Gauges Die but car stays On
11-22-2011, 10:13 PM
#1
Launching!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: houston, tx
Posts: 241
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Gauges Die but car stays On Well my gauges along with other things are acting funny I have no idea what the problem could be as it just started recently. Here we go with the symptoms. I start the car gauges all work properly within 5 seconds the tach and other gauges fall back to the dead position. Restart the car they work again but if I turn on the headlights while the gauges are still reading the gauges die and the headlights do not pop up they just sit there and kind of click as if the motors were not getting enough power. Motors are new. Wipers do not work either and will cause gauges to die if I try to turn them on while gauges are still reading. Car is driveable even when the gauges die but the headlight motors constantly click as if they're trying to come up even though the car is turned off. Any ideas on what could be the cause of my problem?? Its driving me crazy!!!
11-22-2011, 11:23 PM
#2
Sounds like a charging system issue that I have seen quite a few times. Start by checking the alternator output with a DVOM (voltmeter). It should be a minimum of 12.5 volts at the battery with a load on it (headlights on, blower motor on, etc.). Also check the battery. I am assuming that if it is starting OK, then it is alright, but I wouldn't rule it out.
11-23-2011, 12:03 AM
#3
Launching!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: houston, tx
Posts: 241
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I replaced the alternator a couple of weeks ago so I doubt that its going bad but I'm open to suggestions. The gauges die though even without turning headlights or anything else on and I can drive the car fine for however long I please but gauges arent functioning.
11-23-2011, 12:38 AM
#5
Yep, I agree with the BCM possibly being the culprit. Pretty much everything runs through the BCM so if that goes haywire you can see all kinds of "electrical problems". You can do a search on BCM fix and see if you can narrow it down to that. Most common issues are radio and windows will work intermittently and it ends up being a solder joint broken in the BCM which many people have fixed themselves.
ALso, make sure you don't have corrosion around the battery terminals. Lastly, I think your headlight motors are separate issue (you can do a search on that as well).
ALso, make sure you don't have corrosion around the battery terminals. Lastly, I think your headlight motors are separate issue (you can do a search on that as well).
11-23-2011, 09:17 AM
#6
Yep, I agree with the BCM possibly being the culprit. Pretty much everything runs through the BCM so if that goes haywire you can see all kinds of "electrical problems". You can do a search on BCM fix and see if you can narrow it down to that. Most common issues are radio and windows will work intermittently and it ends up being a solder joint broken in the BCM which many people have fixed themselves.
ALso, make sure you don't have corrosion around the battery terminals. Lastly, I think your headlight motors are separate issue (you can do a search on that as well).
ALso, make sure you don't have corrosion around the battery terminals. Lastly, I think your headlight motors are separate issue (you can do a search on that as well).
11-23-2011, 09:29 AM
#7
Launching!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: houston, tx
Posts: 241
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well I have a spare bcm from another car sitting around so I. Replaced the bcm from the other car but problem still happened. I will redo this again though just to double check.
Trending Topics
12-22-2011, 01:42 PM
#16
I'm not for sure if you are aware of this, but 99 model cars were bad about the clusters just stopping working for some reason. It was only the 99 year model and no others. I would recommend swapping out your cluster for another one and see if it fixes your issue.
