Hi everybody, I just started having this problem: When I have the car running, if I turn on the parking lights, it'll die. Then, it won't start back up until I disconnect/reconnect the battery. The power accessories don't work until the battery is disconnected/reconnected. Also, the car idles abnormally around 2K whereas it normally idle around <1K. The needle jumps instead of remaining smooth. When I reconnect the battery, the pass. side headlight motor spinns like crazy for a little while. I tried disconnecting the motor, but that didn't solve the issue. The voltage gauge normally stayed around 13V, but now it jumps around like the tach above 13V. Two days ago, when I went to see if the remote start/keyless entry I recently installed was draining my battery, I blew the fuse to the instrument cluster lights, and a new fuse doesn't make them turn on. (That's the other problem I've been having - the battery seems to drain itself over the course of 3-4 days.) I tried disconnecting the remote start system, and it didn't fix anything. So as of now, the parking lights can't be turned on, the battery dies or gets drained when attempting to, and idle is not correct. I think that's about the jist of it. The only electrical things that have changed since I've had the car are the remote start and the fuse I just replaced. Any ideas? Ok, so I did a draw test on the battery, with the remote start system disconnected, it read 0.00A. My car's radio is not hooked up currently, so I figure that's fine (nothing else I can think of to draw current). With the system connected, it registered 0.01A, I figure that's normal and would only drain my battery if left on for 500 years or so, so I don't think that is my draining problem. As of now, my batery is at 12.88V, and nothing works - windows, locks, lights, etc. The lights flash when I press lock/unlock on the remote, however, so the connections at the bulbs are probably OK. Still looking for help.

Anyone have any ideas? Things to check first?

ttt

Anyone have any ideas about at least part of my problem? Maybe certain signs that have been seen before by members? Things to check next?

Is your remote start system supposed to flash the parking lights when you start it with the remote? Does that work? Does the remote starter work ok otherwise? The first place I would look would be in the wiring for the parking light flash on the remote starter. Maybe try disconnecting that output from the system's control module?

Yes, the system is supposed to flash the lights during lock/unlock. That works, but the locks don't unlock/lock. I can hear the keyless entry try to engage the actuators, but the fact that they're not getting power prevents them from locking/unlocking. I haven't tried the remote start with the car in its current state, but since the remote still controls the lights, maybe it'll control that as well - I'll give it a try tonight. Why do you want me to try disconnecting the light output from the system; I'm not clear on what you're getting at? Could you explain. I did try disconnecting the whole system from the battery, but that didn't fix anything. I'm also gonna try and find ground wires and inspect them tonight if I have time, along with alternator connections. Prior to all of this, the remote start/keyless entry both worked flawlessly.

It sounds like something is grounding out the ignition through the lighting system or the vice versa. Either from the instrument cluster light circuit or through the keyless entry/remote start control box. Since the remote starter is supposed to flash the parking lights, the lights are now connected to the ignition system. If there is a short in the wiring in either system, it can cause your problems. I don't think it's going to involve the alternator at all. Is the wiring behind the dash cluster all original? No connections/repairs/splices other than from the factory? The fact that the dash light fuse was blowing is part of what is leading me to believe there is a short somewhere between the lighting and ignition systems. The reason I asked you to disconnect the light output wire from the keyless entry/remote starter is that I am wondering if the lighting system is somehow grounding back through the remote starter controller and causing the ignition to shut down. It's also possible that the lights are sending positive voltage back through the system to the alternator, possibly from a short behind the dash cluster, and the ecm is shutting the ignition off to protect either the voltage regulator or the ecm.

I assume you have checked the fuses for the door systems? Locks, windows, etc? The power windows should also have a circuit breaker on them IIRC.

You said that the remote start/keyless entry had been working fine. Has ANYTHING been changed since then? When you disconnected the whole system from the battery, did you disconnect the ground(s)?

The wiring behind the dash is still original, nothing looks spliced, repaired, or replaced. Yeah, I have checked the fuses and nothing else is blown, just the 5A that ran the gauges. The only things I can think of electrically that have changed since the remote install is the fuse that blew and I had to remove the center console cover, so I cut the cigar lighter ground wire since I couldn't remove it from the tab - this was done about two weeks prior to the problems and I had the car running 6-8 times since then with no problems. When disconnecting the whole system from the battery, I either pulled the 12V fuse or pulled the ring terminal off of the battery, no messing with system grounds. Thanks for the help so far.

Does the gauge fuse still blow when you turn the parking lights on, try the remote starer/keyless entry, or anything? Are the cluster lights still not working?

First thing I would try is disconnecting both the ground and +12v to the remote starter/keyless entry and see if the car still dies when you turn the parking lights on. When you grounded the system, did you tie into an existing ground wire, or did you run a new on to a screw in the body somewhere?

Do you still have the original TPI and ECM? Or have you switched to a carb?

I was just outside, and it started up right off the bat, and the locks worked. I started the car, but it still idled high and was sporatic. Then, when I turned on the parking lights, it stuttered a little, but kept running. Once I turned the car off, it went back to the way it was. Also, I noticed it just seemed as though the tach was reading high, but it wasn't actually running at that RPM.
The gauge fuse doesn't blow anymore, and the lights still work when I use the remote. To ground the system, I attached it with a new screw to some bare metal. Car has a modified TPI with a stock ECM.
Also, I tried starting the car with the remote start once it reverted back to not working, and it tried to start it, but was killed before it even tried cranking.

Where did you tap into the parking light circuit at for the keyless/remote start? The car stumbling like that when you turn the lights on is a result of too big a load being put on the electrical system. If you tied into the circuit before the relay that provides +12V to the lights straight from the battery, that could very well be the problem. I had the same issue with the radiator fans in my Neon. I had to wire in a switch temporarily to turn them on because the computer-controlled relay burned up and it would kill the engine the same way until i basically ran a whole new circuit with a separate relay that was wired straight off the battery. It worked fine the first couple times I turned the fans on, then started killing the engine every time I turned them on. It would also do it if you accidentally tied into the wrong wire on the light system relay, or if the wire you used to connect them to is running something else as well.

Check the current load at the battery when you turn the parking lights on while the car is running. I have a sinking feeling this is going to require checking every connection to the remote starter/keyless system.

I tapped into the parking light circuit at the switch. In addition, when I was outside last, I tried starting it with the remote starter one more time and the 30A fuse to the system blew.

I wonder if your problem and my problem (here (Alternator?)) are similar. Yesterday (it was raining) was the first time I used my lights. And the light motor spinning and having to disconnect and reconnect the battery are identical.

I originally thought alternator/battery. My battery was completely dead. I replaced the alternator and battery and still no go.

So, I went outside to work on it again, and checked the battery's voltage. Voltage was around 12.4, so I just decided to charge it up. I hooked it back up to the car with some fresh dielectric grease, and BAM! all the problems were gone. No more high idle, no dying with the lights on, no problems whatsoever. There hasn't been much rain or anything lately, so I don't know what exactly happened, but I guess it's just one of those things.

Were the terminals dirty/corroded/crossthreaded at all? I didn't even think about the condition of the battery terminals. Hopefully you've solved it. It's amazing how simply electrical problems can be solved sometimes.

No, the terminals were fine...even attached securely. That's why it really puzzled me that this solved the problem. I am planning on replacing the actual bolts on the end of the terminals though, been planning on it for a little while now. I know, I'm amazed very frequently at what fixes electrical problems that seem to stump people.