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84 Cadillac wiring woes


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Lydia_Robinvale
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Lydia_Robinvale profile image

Apr 26, 2013, 1:53 AM

Post #1 of 5 (1361 views)
84 Cadillac wiring woes Sign In

Ok so this is a different vehicle, We have an 84 Cadillac hearse in addition to our other one, and this one doesn't run. The issue we are having is wiring related, but unfortunately I believe it's intermittent and we are having a really hard time figuring out what to do..

The car will start if we jump the battery and knock on the starter before trying the key (both the starter and the carb are bad, that much we do know). If we leave the car overnight, the battery is dead. There is a battery drain somewhere and we had some custom wiring from the previous owner which was Mickey-moused but we removed that already. After we removed that, the radio magically started working again.. Sort of. It works when it wants to.

People say maybe it was a bad battery or alternator but those have been checked by AAA.. They aren't flawless so I entertain the idea that the battery could still be bad. What happened originally was I was driving to work a couple of weeks ago when the "no charge" light came on. The engine was still running but the acceleration was not responding and every time I pressed the gas this horrible clicking noise was coming from underneath the car. I managed to coast down and get off the highway, and I coasted until I think the battery ran down. The engine quit and I lost my power brakes and steering but luckily I made it somewhere where a flatbed could pick us up.

We had it towed to one of our mehanics we use and he told us there was no power to the dash, no power to anything at all and that he would give it a thorough look in the morning. The morning came and the car started right up! How weird is that? It doesn't do that anymore now though, it's just completely dead unless we jump it and I'm afraid to drive it for fear it will cut out in the middle of driving it again.

I just wish I knew where to start. The other hearse does not have any insurance right now and this one was our daily driver. Now that we don't have it we are taking a real chance just driving down the street to get groceries. If anyone could give me a starting point that would be really appreciated!


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Apr 26, 2013, 3:22 AM

Post #2 of 5 (1327 views)
Re: 84 Cadillac wiring woes Sign In

You can't test anything else until you have a known good battery so if there is any question at all, replace the battery first.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Apr 26, 2013, 7:31 AM

Post #3 of 5 (1312 views)
Re: 84 Cadillac wiring woes Sign In

Just asking. Could this thing possibly have two batteries? Some limos did and hid the second. One bad one can take out the other but most I knew of were set up such that you switched to the other. If so you should only need one good one,

T



Lydia_Robinvale
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Lydia_Robinvale profile image

Apr 26, 2013, 11:28 AM

Post #4 of 5 (1299 views)
Re: 84 Cadillac wiring woes Sign In

I'm going to take the battery in to autozone today. But the battery is dead, so won't the test be moot? Or can they test its viability even though its drained?


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Apr 26, 2013, 11:51 AM

Post #5 of 5 (1296 views)
Re: 84 Cadillac wiring woes Sign In

I don't go there for that but they should charge it first then load test it. If it died too many times that alone can take out a good one,

T







 
 
 






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