even though the voltage runs from 12.6 to 13.7 . Help! thanks jim When the cables are connected to the battery try turning them by hand, sometimes the bolt bottoms out and the cables are still loose. It certainly sounds like your alternator is charging. Check for codes if you get the F terminal code, it could be your after market alternator. As you may or may not know, we have had problems with aftermarket alternators not communicating properly with the PCM and setting off codes. Do a search under F terminal and alternator. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadiKing Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 The security problem may not be related to the battery problem at all. Clean the key especially the resistor and put some WD40 on the key and work it in and out of the cylinder to distribute and clean the contacts in the switch. Body, I will try that tonight. Last night I put in the freshly charged, (out of car), battery, and the car started right up! 12.9 then 13.5 then 13.7 volts. It idled at 13.7 til it warmed up. I let it idle for fifteen more minutes. I then shut it off and restarted it and drove it. I went 9 miles total. The voltage varied from 12.6 to 13.7 the whole time! Anytime I slowed and turned a corner the voltage appeared to go right back up to 13.5 or 13.7! The voltage did not respond to throttle input directly. It appeared to go up and down independent of what I was doing, except turning the corners! I did NOT get a NO charge message at any time, but sometimes it read 12.6 for a mile at a time. As I pulled back into the driveway, the squares around the PRND21 started to flash so I knew I was in trouble! I pulled the battery, which made the charger jump to 7.5 amps. Tells me the alternator was not charging even though I did not get and lights or messages. I have concern about getting a good battery connection. Maybe I have a ground problem. I put the battery in this morning and could not get it to crank. It killed the dome light and acted like a bad connection. Must be some grease I can add to the connection. The terminals are clean. I wonder if it could be the alternator even though the voltage runs from 12.6 to 13.7 . Help! thanks jim When the cables are connected to the battery try turning them by hand, sometimes the bolt bottoms out and the cables are still loose. It certainly sounds like your alternator is charging. Check for codes if you get the F terminal code, it could be your after market alternator. As you may or may not know, we have had problems with aftermarket alternators not communicating properly with the PCM and setting off codes. Do a search under F terminal and alternator. Mike, I did have two reaccurring codes I forgot to list... PCM P1602 Current and IPC U1040 Current. Then IPC U10616 History. Haven't looked them up yet. I will do a search and call the rebuilder. thanks jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Do you have an ABS light? Here are your Current codes: U1040 - Loss of Class 2 Communications with ABS P1602 - Knock Sensor (KS) Module Performance (got this from here > http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/dtcobd2p.html#pow ) and DTC P1602 Loss of EBTCM Serial Data (got this from here for a 96 but it seems to fit your problem with the U1040 > http://www.caddyinfo.com/1996stsdtclist.htm ) Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadiKing Posted July 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Do you have an ABS light? Here are your Current codes: U1040 - Loss of Class 2 Communications with ABS P1602 - Knock Sensor (KS) Module Performance (got this from here > http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/dtcobd2p.html#pow ) and DTC P1602 Loss of EBTCM Serial Data (got this from here for a 96 but it seems to fit your problem with the U1040 > http://www.caddyinfo.com/1996stsdtclist.htm ) Mike! You are THE MAN! Thank you for convincing me not to take the alternator back out of the car. I took all the connections apart and cleaned them. I cleaned and lubed the key and lock cylinder. "It was obviously a bad connection", now I say that! I didn't see it until you said the alternator was obviously putting out higher voltage if it is fluctuating from 12.6 to 13.5. I didn't realize a poor connection could inhibit the flow of amps so much! The last straw was the long bolt (+) on the battery was stripped and didn't tighten well. I replaced it and everything is fine! The car started and runs perfectly! Thanks again! jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Glad to help out and that you got it running good again! Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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