electrical issue i think

**Ieatstangs** · 03-20-2011, 06:30 PM

its a 98z28 a4 107k i just picked it up thought it was a sweet deal paid 1700 needs minor things but i ran into something major

the blinkers didnt work when i first bought it i knew it was the bulbs replaced them and they worked fine. took out his poorly installed nos kit and other micellanous electrical wiring now my wipers work on occasion and never when i need them and the right blinker wont work if the lights are on but if there are off it will work sometimes the left side works fine regardless i replaced the battery because it was dead and the gauge sits right below 13 could it be an alernator problem?
any and all help is greatly appreciated thanks in advance sorry for the grammar

**BADHAWK209** · 03-20-2011, 09:53 PM

you can test the alternater by disconnecting the positive battery terminal (when the car is running),if it dies when you disconnect it then your alternater is bad!

**Eganslp** · 03-20-2011, 10:00 PM

^^^ that's good info never knew that!!!!! -Thanks

**Smittro** · 03-21-2011, 04:47 AM

Sounds like the indash harness has been hacked up from a botched system install..

BCM is supposed to control the wipers pulse board amoung other things...

If the BCM harness has been cut into or used as a power supply there's likely untold damage to the BCM as well..

The bright side would be a wiring issue in the column..

**Ieatstangs** · 03-21-2011, 07:26 AM

thanks ill look into both of those thanks

**bigrondownhiller** · 03-21-2011, 03:49 PM

Check all the bulbs. Possibly the wrong one was put in by previous owner. Also make sure that the sockets are in good condition. Don't check the alternator by removing pos terminal. That is an old way of doing it. Not the safest thing for your modern electronics. If unsure take it to an auto store and have it tested. If you have a voltmeter you can test it yourself.

**0rion** · 03-21-2011, 04:10 PM

check the socket on that blinker ( not a bad idea to check them all) for corrosion....very common for moisture to get to the sockets. Were the wipers working fine before you removed the n2o kit? If so I'd go back over all the wires you handled or were near and make sure you didn't leave a bare one showing or something.

The alt. gauge is not accurate enough IMO to trouble shoot with. Do you have a voltmeter? Start the car and put it across the terminals.....should read 14.4v at idle. I never recommend pulling a battery cable on new cars ( that's an old school trick) because the newer cars have so much electronics on them you don't want to fry anything.

**cammed goat** · 03-21-2011, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by bigrondownhiller

Check all the bulbs. Possibly the wrong one was put in by previous owner. Also make sure that the sockets are in good condition. Don't check the alternator by removing pos terminal. That is an old way of doing it. Not the safest thing for your modern electronics. If unsure take it to an auto store and have it tested. If you have a voltmeter you can test it yourself.

Voltage spikes are NEVER good.

**Smittro** · 03-21-2011, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by bigrondownhiller

Check all the bulbs. Possibly the wrong one was put in by previous owner. Also make sure that the sockets are in good condition. Don't check the alternator by removing pos terminal. That is an old way of doing it. Not the safest thing for your modern electronics. If unsure take it to an auto store and have it tested. If you have a voltmeter you can test it yourself.

Originally Posted by 0rion

check the socket on that blinker ( not a bad idea to check them all) for corrosion....very common for moisture to get to the sockets. Were the wipers working fine before you removed the n2o kit? If so I'd go back over all the wires you handled or were near and make sure you didn't leave a bare one showing or something.

The alt. gauge is not accurate enough IMO to trouble shoot with. Do you have a voltmeter? Start the car and put it across the terminals.....should read 14.4v at idle. I never recommend pulling a battery cable on new cars ( that's an old school trick) because the newer cars have so much electronics on them you don't want to fry anything.

Originally Posted by cammed goat

Voltage spikes are NEVER good.

I've had to run on battery juice before when one of my alts died..

But I've never tried it the other way around..

Too much riding on the electrical system to experiment.. imho I agree +4...

**KMdef9** · 03-22-2011, 07:24 AM

I'd get the alt fixed first, if that's the low voltage issue. Then like Orion said, check the sockets of the bulbs as they are a common issue. From they're I'd look into the bcm and fixing it, if that still doesn't get the issue resolved, I'd look at the wiper switch itself.

I hate it when people hack into the electrical system, makes these problems very difficult to diagnose.

**Mark98SS** · 03-22-2011, 12:57 PM

There are several grounds attached to the lower studs that hold the dash in, one on each side of the car at the bottom of the dash. A missing ground will cause all kinds of strange things.

**Ieatstangs** · 03-22-2011, 05:57 PM

thanks for all the advice replaced the alt it wasnt bad ....the wire to the alt just came loose so it wasnt charging but that didnt fix the problem did the bcm fix suggested by smittros sticky that didnt work...im frusterated wish i woulda left it alone and jus removed the nos tank... ill double check the grounds i checked everywhere that i could imagine a bare wire being but i didnt see any...now if only the rain would stop sunshine state my a**