espey_16 Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Hey yall, hows it goin? My dads car a 91 Legacy, blinks a few lights randomly while driving. The battery, at oil temp, brake, and stop lamp. The lights go dim at random times also, but the alt, and battery were replaced not too long ago. Sometimes when my dad shuts the car off the car wont start up after. The starter will click once then nothing. It takes anywhere from a few minutes to a couple hours to get it to start again. We had the starter tested and it came out good both times. I just checked the trouble codes and the only one is a code 22 knock sensor. Can you guys help me trouble shoot these problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Failing ground(s), probably? The code for the knock sensor may be a red herring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 yeah, I'd say check the battery cables/grounds first, then I might suspect the replacement alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I vote with the others....you have a bad ground somewhere. Look for corrosion that has worked itself back along the battery cables, not just only at the battery connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Was the alternator replaced with a cheapo remand one? I have seen "new" alternators be crap right out of the box. Like it was said, check the battery connections but also check the alternator connections. Enough corrosion on the white power wires on the alternator will cause major issues. I had to cut and splice in about 2 feet of those wires on a '96 Legacy due to corrosion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1997reduxe Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 check the area around the battery box also. And where the wire connects to the car body there (if it does). I had to pull my battery etc and clean the box it sits in because bared wires were running right under the battery which had a lot of water sitting in the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espey_16 Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Hey guys sorry its taken so long to write back, completely forgot about this thread. The battery cables looked fine, the guy my dad talked to suggested cutting the terminals off the wires and using some of those copper ends with a hole in the end of it (just slides over the exposed wire then you crimp it on), and getting new terminals to bolt to those. The car seemed to run better afterwards but still doing what its doing. The alternator was a reman unit, so I need to have that looked at. Its got a lifetime warranty, so if that's the culprit it'll be easy to take care of even though I hate reman products. The knock sensor has a small crack in it so I'm gonna replace that anyway, thay aren't that expensive last time I checked. If I get home early enough tonight ill check for the body grounds. If there isn't one (I'm sure there is) is it ok to pull a random bolt on the motor and run a wire to the body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 and good luck with that reman alternator "lifetime" warranty - I just went thru all that with my 90 Legacy - mine was failing only when it got hot. Like you I would get random idiot lights coming on, going off, then back on again... I went thru and cleaned all grounds under the hood, and thoroughly cleaned out the fuse panel and the underhood fuse box (dusty) - made no difference at all. would go to get it checked out, and it would "test" fine - but the hood was up so the engine heat was not being held in, therefore it wasnt getting hot enough to cause the failure. Parts house told me there was nothing they could do unless it "tested" bad. I finally took an old stock unit to a local rebuilder with a good rep and had it properly rebuilt - it did cost me a little more, but so far has been well worth the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Either get a used alt or have your properly rebuilt at a shop. Lifetime rebuilts are great except for when you are on your 3rd, broke down someplace in the rain. It gets old fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Either get a used alt or have your properly rebuilt at a shop. Lifetime rebuilts are great except for when you are on your 3rd, broke down someplace in the rain. It gets old fast. it sure does! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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