help!! i have no idea whats wrong..

[etlsport]

ok.. so im driving home from work.. its about a 20 mile ride.. 30 minutes

pulling up to a stop sign and the amp cuts out.. wierd.. but ok.. make my turn, start going up the hill and abs light comes on.. wtf? keep going.. have very little power (as in horsepower) but my voltage is reading 17-18V... yikes.. turn into my driveway (which is a very big hill).. not enough power to pull my vx up the driveway.. revving up to 3500 rpms keeps me in place on the hill but no forward progress

make it to the bottom of the hill in reverse (that was scary!) the vx is idling at 2000 rpms and still reading 18V

kill the engine, start it up, running normally, hit the gas to attempt the hill again.. the second i broke 2500 rpms same thing, no power, 18v and abs light

so i get to a parking lot and replace the alternator.. same thing, soon as i rev up high idle, no power, 18V

i tried running the VX without the serpentine belt.. that worked?? vx ran ok without the serpentine belt (except for no coolant, recharging etc)

called a few dealerships.. nobody had any idea.. so.. yea im stumped.. and my vx is not driveable at the moment


HELP!

[Gussie2000]

ok.. so im driving home from work.. its about a 20 mile ride.. 30 minutes

pulling up to a stop sign and the amp cuts out.. wierd.. but ok.. make my turn, start going up the hill and abs light comes on.. wtf? keep going.. have very little power (as in horsepower) but my voltage is reading 17-18V... yikes.. turn into my driveway (which is a very big hill).. not enough power to pull my vx up the driveway.. revving up to 3500 rpms keeps me in place on the hill but no forward progress

make it to the bottom of the hill in reverse (that was scary!) the vx is idling at 2000 rpms and still reading 18V

kill the engine, start it up, running normally, hit the gas to attempt the hill again.. the second i broke 2500 rpms same thing, no power, 18v and abs light

so i get to a parking lot and replace the alternator.. same thing, soon as i rev up high idle, no power, 18V

i tried running the VX without the serpentine belt.. that worked?? vx ran ok without the serpentine belt (except for no coolant, recharging etc)

called a few dealerships.. nobody had any idea.. so.. yea im stumped.. and my vx is not driveable at the moment


HELP!

Hi eric i just read your situation,what you explained it seems that some thing,some where regarding the electrical system went bad,i say so because your amp was the 1rst thing to go off.Looks like the VX starved of power at a some moment whilst you were driving back home.

Have the VX electrical checked.the ABS light is also very weird though,but start with the electrical,you must know how much amps the battery is pushing, is the best idea i can think of.

[etlsport]

couple more things..

called two dealerships in cali (anitas fav place in monrovia and one other place) both mechanics said WTF?

called the lead tech at my work.. he also said WTF?

and im not throwing a CEL even when the symptoms are showing up

[LittleBeast]

odd problems sorry. outside of the electrical gremlins that sounds like what happened to me when one side of the muffler broke off and the O2 sensor was killing all performance.

[PK]

couple more things..

called two dealerships in cali (anitas fav place in monrovia and one other place) both mechanics said WTF?

called the lead tech at my work.. he also said WTF?

and im not throwing a CEL even when the symptoms are showing up

Etlsport,
can only make an educated guess without a lot of diagnostics, but it sounds like your alternater, or voltage regulator, might have farted a voltage spike and caused your ECM to shat itself.
You would need to have a scan gauge connected while running and problem occuring. If I am right, the readings would be all over the place, if there at all.

Running ok below 2500 RPM sounds like a limp home mode built into most ECMs.

Good luck, and please keep the fam informed.

PK

[JGeorge264]

this sounds sort of like a problem I've been having. I posted about it a few months ago. Mine was only when I would first start out but my amp and stereo would cut out - complete 0 power - idled fine until I would give it gas and suddenly no power, abs light would come on, and the power would surge on and off.. it was a random issue so was hard to trace. I tried wiggling wires to no avail. Sometimes I would turn the headlights on and amp would go off,,, very frustrating.. it would work itself out after a few seconds so it wasn't as serious as what you're describing. It would happen randomly for a several days, then be fine, then bad for a day etc, I never knew when it was going to happen. I had the alternator checked out - was fine. Then one day a few weeks ago I went out to go to work, turned key,, click, dead battery... grrrrr so we hooked it up to the battery charger, went out about half hour later turned key,, NOTHING.. bigger grrrr.. pop the hood and the battery is fried.. leaking all over! The battery was about 3 yrs old with a 75 month warranty. So to end a long story.. I replaced it and have not had the problem since. I'm still baffled as to why but happy that it seems to be fixed. Hope your problem turns out to be as simple..

[pbkid]

well i cant help you much with the problem, but i can tell you that if your battery is putting out over 14 volts you amp will shut off to keep from blowing up....

test the alternator and the battery...those are my suggestions...

[nfpgasmask]

well i cant help you much with the problem, but i can tell you that if your battery is putting out over 14 volts you amp will shut off to keep from blowing up....

test the alternator and the battery...those are my suggestions...

That's what I was thinking. Something is overloading the electrical system. I'm no expert, but I have a scanguage and mine always reads around 12v iirc. When I flip my roof lights on I see it go to like 14v or so. I have never seen 18v...:eek:

Good luck, Eric!

Bart

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

also check any connectors to the back of the alternator for corrosion. I had gremlins in a Trans Am that turned out to be corroded connectors and the corrosion was "not easily noticed". It would vary from overcharging to undercharging and back to normal charging as the electrical system tried to compensate for bad connections.

[Triathlete]

Check to see if your battery is warm to the touch and/or the sides are bulging out. You may have an internal short in your battery which can cause a lot of problems. It happens often with aftermarket batteries.
Hope you get it all worked out.

[kodiak]

X2


also check any connectors to the back of the alternator for corrosion. I had gremlins in a Trans Am that turned out to be corroded connectors and the corrosion was "not easily noticed". It would vary from overcharging to undercharging and back to normal charging as the electrical system tried to compensate for bad connections.

[Rubicool]

I had a similar problem in my Porsche. I replaced the alt/reg twice and it truned out to be a defective battery. I assume it was shorted internally and it was intermittent. Replaced battery and it's been good for over a year now.

Good luck, hope it ends up being something easy.

[crotchrocket]

As well as above, i'd look at your amp, sounds like it earthed the +. Its more likely to be something you have added to the car thats gone wrong than something stock, imho. Something as simple as screwing the amp down and the screw touching the bodywork etc ?

But if it did earth the + then have you checked all your fuses out ??

[Gussie2000]

Hi eric.
Most of us came to the same concusion,your issue is electrical,the ECM is also exposed to get damage if the right diagnostic isn't done right away.

If you had any electrical work done on the VX recently then is time look over for possible mistakes.

Good luck

[tom4bren]

Eric,

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I know it sounds hokey but the battery could be your problem (just like everyone else has mentioned). Just disconnect the battery after you have it started & see if the problem persists.

Tom

[LittleBeast]

Actually now that I think about it, when my yellow top battery died after only a year or so it did a lot of crazy things which I had no idea what the problem might be and it was just the battery, hope that is all that it is.

[etlsport]

thanks guys! last night before bed i started thinking maybe it was the battery, then woke up to see all these posts about battery, so that gives me hope, i also called Merlin and he thought it was a short in the engine wiring harness, but that it could very easily be a battery

luckily i used my stock battery in the workshop and kept it charged at all times so im gonna go throw that sucker in and hope for the best.. ill report back when i know...

[etlsport]

well new battery didnt do anything.. if anything it made the problem worse.. with the new old battery, the problem happens on startup, before it was after revving over 2k rpms

[vt_maverick]

Could've reset something in the ECU when you unhooked the battery, might be time to consider troubleshooting it. Any VX's near you that you could borrow a known-good ECU from to test?

CAVEAT: I'm not anything close to a mechanic, just had a few bad experiences with batteries, alternators, and ECUs now. :)

[etlsport]

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/medium/SNC00077.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=13533)

:_brickwal http://i3.tinypic.com/xpsunk.gif

[vt_maverick]

Wow... sorry to see that dude.

[tom4bren]

Dang Son - that is a sorry sight. Keep us up-to-date.

[Mark B]

I had all kinds of electrical problems when driving home from bowling one night.
VX would stall, lights would go on and off, electrical gages would go haywire.
Took it in and had the battery replaced.
Solved the problem. I would have never guessed the battery.
If Florida, I have been replacing the battery every 4 to 5 years because of all the heat in the summer.

[Knigh7s]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I had a similar symptom when I first bought mine. Driving down the freeway the entire VX just went black. It was like someone just pulled the plug on me and I coasted to the side of the road. Restarted and everything was fine. About a week later at a McD's drive through, it happened again. This time I couldn't go anymore than about 10mph at around 3k rpm... pulled over shutdown and restarted, and everything has been fine since then...

I wish I knew what it was that caused this, but it has been 3 years since that incident...

Good luck on getting her back up and running. Makes me worried knowing that our VX's are having these random problems, even when we do so much to keep her maintained.

[etlsport]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I had a similar symptom when I first bought mine. Driving down the freeway the entire VX just went black. It was like someone just pulled the plug on me and I coasted to the side of the road. Restarted and everything was fine. About a week later at a McD's drive through, it happened again. This time I couldn't go anymore than about 10mph at around 3k rpm... pulled over shutdown and restarted, and everything has been fine since then...

I wish I knew what it was that caused this, but it has been 3 years since that incident...

Good luck on getting her back up and running. Makes me worried knowing that our VX's are having these random problems, even when we do so much to keep her maintained.

id had that problem before too.. related to fuel pressure regulator or fuel filter i believe because when i replaced those two, the problems went away entirely.. my issues feels just like that.. except for the surging idle and voltage spike

[KeithVXlvr]

Etlsport,

Wow, I was going to say start removing your modifications until it runs right again but, after looking at the picture of it on the truck I just don't have the heart. Especially since it is the same as my 2001 Kaiser....


Good luck my friend. :)

[etlsport]

thats basically what i did, disconnected all aftermarket accessories from the battery, removed aftermarket alternator, removed optima battery

[Gussie2000]

thats basically what i did, disconnected all aftermarket accessories from the battery, removed aftermarket alternator, removed optima battery

Hi eric !

It's a sad pic there man;I strongly believe what marlin told you about the engine wiring harness.

Hope the shop get your horse back on the streets very soon

[don moore]

chin up..keep us posted

[PittVXr]

Eric,

I hope you get this fixed ASAP. It hurts seeing your 'cross up there on that flatbed, especially knowing how much you have put into it.

[etlsport]

talked to the guy at the shop.. he guessed transmission???
im takin it back home and will mess with it more

at this point i am convinced its a short between the alternator battery and fuse block because i havent blown any fuses

[Triathlete]

Do a search on wiring harness. There has been a few threads where in a particular place (near one of the headlights IIRC) the wiring harness rubs and shorts.

[LittleBeast]

So you think your ECU is ok?

And you believe there is no electronic glitch in the fuel delivery and all the various components of fuel delivery are OK?

[etlsport]

it is behind the headlight.. i checked there.. definately a lot of exposed wires.. nothing looked frayed though

[etlsport]

im not sure about the ecu.. if that is the issue i dont understand why removing the serpentine belt would cure the problem.. it comes home on a flatbed today.. im going to pull the battery and alternator and have em both tested then saturday i will pull all the wire loom off of the main wiring harness to search for shorts.. if that doesnt find anything.. ill try swapping the PCM as merlin calls it

[etlsport]

spoke to the shop again.. guy said voltage spiking is from loose battery terminals and that the transmission is stuck in 3rd gear which causes the lack of power.. still having trouble wrapping my head around that.. would it cause an idle of 2k rpms?

it also doesnt explain why the problem went away without the swrpentine belt


could third gear be a function of limp mode?

still perplexed by no cel or check trans codes

[LittleBeast]

hmmm, well that main wiring harness runs all the way down to the tranny, I had the whole thing replaced (it is huge) and it ended up being internal problems in the tranny itself, good luck

[Gussie2000]

im not sure about the ecu.. if that is the issue i dont understand why removing the serpentine belt would cure the problem.. it comes home on a flatbed today.. im going to pull the battery and alternator and have em both tested then saturday i will pull all the wire loom off of the main wiring harness to search for shorts.. if that doesnt find anything.. ill try swapping the PCM as merlin calls it

I'm certainly conviced your ECU isn't the issue,however eric make sure that the sudden 18v power output didn't affect the module.
And don't rely 100% on what the repair shop told you,have the VX checked up by other shops & get other opinions

[Ldub]

spoke to the shop again.. guy said voltage spiking is from loose battery terminals and that the transmission is stuck in 3rd gear which causes the lack of power.. still having trouble wrapping my head around that.. would it cause an idle of 2k rpms?

it also doesnt explain why the problem went away without the swrpentine belt


could third gear be a function of limp mode?

still perplexed by no cel or check trans codes

Longshot, I know, but doesn't the VX start out in third in winter mode?...:naughty:

Check that switch...:_confused

Good Luck gettin' er back on her feet!:_wrench:

[Otto]

Eric, I know you looked at the ground connection behind the head light , but just dont look at it. You need to disconnect and clean the connection. Bad grounds could cause voltage spikes which could affect your transmission and put it in third gear (safe mode) to try to keep you from causing other damage. Also check the connection to the mode selector switch along side the transmission. Also check battery cables at both ends.

[VehiGAZ]

Eric, my money is on the wiring harness getting grounded out somewhere. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to track down.

Good luck!

[etlsport]

good news.. definately not the trans.. the lead mechanic at work thinks against the odds that the alternators are the problem.. i have most of tomorrow to sort it out.. so ill post back new results sunday morning

[Gussie2000]

That's good news though.

[Y33TREKker]

spoke to the shop again.. guy said voltage spiking is from loose battery terminals and that the transmission is stuck in 3rd gear which causes the lack of power.. still having trouble wrapping my head around that.. would it cause an idle of 2k rpms?

it also doesnt explain why the problem went away without the swrpentine belt

could third gear be a function of limp mode?

still perplexed by no cel or check trans codes
I think this guy is on the right track. Loose battery terminals (or electrical connections in general) would make the alternator think the battery has no charge, and it would increase it's output as a result. The loose/bad connection would make the ECU think there's a problem in the system somewhere because sensor(s) wouldn't be seeing the voltage they are supposed to, potentially putting the vehicle into limp-mode. And taking the serpentine belt off would have stopped the alternator from being able to produce the voltage spikes to the system.

Doing simple continuity checks starting with some of the main cables and connections (battery posts and terminals, starter, etc) might be a good place to start. Our battery post connections aren't the most substantial looking connectors, so getting a battery post wire brush and cleaning both the posts and the connectors would be what I'd do first. And once you got them cleaned, applying some dielectric grease as an aid in preventing future oxidation would also be worthwhile.

[etlsport]

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/home_005.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=13587)


shes home!!!!

turns out the little black plastic piece that goes over the positive post of the alternator had cracked.. and when tightened, it separated, causing the alternator to ground on itself, when i installed the 2nd alternator (OEM) i re-used the same piece without noticing the crack in it, when i pulled it to install the 3rd alternator, i noticed the crack, so replaced that piece and put back in the oem alternator.. fired right up with no symptoms at all!!

unfortunately my high output alternator is completely toast.. but the vx is up and running perfectly again... thanks for the help and support guys!!

oh and a big huge thumbs down to Bob's service center in downingtown, PA they were useless, they were the ones who fubar'd my negative battery post, recommended i replace my transmission and generally left my VX in disarray when they gave it back to me


but im happy that suzy is home and healthy!:dance:

[CrnCnn]

Re-united and it feels so good....

[Knigh7s]

:bgwg::bgwb::smilewink good to know that everything is alright and not as extreme as some had thought!!! :smilewink:bgwb::bgwg:

[VehiGAZ]

Yay!!! Happy ending!!! (not that kind, pervs!)

Sometimes it's the little things. When I bought my 928 I had all sorts of never-ending battery/charge problems, leaving it D-E-D dead over and over again. :-( My (awesome) mechanic traced the problem to one of those battery-disconnect thumb-screw jobs that wasn't screwed on tight, corroding the contacts and keeping the battery from getting charged.

Nice pic, Eric! Glad it worked out for you...

[Riff Raff]

oh and a big huge thumbs down to Bob's service center in downingtown, PA they were useless, they were the ones who fubar'd my negative battery post, recommended i replace my transmission and generally left my VX in disarray when they gave it back to me

ERIC--- That manuever is commonly known as "job security" for repeat business!!!

[Anita]

I scared the husband, the cat and probably most the neighbors around me when I saw the pic of you hugging your VX!!!! I almost lost a lung laughing.

I would give good money to have a calendar of VX owners hugging their VX's. :bgwb:

[Gussie2000]

Eric,now it's good time to rechecked all aftermarket wiring since you'll be putting every thing back again.

[PittVXr]

Glad to hear you are up and running again. Amazing how such a small part can cause such huge headaches. Thanks for sharing your story. If this ever happens to any of the rest of us, we will have a possible answer to the problem.

[Ldub]

CONGRATS!, Happy to hear the news.

:dance:...:yes:...:_beer:...:yes:...:dance:

[etlsport]

so far the casualties of this incident are

high output alternator (fubar)
both headlight bulbs (low beams burnt out)
rear view camera (turns on, no picture)
a 14mm socket (missing in action)
my spare VX battery (due to a shop messing up the terminal)

but on the plus side, my A/C has started working properly again with the oem alternator, so apparently the high output alternator was the issue there too

im guessing that piece cracked long ago, ie when the a/c started acting up, because that happened months after the high output alternator install, and got progressively worse over a span of 4-6 months, then stopped working completely for the last 2-3 months

total repair costs
tow to local shop - free from AAA
tow from local shop to my work - $80
electrical diagnosis from my shop - $12
rubber sleeve to cover cracked piece - $2
new headlight bulbs - $40
new rear view camera - $1.50
new high output alternator - $279 (eventually)

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

Great to hear you're back on the road! That pic should be framed! okay...I'm running to dollar bargain to buy a frame...lol. :p

[VehiGAZ]

Getting you beloved VX back on the road... PRICELESS!!

[KeithVXlvr]

SUZY ????:confused:

[circmand]

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/home_005.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=13587)
!:dance:

Get a room you two

[VehiGAZ]

SUZY ????:confused:

I think they are all named that... right ldub?

[pbkid]

I think they are all named that... right ldub?

i guess if you wanna be part of the crowd....

pssst, a vehicross owner being like other people? no!

[Ldub]

I think they are all named that... right ldub?

Maybe not ALL of em'...just the cream of the crop...:smilewink...:laughgray

But since there's another "Suzy" out there, I'm thinking of changing her name to Siouxzee...:eekgray:

[etlsport]

heh yea sorry dub, ive called her suzy for a good long time tho.. just try to keep it on the DL here since i know youve got a suzy too lol

[Ldub]

heh yea sorry dub, ive called her suzy for a good long time tho.. just try to keep it on the DL here since i know youve got a suzy too lol

Ahhhh...but what is in a name.

A VX by any other name, would still smell of performance...:laughgray