Electrical Problems......

[GaryCifers]

I have a 91 corsica and has run fine for the past 4 years I've had it... now I have this strange electrical issue... I've tested my alternator and it puts out 14.8v and my battery(which is brand new) is receiving 13.7-13.9v... afeter about 10-15 minutes of driving though my speedometer starts to freak out and the car tries to die when any electrical devices are turned on(i.e.radio, defroster, etc). When i test my voltage on the battery and on the cigarette lighter it bounces from 12.95-14.25v.. I've checked my cables and can't find any bare or loose wires, my battery cables are tight... I can't seem to find the source of my issue... Any help??

[DR.OLDZ]

I must be the dumbest ass on this site BUT...I just registered and am trying to ask a question to the world...IE a POST.....can not find a way to achieve that so I responded to your post hoping you could explain my stupidity.....thanks Kent

[GaryCifers]

yea... when you're in the forum area you'll see on the upper right area Forum Tools. Put your mouse over that and you see a drop down menu with start new thread click that and there ya go

[jsgold]

I have to admit I am stumped on your electrical problem. I assume you meant alternator rather tham starter though. I had a 91 for many years and did not experiance this sort of thing but will tell you that voltage should be in the 13v range. There is a voltage regulator built in the alternator, they frequently fail, in fact alternators live a short life in these cars, maybe 2-4 years. The cables to the starter are a bit of a pain and I had to clean mine from time to time as that part of the cable gets a lot of water, dirt, etc. One thing I was thinking was that the computers on these cars failed due to water leakage, might explain the weird things the car is doing. Sounds like a real headache, sorry not much help.....

[GaryCifers]

lol yea i meant alternator haha my mind was fried at the time.... I've talked to a few mechanics out here and one said that there is a soleniod that is part of the ignition in the steering column that if it comes loose from it's bracket then it can freak out the whole system AND it can be intermittent which my car has been doing.... started perfect yesterday when the day before it wouldn't start at all.... but thank you for your help!

[J-Ri]

Voltage should be a minimum of 13.5v, up to 16 is acceptable. 14.8 is good.

Are you saying that the alternator is charging 14.8V and at the same time the battery voltage is lower? Sounds like there's probably a problem with the wire from the alternator to the starter to the starter to the battery if that's the case.

Also check the AC voltage at the alternator, should be no more than a few mV. The diodes in the rectifier bridge can leak and cause erratic voltage which screws with the electronic circuits

[GaryCifers]

well i tested my ignition coils for spark today after a few days of it not starting and just cranking.... no spark at all.... from any of the coils and I'll definitely check that ac voltage cause i don't want any leaked ac voltage to blow my next ignition module