Ok during my lunch brake i went to go get food. I turn my car on and the radio is turning on and off on and off im like ok thats werid. Then i look at my volt meter it is bouncing in the red zone. So i shut off my radio and everything my volts go to 14 then i turn my headlights on and see the volts drop and hear a loud BUZZZ comming from the dash. So i turn it off few minutes later im back at 14 volts. So i park the car make sure all the alternator connections are good. Still the same problem so with the car off i checked the volt guage it said i had 12 so i turned my headlights on and it went to 0 and made a BUZZ turned it off it was kind of in the red. So does this sound like my battary took a crap on me? The alternator is a new alternator the battary is about 6 months old. ITs an optima Redtop. Any ideas. Also the past few days when i have been driving intraffic the volts have gone near the red.

PLEASE HELP!!!!

 

Did you check the red alternator wire at the starter solenoid?

 

No but why would it buzz witht he car off i am thinking maybe the battary cant take a load? The car starts with no problem.

 

Where does the buzz sound like it is coming from and have you had the battery tested? My optima has been changed three times under the 3 year warranty for free. The first time it was changed, I had one day left on the warranty.

 

it comes from under the dash on the right side.

 

When you say the right side, do you mean the passenger side or by the drivers right knee. The audio alarm system is located in the convenience center by the drivers right knee.

 

The driver right knee. I dont think i have an audio alarm system

 

but why would it do that when i turn my headlights on and my volt guage drops to 0 even when i put the key to the on position the guage bounces in the red

 

All cars have them, it is the buzzer that tells you the lights are still on or you forgot to take the key out the ignition when you open the door.

 

Oh that part i took that one out mine would BEEP its not in there any more.
The buzz is a totaly different sound. You knwo the 2 ground wires by your knee if you disconnect those and turn your lights on you will get a BUZZ sound that is the sound i am hearing.

 

You mean the two ground wires for the instrument panel and a lot of other nice goodies. Maybe you have a broken ground wire under the dash.

 

But why would it show my battary is not chargeing? correctly

 

You may have a bad voltmeter in the instrument panel. Here is a test that you can try.

 

I want that book it went for 55 dollars on ebay

 

Give it a week and there will be another one up on E-bay. There was one for an 87 camaro today that was listed at $63.00 the last time I looked. I picked up an 82 camaro book saturday for $12.00 off e-bay.

 

I just need one for a 91

If i turn my lights on and that puts the battarty to 0 volts would that mean my battary cant handle a load? and would that cause my problem yo think?

 

Are you checking across the battery terminals when you have the lights turned on or are you going by the gauge in the car? If you have an optima red top battery, it has a three year replacement warranty on it (at least mine does). Take to the store or franchise you got it from and have them test it. The store I got mine from will test it and replace it with no argument. Only costs me the state disposal fee. BTW, I saw the 91 manual you were talking about and bid on it at $8.00. It sat like that for about a day and went ape with the bidding.

 

I have a new one in my grague that has never been used i actualy threw it on the charger last week jsut because it had been sitting a year. I used a deep cycle charger. So i guess ill throw in the new one and see what happens i just wana make it home first.

 

Found the PROBLEMS first off the bolt that holds the ground in for the car came out the one that is by the drivers right knee. The buzzing was a result of that which was comming from the defrost swich.

My battary was dead i think as well i went to charge it and my charger kep shutting down so that was part of the chargeing problem i hope.

And the bad news the constant on and off of my stereo from that ground fryed my cd changers motor. so i now need a new cd changer.

 

OUCH and the warranty doesn't cover that does it? At least you got the charging problem identified and fixed.

 

The warranty should cover the battary. ITs 6 months old. But i had a brand new one that was sitting for a year good thing i decided to charge it up last week. I will see how my car rides on my way to school

 

If your talking about the CD changer i have had it four about 5 years. The one i foudn on ebay is a step up used but as long as it works i dont care just need my music.

 

Yeah, I was talking about the warranty on the CD.

 

What causes a battary to go bad no matter what i do they awalys die on me. I have had maybe 12 battarys in the past 5 years. Which i know is not normal. And i have replaced my alternator etc.

 

The Optima red top batteries are a new design and are what is known as a GEL CELL battery. They are different from the regular lead acid battery & the hermetically sealed lead acid battery. Instead of using a solution of water and acid for the electrolyte, the electrolyte is a thick gelatin like acid. They are supposed to last longer and they do under regular usage. Unfortunately, they have a tendency to drain down if they don't receive a charge at least once every two weeks or so. They also don't take rough handling very well. My first one got spiked by the alternator going bad and the other two died from lack of use. Once they get to a certain point of drainage, the optima's don't recover very well. But, as long as the warranty keeps replacing them, I will continue to use them.