Electrical Diagnosis Help - 2001 Cadillac

[garyk1970]

dont sweat it, you will figure it out, just by "talking" to you,i know you are competent enough to figure this out.usually the "problem" wont show its ugly head when a customer brings the car and the customer thinks that i think they are crazy.....:biggrin:

the good news is that you can verify the problem and the area to look. just unhook the battery while you're on vacation just in case its a short instead of and open circuit....

enjoy the vacation.

 

[turbojimmy]

dont sweat it, you will figure it out, just by "talking" to you,i know you are competent enough to figure this out.usually the "problem" wont show its ugly head when a customer brings the car and the customer thinks that i think they are crazy.....:biggrin:

the good news is that you can verify the problem and the area to look. just unhook the battery while you're on vacation just in case its a short instead of and open circuit....

enjoy the vacation.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I already unhooked the battery

I'll probably bring the factory service manual on vacation.....

Jim

 

[turbojimmy]

Okay. I'm between trips. I just got back from a business trip in Boston and I"m leaving for vacation tomorrow morning. Much to the wife's dismay I could not resist the urge to work on the Caddy.

I found the problem.

I don't know the cause, but the big, fat ground cable that runs from the alternator bracket to the body is gone. It's frayed and there's like two strands of copper left on it.

Now, I know there is a problem with motor mounts on these cars. And my motor moves around alot. I'm pretty sure I have a broken mount but I was too lazy to fix it. I'm thinking there's been enough back-n-forth to break that wire since one end is fixed and the other is attached to the motor.

I ran jumper cables from the engine to the body and that fixed it. Totally back to normal.

So now I just need to replace the motor mount and the cable. Sounds easy but the alternator is really jammed in there. But I'm not going to sweat it. I can vacation with a clear mind knowing what the problem is.

Jim

 

[garyk1970]

cool. also you can ground the engine anywhere on the block itself, i cant remember how hard the oem ground is to reach.... usually the top two motor mounts go bad.... northstar power:biggrin:
i enjoyed outrunning mustangs in my sts seville with a homemade cold air kit, flowmasters, no cats (6?) fun...

 

[turbojimmy]

cool. also you can ground the engine anywhere on the block itself, i cant remember how hard the oem ground is to reach.... usually the top two motor mounts go bad.... northstar power:biggrin:
i enjoyed outrunning mustangs in my sts seville with a homemade cold air kit, flowmasters, no cats (6?) fun...

I figured I'd just run a temporary ground from a more accessible point to the frame. It's really tough to get at. If you lift up the upper radiator hose you can barely see it. According to the service manual you have to take the radiator out in order to get the bolt that clamps it to the alternator bracket out.

It's the 300HP DTS and I put a Corsa exhaust system on it ("dyno proven 20 HP" they say). It definitely sounds mean. I'm going to fashion a ram air kit for it one of these days. The problem is that the air filter housing also houses the PCM. The DTS version of the Nortstar gives up some low-end torque in favor of higher-end HP so it has different gearing in the trans to compensate. Even so it's a little laggy off the line but once it hits about 3K RPM it's a blast.

I had ZERO interest in a Cadillac, particularly a Deville, but I drive salvage cars and at the point in time I needed a ride my contact had a bunch of Devilles (he did have an STS but it was spoken for by the time I got to it). I told him I'd only take a Deville if it were a DTS. He had 2 - both in White Diamond. It's a little geriatric looking but I've really grown to like the car a lot. On this recent trip to boston Avis gave me a Subaru Legacy. After about 10 miles in it I was really missing the Caddy.

Thanks for your help! I can vacation without the problem nagging me in the back of my mind.

Jim

 

[turbojimmy]

Well it's fixed. It was a total b!tch to get in there but after hacking up my knuckles and arms I finally got the new cable installed. Below are some pics. I think it was getting its ground just from those frayed pieces for a long time. I have no idea how something like this happens. The engine doesn't move enough to twist that off and I doubt the flood had anything to do with it since it's exposed anyway. It almost looks like it was cut. I'll have to keep an eye on the new one.

Jim

 

[garyk1970]

ive never seen this exact problem before,but ive seen my share of wierd stuff. most of the time,something like this is caused by someone working or prying in that area.
youre becoming a caddy tech :biggrin:

 

[turbojimmy]

ive never seen this exact problem before,but ive seen my share of wierd stuff. most of the time,something like this is caused by someone working or prying in that area.
youre becoming a caddy tech :biggrin:

Or at least a 2001 DTS tech. That's enough for me.

I might have done that working on the tensioner pulley earlier this year, but I'm not sure. Either way it's fixed without any lasting damage.

Thanks for the advice.

Jim