Cougar

Here is a link that can help you understand and find this trouble. http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm

If the plugs are getting spark then the ignition is working and something else is wrong. Compression and timing belts should be checked next if the ignition is working ok.

If you have the proper voltage coming from the switch in the low speed position and the motor doesn't work then the wiring between the two points needs to be checked.

If you are sure you have the correct fuse for the wipers then make sure that power is getting to it also. Just looking at the fuse is only half the check out. I assume you mean circuit breaker when you talk about a 'relay' in the circuit. Wiper circuits usually use a self resetting circuit breaker for the power I believe.

I am a little confused about what you are saying. Are you getting spark to the plugs? Also, are all the fuses back in and working ok? All the fuses need to be installed to provide power to various systems critical for the engine to run.

The trouble does appear to be with the sender unit in the tank since things work ok after a certain level is achieved. You may be able to clean the contacts or fix the unit once you get it out of the tank.

Glad to hear you solved the trouble and scored some extra points in the process. Good job and thanks for the update.

A good alternator should be able to maintain the output voltage between 13.5 and 14.8 volts while the engine is running around 1500 RPM and there is a good load on the electrical system.

I think that is a good indication. The way I was thinking to check it is to just turn the key from OFF to RUN without starting the engine. All the warning lights should come on including the battery warning light. Then to verify there isn't a problem on the lamp lead disconnect the connector on the back side of the alternator. The warning lights should turn off then if there isn't any problem. The ground for the warning lights is made through the alternator.

Crutchfield can help you figure out what will fit and are great folks to work with.

You can install the new unit and use the original speakers without any problem. Just don't push the volume beyond normal listening levels and there should be no trouble with the speakers you have already. Even 10 watts of power running to the speakers would sound loud inside the car. To improve the sound quality even more it would be money well spent to upgrade the speakers at some point when you can. You will hear a dramatic improvement over the original ones even if you spend just 100 dollars on new speakers.

Bad fusible link connections can cause that kind of trouble also. Just something to be aware of.

OK. That is within normal limits.

Thanks for the update.

The battery warning light really isn't a check for shorts on the power bus though if that lead gets shorted on the alternator side of the lamp it would cause a charging problem and turn the light on. Shorts as they are normally refered to are caused when a power wire touches a ground point and hopefully will blow out a fuse that is there to limit the current to a safe level that the power wire can handle without damage to it. To me, they are a power wire issue because the trouble is usually due to insulation damage on the power wire, not the ground. I think the lighting issue in the radio is most likely due to a problem with the way the light display is hooked up or with the lighting control module. If none of the other lights are a problem then I suspect the radio is the trouble. I don't believe the power for the radio display light is controlled by the on/off switch of the radio. The light circuit needs to be isolated from ground since the dimmer circuit controls the ground side of the display lighting. If the radio display doesn't dim along with the rest of the lights on the dimmer then I suspect it is wired directly to the light power and ground. If this is correct it would drain the battery over time.

You may be seeing the results of excessive ripple voltage coming from the alternator. If you have a meter check the AC voltage at the battery while the flicker is occuring. You should see less than .1 volt if things are normal.

Good troubleshooting Ericem. Glad you found the trouble and thanks for the info.

Stating that turn signals work ok is helpful to figuring this trouble out. Good job. The wiring diagram shows that the emergency switch ties to a light green and white wire for the left side lights. If both the left and right side indicators in the dash turn on with the switch then that means the switch contacts for the left side are ok and the problem is most likely with a connector that ties to the lights after the dash indicators. The connector indentification is i1/B36. It is a 24 pin two row connector and pin number 8 is the wire of concern. Look for two connectors of that type near the driver's side of the radio or upper dash area. The data shows the connector colors are black and brown. By simply disconnecting the connectors and reconnecting them you might solve the problem.

The warning lights being on indicates a bad alternator even though it was replaced. To verify things remove the rear connector on the alternator and see if the warning lights are off after you start the engine. If they are off that will verify that there isn't some other grounding problem on the lamp lead and the alternator needs to be replaced. Whenever the battery warning light is on it indicates the alternator isn't working.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Shawn. We haven't determind yet if the battery warning light is working but the question has been asked. Perhaps we will get the answer tomorrow.

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The test light probe is what folks talk about using to check current draws with but since you have a meter I would use that since you can use it to measure the current draw and not just look at a light intensity. As far as the fuse test points go it is the smaller fuses I know that have the test points on them for sure. The SBF fuses I am not real positive about; I am assuming they do. Even if they don't have them hopefully you can check each side of the fuse contacts somehow without removing them. If you can't do that then we can try something else I guess. You could pull them out one at a time and measure the voltage at the panel contact to make sure that is ok and also measure the fuse resistance to make sure it is good before replacing it and checking another one.

You don't need to pull the fuses but you are correct about your statement. Power will only be on one side of the fuse connection if you pull the fuse. Look for some tiny test slits on top of each fuse. They allow a probe to get at each side of the fuse connection to make sure power is getting through the fuse without pulling the fuse out of the panel. If you have a voltmeter but no test light that is ok. Either one will work and you can do better testing using a meter. In this case a test light works just fine. All we need to know is if power is getting to and through the fuses. I kind of think you are going to find a problem with the main lead from the battery to the fuse panel. While testing it may help to have the ignition switch turned on so there is a load tied to the fused circuits. Think about adding a test light probe to your tool chest. They are a good thing to have on hand for these kind of problems but given a choice a meter is the best thing to have.

I didn't think disconnecting the power would change anything. Let us know what you find out after doing the checks I suggested in post #9. EDIT: Another thing to check is the smaller wire tied to the battery. Make sure it is making a good connection to the positive battery post. That wire supplies power to the Main Panel. Perhaps there is a bad connection there that is causing the trouble.

Nipper is one of the best electrical troubleshooters we have on this site.