03 Marauder short in system

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Patstang

Patstang

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Owned this car for 4 years. it has a new battery and I had the charging system checked a few years ago & it was supposedly fine. I can charge it fully and if left sitting for two days, it is dead. I had put on an E-bay alternator that immediately took a dump so, I put the old one back on. I had the scary situation of hitting the gas at night and the lights went dim. That led me to the alternator switch.
I might just go to Autozone and I think that they will re-check the charging system free of charge. I notice that both of the window switch controls in the doors have been obviously taken out as they do not seat nor stay in place, The left rear window will go down via the drivers control but, not up. You have to reach in back and use the rear door control for that. I wondered if there might be some kind of draw there but, the windows are not "live" when car is off. I did have a short under the passenger seat when I got it that kept blowing a fuse if I tried to move the power seat but, that is not a problem now.

Does anyone have any experience with this problem ? I will name a child for anyone that can help me diagnose this frustrating and potentially expensive problem. Thanks :help:
 
If its going dead overnight and you wonder if its the alternator, disconnect the bolt on connector from the alternator... if its not dead the next day you know you have an alternator issue. Otherwise you are going to need a volt meter to be able to test your circuits for draw... this can get a bit tricky as some of the systems stay alive for a few minutes after you shut everything down.
 
Patstang said:
Owned this car for 4 years. it has a new battery and I had the charging system checked a few years ago & it was supposedly fine. I can charge it fully and if left sitting for two days, it is dead. I had put on an E-bay alternator that immediately took a dump so, I put the old one back on. I had the scary situation of hitting the gas at night and the lights went dim. That led me to the alternator switch.
I might just go to Autozone and I think that they will re-check the charging system free of charge. I notice that both of the window switch controls in the doors have been obviously taken out as they do not seat nor stay in place, The left rear window will go down via the drivers control but, not up. You have to reach in back and use the rear door control for that. I wondered if there might be some kind of draw there but, the windows are not "live" when car is off. I did have a short under the passenger seat when I got it that kept blowing a fuse if I tried to move the power seat but, that is not a problem now.

Does anyone have any experience with this problem ? I will name a child for anyone that can help me diagnose this frustrating and potentially expensive problem. Thanks :help:
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What is an "alternator switch"?

Sounds like the power window switch(es) need to be fixed.

What Chris said......
 
I should have worded it as " alternator swap ". I have never had a problem with any other vehicle losing lights at WOT. The voltmeter is charging at 15 or so as I drove it Sunday for 2 hours just going nowhere in particular. I got it back home and left it sit for a few hours & it was fine. I talked to a recommended so-called electrical genius that some of my shop tech friends brought up. First, I want to figure out if there is a draw/short from alternator and go from there. I understand that a parasitic draw is hard to diagnose over the internet and I thank you all for feedback. I will let you know the results so I may be of some help to another person with an issue like mine.
 
Patstang said:
I have never had a problem with any other vehicle losing lights at WOT.
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Do you actually LOSE the lights, or do they just dim a bit?
Patstang said:
The voltmeter is charging at 15 or so as I drove it Sunday for 2 hours
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Are you using the voltmeter in the gauge pod or an actual diagnostic instrument?
Patstang said:
I understand that a parasitic draw is hard to diagnose over the internet and I thank you all for feedback.
Click to expand...
Remove the negative cable from the battery. Take a VOM and put it in the amps setting. Put the the leads between the cable and the battery terminal . This will show you if there is any draw. DO NOT try to start the engine with it hooked up this way.

Check out EricTheCarGuy's video for a nice description.
 
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Patstang said:
I should have worded it as " alternator swap ". I have never had a problem with any other vehicle losing lights at WOT. The voltmeter is charging at 15 or so as I drove it Sunday for 2 hours just going nowhere in particular. I got it back home and left it sit for a few hours & it was fine. I talked to a recommended so-called electrical genius that some of my shop tech friends brought up. First, I want to figure out if there is a draw/short from alternator and go from there. I understand that a parasitic draw is hard to diagnose over the internet and I thank you all for feedback. I will let you know the results so I may be of some help to another person with an issue like mine.
Click to expand...

Parasitic draw is not hard to diagnose. You will need a DMM, and some time.

As stated prior, the alternator is supposed to shut down at WOT, so that's obviously not an issue.

What is the state of health of the battery? You will need a midtronics battery analyzer for that, generally speaking, 8 of 10 times there is a battery issue, followed up by a bad alternator, bad cable ends and finally bad cables.

The car should charge between 13.5 and 14.3 volts, once again, a DMM is needed, that factory gauge is not generally 100% spot on.

If the car is idling, what is the voltage at the battery? And, what is the voltage with every item in the car turned on, or a load introduced to the connections on top of the battery?

If the volts or amps go down, and the battery is fully charged and tested "good state of health", then you need to look to the alternator and wiring.

But fwiw, my ASE certificates expired, so I could be totally off base.
 
RF Overlord said:
Do you actually LOSE the lights, or do they just dim a bit?
Are you using the voltmeter in the gauge pod or an actual diagnostic instrument?
Remove the negative cable from the battery. Take a VOM and put it in the amps setting. Put the the leads between the cable and the battery terminal . This will show you if there is any draw. DO NOT try to start the engine with it hooked up this way.

Check out EricTheCarGuy's video for a nice description.
Click to expand...


This ^^^^^. Honestly it's been so long since I've had issues, I thought it was the positive cable you used, not the neg

Once it's high, start unplugging ****
 
Turbov6Bryan said:
This ^^^^^. Honestly it's been so long since I've had issues, I thought it was the positive cable you used, not the neg

Once it's high, start unplugging ****
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You got issues allright, you seem to think you know everything, but your goofy posts don't even make sense. Pay your membership dues or go back to your pontiac site, ***hole
 
Bruce Wayne said:
You got issues allright, you seem to think you know everything, but your goofy posts don't even make sense. Pay your membership dues or go back to your pontiac site, ***hole
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What did I do to you?

Why are you calling me out when I was just trying to help this guy out??!!


Get back on your meds
 
Bruce Wayne said:
You got issues allright, you seem to think you know everything, but your goofy posts don't even make sense. Pay your membership dues or go back to your pontiac site, ***hole
Click to expand...



Seems that you have the issues? Since when do we treat our members like that?


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hey justbob, ask your buddy turdblow about his comment the other day about Canadians, Don't forget where our Marauders were made, even the slow DTR that he has, We don't appreciate his foolish childish name calling, and I think he should man up. and besides who asked you. See you soon Bryan
 
Bruce Wayne said:
hey justbob, ask your buddy turdblow about his comment the other day about Canadians, Don't forget where our Marauders were made, even the slow DTR that he has, We don't appreciate his foolish childish name calling, and I think he should man up. and besides who asked you. See you soon Bryan
Click to expand...

https://www.gunlaws101.com/state/law/missouri/castle-doctrine


I already contacted my local police department and asked if we support the castle doctrine. I can stand my ground in this state buddy. If you decide to step on my property i will STAND MY GROUND and call for a hearse.

I have not done anything to you. GO FU(K OFF!

You were reported yesterday for a terrorist attack, now local pd have your information. How tall are you? Youll fill a pine box perfectly if you decide you want to drive to my house and fu(k with me.

Internet troll be gone!
 
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