Just lost ALL electric???

[carguy07]

***? I just finished installing Rich's shifter shaft (I think I love it) and went to go for a ride. Disconnected the battery tender and fired it up. Started strong idled fine. Turn the headlights on and the car dies and arms the alarm. Disarm alarm, fires right up idles fine, hit the lights, dead, arms the alarm. Do this a couple of times, same thing. Now there is nothing at all, can't even get a interior light on or the radio. It's sitting there making real faint clicking noises like a relay from the dash (without the key in the ignition. Battery is an optima, maybe 1 or 2 years old. I recently installed a cd changer in the trunk and a couple of times it acted like there was a short of some kind. A couple of times when I would hit the brakes the volt meter would dip and the radio would pop. Any ideas?? Should I reconnect the tender? I'm thinking that there is a short somewhere, but I drove the car plenty after the cd changer install and left it off of the tender for several days just to make sure that there was no draw that would kill the battery and it did fine.

Thanks,

Keith

 

[carguy07]

Uh, went back out and the interior light came on, radio worked, headlights lit up. Started the car, ran fine, hit the headlights and it almost stalled, idiot lights go nuts, keeps running. Turn the lights off and on again and car stalls and sets the alarm off.

 

[Eric H]

Alternator maybe? or short somewhere, but im guessing yout alti is dieing or voltage regulator in the alti is dead

 

[carguy07]

Does the regulator do anything when the car is not running. It is doing weird stuff on and off.

 

[Silver Snake]

Any problems if you do NOT turn on the headlights?

 

[carguy07]

Any problems if you do NOT turn on the headlights?

Yea, not just the headlights. I went out this morning to look at it some more. The alarm was set again, I reset it and a ton of relay clicks were going on behind the dash. Started right up and ran, hit the brakes and killed the car. Tried again, let it idle for a while before doing anything, the bat light blinked on and off a few times. Hit the brakes, no problems, turned on the AC no problem. Hit he headlights, it did not like it but kept running. Cycled the headlights on and off a few times and it seemed ok.

Not sure what to make of this. I seems like when there is a spike in the electrical system that the alarm sets itself and shuts the car down.

Last night after it did this I could not even get the interior light to come on. The car was totally dead. Does the alarm shut down ALL power when it sets? I can't figure that is able to kill everything including the interior light.

I know that a bad battery can do some weird things to these cars, but I have gotten 7 or 8 strong starts from it while this was going on. I went ahead an hooked the tender back up to top it off. All of this stuff started within minutes of taking it off of the tender, which would make you think it was topped off to start with.

 

[99 R/T 10]

What year is your car? It is very common for the Gen I's to have the headlight switch overheat and shortout(mine did, but failed in a different why you are describing). Pull the switch and see if it is melted in the middle where the prongs go into the switch.

 

[carguy07]

GenI, I'll take a look. Thanks for the help.

 

[Eric H]

the regulatro wont do anything unless the car is running and the alti is generating power, BUT it could be a loose ground wire on the alti which can cause very weird issues like that, are you sure that the ground wire under the "jump start
location is connected securrly? I would retrace ALL my steps, even if i think that I did everythign correct. Check every connection you were even NEAR to see if you bumped something loose, but sounds like a loose ground somewhere.

check your battery tender connections

The Alarm Auto Arms if you disconnect battery power, so if you have an intermittent ground connnnection it will keep resetting. AND grounds tend to act up more when under a voltage load.

Hope this helps

 

[carguy07]

Bad ground makes a lot of sense too. That would explain the interior light not coming on and everything going dead. I want to blame the alarm or battery, but neither one of those could make all off that happen.

 

[Eric H]

nope, not the battery, but the battery connection could, check the terminals?

 

[carguy07]

Anyone have any experience with this

Dan Cragin
"On the early Vipers there is a wiring harness that goes over the top of the transmission that sometimes rubs and causes an intermittant short to ground. The culprit wire goes to the speed sensor and shares the same power source as the cam and crank sensor. Sometimes when you hit a bump or torque the engine it cuts out like turning off the key."

http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=123253&Forum=UBB14&Words=bad%20ground&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=123252&Search=true#Post123253

I ran the cable for the CD changer by zip tying it to the factory harness in the transmission tunnel. Which wire do I look for to short?

 

[carguy07]

Lucked out, easy fix . The wingnut for the remote positive cable was just a tiny bit loose. Enough that it was arcing and melted the cover a little. Just had to clean up the cables and tighten. I just kept thinking that it had something to do with the cd changer install, but I never touched that cable. Thanks for all of the help.

Keith

 

[Eric H]

See told you to check there!! :-D