LS1Game408

Hello peeps,
I'm new to this game so please bear with me! I have a 1999 Camaro z28 6-speed manual transmission...I've had this car parked for about 7 years and I'm finally driving it again (money and license issues &#128517

So far I've done:
*clutch (stage 2)
*alternator
*power steering

...and that is pretty much it.

So far I am noticing a lot of electrical issues, like headlight will blink randomly, windows will roll up very slow, or will stop working randomly, and now water from radiator reservoir is leaking from cap (I just left jiffy lube and had radiator flushed)

Thank you so much in advance. Any help is appreciated!
-John

usnfenix

iTrader: (11)

As far as the windows are concerned it is known common issue on f bodies. Replacement window motors can be had from rockauto, make sure tos earch and read up on how to replace them.

For the coolant are you referring to the coolant overflow tank or the actual radiator itself?

LS1Game408

Hi,
thank you for replying and yes "the overflow tank" which btw I thought was a resorvoir for a radiator...? But yes all my coolant is coming out from there. Sometimes when I get home after driving for a while, I'll just park, read my messages before getting out of the car and I can hear that tank bubbling with the hot water and I can see steam escaping...

what trips me out is that the water gauge on the dash does not indicate that my car is overheating...and it does work at lleast I think it does...on the gauge it will read from cold to normal temp everyday, even in traffic! Which kinda freaks me out sometimes...

usnfenix

iTrader: (11)

99 and up do not have a true temp gauge. it reads engine temp based on a percentage and will not move until this percentage threshold is crossed. I.E your true temp could be 190 and the gauge can read this as within tolerance and display 210 all the time like most 99 and up do. 98 was the only year to get a true temp gauge.

Now if you hear hissing and bubbling sounds like your coolant is boiling, which after a flush should not be happening. Someone else might have to chime in but if you recently flushed the system and hear boiling then my guess would be air bubbles still in the system from the flush but someone else might want to chime in on this. As far as the overflow tank there is one rubber line going from the top of the radiator on the passenger side down under the battery where it transitions to a metal hardline and into the tank through a rubber grommet. If this tank is leaking then id inspect all these mentioned lines. It is common to find white powder and corrosion on the metal hardline after years of sitting.

LS1Game408

Thank you,
hopefully I can figure out this problem! 🤞🏾

Draik

I had kind of had an issue like the headlight problem you described, it started off blinking on occassionally then only the driver light worked correctly, and then the weird part was that both the high beams were on in a half *** manner along with the passenger light. Turned out there was a bad ground somewhere and instead of hunting down that ground wire >.> I just knicked one of the grounds on the headlights soldered a wire and grounded it. Problem solved!

If you would like to test for that; take a multimeter an jab the positve probe into the positive side of the light plug, and place the negative probe on a grounding spot, if you read anything greater than 3 volts that is most likely the issue. The other issue could be the rotary switch I think (I dont know if camaros have that for their lights). That was going to be my last resort. Hope that helps a tid.

Oh ya, I have a trans am so it might be different, I had to manually close my lights (while they were on) and then probe the plug.

Docrocket1967

iTrader: (1)

There is two small black ground wires coming from the headlights to the radiator core support, remove the bolts and take some sandpaper and clean them up and that could very well fix your issue. I know you have a new alternator but it doesn't mean it is a quality rebuild and sometimes that could be the cause of your flicker.

Power Window issues are notorious and die all the time on these cars. Problem is the pw motor is not getting enough power which causes it to strain and struggle and burns itself out. They make a kit to run a solid 12volts to it and the windows will roll up and down so much quicker and better. Replace your pw motors though and start off new.

LS1Game408

Thank you everyone for the tips!

I took my car back to jiffy the next day and the guys there ran a couple of tests. (I took off and left my car there because I was in the middle of work), when I came back they told me that 1) my fan was not turning on, which it should have, and that 2) my water pump was not moving much water or any at all.

For sure I'm going to replace water pump, belts, etc. and thermostat and try to find out why my fan is not turning on, and why my gauge reads that I'm at normal water temp. when my engine is actually overheating. I hope this isn't all linked to an even bigger problem... electrical!!! 😭

Orange Juice

iTrader: (3)

Yes the ground studs need to be cleaned, I unscrewed mine and cleaned them up. Seemed to help the window motors.