[flynSS/R]

Started out with an emergency trip to the Vet for our dog who feasted on a chocolate bar Saturday night and became sick on Sunday early morning. All OK now after 12 hours at the Vet ER for observation.

But the R, 2004, was being a PIA on Sunday. The battery/key would not come alive and all electrical DEAD. Checked voltage at the red box under the hood and it was at 2.5 V. So I hooked up the battery charger and had breakfast. Went back out and checked voltage at 3.5.

Checked the voltage at the battery and it was sitting at 12 volts. So I took the battery out and hooked the charger up to it directly for about an hour.

During this time, I was researching the Forum and I was pretty sure that I was going to replace the ignition switch. So I opened up the Dictator library on his DIY page only to have the program he posted all of his DIY info on had crashed on Sunday.

So I decided to hold off on the switch change until Monday when the DIY page might be back up, which it is up now, or I could contact Dick for assistance.

I re installed the battery and then all the chimes and lights came back on. Checked voltage and found 12V at all points. Started the R and and I had a little over 14V on the system.

Back to the forum and more research. I found a link about disconnecting the battery and letting the R sit without power for a bit. But I did not find out what having no power on the system would do to the system.

Can someone provide me some additional details on letting the R sit without battery power does to the electrical system?

For now my plan is to wait and see if this electrical problem comes back to haunt me in the coming days. If it returns, I now have the DIY paperwork to change out the ignition switch.

FYI, I am on switch number 2.

Thanks in advance to all who comment.

T

 

[snomuncher]

"Can someone provide me some additional details on letting the R sit without battery power does to the electrical system?"

Here's a recent post to review:

http://www.ssrfanatic.com/forum/f5/changing-battery-225770/

And an older one on the condition of the battery itself:

http://www.ssrfanatic.com/forum/f5/let-s-talk-about-my-battery-again-130593/

I would also recommend checking tightness of all the basic connections- battery terminals, battery ground cable connections, positive cable at the jumper box and other grounds at the firewall, at the frame under the driver's seat, under the power steering pump, etc.

 

[nj6969]

My thought would be that one or both of the cables on the Battery were not making good contact, especially if you had less voltage in the red box than at the Battery itself. I wouldn't mess with the switch yet. Others will jump in shortly!?!

Nick

 

[river_rat]

Not only the connection at the battery, but also main frame grounds near the RH rear wheel (other end the negative battery cable). A bad connection right back near the battery was causing your problems.

 

[flynSS/R]

To reply to some posts.
Battery terminals were tight and I use a copper electrical anti sieze lube on my electrical connections.

I will re check the battery frame ground.

All grounds were checked and several repaired about 3 years ago. Found corrosion on several of the engine and firewall grounds while working on another repair.

Battery is 3 years old Interstate. If the R sits more then 2 weeks, I hook up the battery tender. I got 10 years out of the OEM battery by using the tender.

One thing I did notice last Friday and Saturday that my key less entry was acting up, but I was blaming the remote battery. After this repair the key less is working as it should.

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

[xoxoxoBruce]

I will re check the battery frame ground.

And the battery BODY ground, remember the cable from the battery splits into two pigtails, one for the frame and one for the body.

 

[Mike in AZ]

Terminal issue?????

If you have a serviced the two ground connections aft of the right rear wheel on the top of the frame and side of the body, I recommend you check the ground connection onto the battery terminal itself. The short pair of wires that go to the ground connections attach to the battery with a 3/8-16 stubby bolt. Pull the connection loose from the battery and remove the bolt from the plastic terminal insulation. Pull the plastic away from the terminal and have a look at the terminal lug itself. This terminal lug gets corrosion on it and cannot be seen, because it is underneath the flange of the bolt. Clean, treat and re-install........

Mike

 

[flynSS/R]

Thanks Mike. I will check the grounds you mentioned in the coming days.
Terry

 

[flynSS/R]

Well the fun continued and it ended up with an intermittent relay on the shifter. I believe it is called the Park solenoid.

Once I removed the shifter cover, the one with all the window and top buttons, I was able to push in the silver release button and all worked fine. It would work for a few times, then fail again. So I was able to find a replacement DELCO part on Amazon for $30 less with 2 day shipping, where as O Riely was about $83 and 5-7 days shipping.

While I was changing out the solenoid, I also upgraded the the upper shifting bushing as per Dictators DIY instructions.

Then when I was putting everything back together, I made a minor alteration to the center council. I drilled a hole from the passenger side with a 3/8" drill bit directly across from the solenoid release button when the shifter is engaged into the Park position. So now if this solenoid fails again, I can remove my 3/8" plug cap and insert a screw driver or some form of a rod through the side council and this will allow me to release the shifter solenoid and then I can start the R and drive it home. Instead of having to remove the cover with the window and top buttons to gain access to the solenoid release.

Thanks for all the help regarding trouble shooting, and I can't thank Dick enough for sharing his power point DIY data.

Happy New Year to all.
Terry

 

[Flying Dog]

Terry, glad you got it figured out and fixed!