Weird electrical gremlin

[TwistedD85]

It only shows up once in a while like today, after a short drive to the store I came out and tried to start the car. The lights came on, flickered dim and then when I brought the key back some relay or relays went crazy just rapidly clicking for about two seconds before stopping. I tried it again only to have the same happen but even a little weaker and afterward it started clicking again for around the same time. Tried it one last time and just nothing, no lights of any kind, no sound, no click from the starter, nothing.
It was then I popped the hood and checked the connections, noticed near the battery it smelled kind of... foul, sharp, maybe acidic. But I saw no signs of leakage so after standing there for a minute I went back to the car and disarmed the alarm like I had been before every try, just to see if there was any voltage and low and behold it had juice again. I turned the key and it started right up without any issues.
Once I had it home I tested the battery while the car was running and got a reading of 14volts, I think that might be too high but the alternator light wasn't on at any time and the smell was gone. Any ideas on what could be going on? No codes no nothing, just a smelly smell and electrical quirks. I'm about to test the battery voltage when the car's off, see what it says. Thanks for any help! :thankyou:

Edit: And I just checked the battery with the engine off, it's 12.9volts and holding.

 

[jmpSHO]

14 volts with the car running is perfect.

 

[SHOZ123]

Check the battery cables for corrosion under the insulation at the battery ends.

 

[TwistedD85]

14 volts with the car running is perfect.

Really? Hm.. I could've swore I read another thread where 13.something-something was the norm and it wasn't supposed to vary but a few 0.something volts. Crap, thought I was on to something

 

[TwistedD85]

Check the battery cables for corrosion under the insulation at the battery ends.

I've taken them off probably two or three times in the past week or two and I didn't see anything but clean new battery terminal. But there could be a chance there's corrosion elsewhere, I'll check as best I can and report back

 

[SHOZ123]

The corrosion is on the cable under the insulation, not at the post.

14.4V is perfect for a new/good alternator. When running large electrical loads and at 1500 rpm anything under 13.5V is going on the way out. As they age from new to old the voltage will drop.

 

[TwistedD85]

The corrosion is on the cable under the insulation, not at the post.

14.4V is perfect for a new/good alternator. When running large electrical loads and at 1500 rpm anything under 13.5V is going on the way out. As they age from new to old the voltage will drop.

Whoops, misread, thanks So if it's under 13.5 with say.. the A/C, lights, blinker and wipers running it's bad then? Because earlier when it was raining I could hear my A/C fans slowing and my interior lights were dimming when I was at a red light everytime the wipers engaged, same thing happened when the turn signal flashed.

 

[SHOZ123]

Usually turning on the AC should kick in the hi speed fans, this with the interior blower and the headlights is close to 50-60A load. At 1500 rpm it should read over 13.5V. At idle it is normal for the lights to dim and fans slow with an old alternator.

 

[TwistedD85]

Tried to start it today to check the voltage drop and like before the dash lights came on and as soon as I turned the key they died. Lots of clicking right after until I opened the door, which seemed to stop the clicking. Tried to start it again and not a light to be seen. Came back later and it started right up so I checked the voltage while underload and it was hovering between 13.5 and 14 volts with all the accessories on. With the accessories off and the car still running it was producing 14.2 volts and when it was turned off it briefly showed a spike of 15 volts for like a split second before it shut off. That's about all I have, the clicking is coming from within the dash but it also seems to affect the door locks, having them try to engage at the same rapid pace until I tried to open the door. I'm beginning to wonder if something on the alarm system is going south. Any way to test that?

 

[SHOZ123]

Here's what I would do to check your cables with an ohm meter.

Check pos battery post to the starter, then check pos battery post to the stud on the end of the underhood fuse box. These should all be under 1 ohm.

The clicking is probably a relay that is dropping in and out when the voltage drops.

 

[beaudeen]

My 95 does similar acting up if the alarm is armed when the engine is running...not to say this may be your problem, but my Audiovox alarm has done it in the past..that foul smell just might be from the alarm if your voltages check out fine..??

 

[TwistedD85]

I believe it was the battery clamp itself and not the cable, I undid it and made sure there was no corrosion between the wires in the cable itself and pieced it back together. Ran some steel wool around the terminal to knock off a light coating of corrosion and did the same for the inside of the clamp. Once I tightened it down well everything seemed fine. What prompted me to just check the clamp was the car wasn't starting when I went out for the first time today and when I put a testing lead inside the crack of the clamp there was a spark and everything started working again. So I figured the clamp just wasn't doing the job and the test lead must have completed the circuit better than the clamp, so a quick clean later and I haven't had trouble out of it since. And that's after starting it four times with varying lengths of time between each. So I think we're good! Thanks all! :thankyou: I think I'm getting a new clamp as well, this one's worn out, the clamps for the positive terminal always get bent out of shape.