New (to me) 92 245. Starts/runs great...for 10 minutes.

Driving along, the battery and other warning lights will begin to light up, yet very dimly. As I continue to drive along, they start to get brighter. If I put any other electrical draw (lights/stereo/blower) I get the SRS and ABS light.

Along with this, it will occasionally lose all power, intermittently, for a split second. The car keeps running, but cuts out for a split second as these lights flash before my eyes...occasionally, it will die, but will start right back up.

Battery is good. I just replaced the voltage regulator, as well as the fuel pump relay.

I'm at a loss...

Bad ground, somewhere, or ignition switch is my next guess. I'm tired of guessing and hoping someone with more experience will respond...be gentle.

I replaced the alternator, and that seemed to have cured the problem - since my dash no longer looks like a Christmas tree...

However, I still have a minor issue - when reversing (particularly first thing in the morning) the headlights will flickr, radio will shut off and turn back on, etc. Headlighs will also flicker when I hit the brake pedal, and sometimes when using the turn signal, etc. Could this be bad wiring in the dash? If I have no lights on, I don't have this problem.

 

You are getting a voltage drop probably due to a failing alternator. Measure the charge rate with a multimeter, put the terminals across the battery posts with the car running, it should be around 14V. Much more or less, the alternator is failing, probably the brushes.

 

This ^^^

 

Thanks guys, that somewhat makes sense. However, I just replaced the voltage regulator today, with new brushes...to no avail. I'll throw a multimeter on there and pick an alternator up tomorrow to see if that makes a difference.

 

make sure when you switch the ignition on before starting the car that the alternator/battery light goes on. start the engine and it shoudl go off (some cars require a slight tap of the gas to rev the engine briefly above idle to kickstart the alternator).

that 14V reading lev mentions, to be more specific, read the battery voltage before starting the car and after its been sitting a few hours, if the battery is fully charged (and not freezing cold), this should be around 12.6V. when you start the engine, the voltage should be 1.5-1.8V higher, about 14V +/- ... if so, then the alternator is charging the battery.

if NOT so, then try measuring the voltage from the battery + terminal to the body of the alternator (with the engine on, careful not to let anything get into the fan!), if you see your 14V there, then your ground is bad (this happened on my daughter's 240). also measure from battery + to engine ground (thats the ground rail near the fuel injectors)... scrape these ground spots shiny clean so you get good contact). if you see the 14V there but not battery + to battery -, it might be the battery ground cable. if you saw 14V at battery+ to alternator ground, but not battery+ to engine ground, then its the alternator to engine ground cable thats bad.

 

New alternator did the trick...now she's purring like a perfect little kitty (if there is such a thing).

Thanks!

 

I replaced the alternator, and that seemed to have cured the problem - since my dash no longer looks like a Christmas tree...

However, I still have a minor issue - when reversing (particularly first thing in the morning) the headlights will flickr, radio will shut off and turn back on, etc. Headlighs will also flicker when I hit the brake pedal, and sometimes when using the turn signal, etc. Could this be bad wiring in the dash? If I have no lights on, I don't have this problem.

 

bad wiring or a bad ground (which is nearly the same thing)