Low voltage on scanmaster and battery not charging fully

[Wahoo]

My battery is less than a year old and ever since I got my car '85 hot air T-Type, the battery would struggle to start the car, and it didn't seem to charge it fully sometimes or there is a draw on it with the car off.

Main goal is to think of what I can do to get my voltage where it should be on the scanmaster, now so far I cleaned the ground at the fender/battery. Can someone provide me with more ground locations, also what's the fusible link at the starter look like? What do I need to do?

Thanks!

I think when the battery is low it makes my BLMs high.

 

[Wahoo]

I did have my alternator checked before and it tested out good.

 

[2QUICK2B6]

your car have a good ground wire to the battery terminal ?

 

[Wahoo]

your car have a good ground wire to the battery terminal ?

Do you mean is the negative cable to the battery good? If so, how would I test this? I can tell you is the ground off of the negative cable @ the battery going to the fender is good, I did clean it up.

 

[2QUICK2B6]

imean the cable its self ? is it in good shape ? and d you have the engine grounded to a good source ?

 

[Wahoo]

imean the cable its self ? is it in good shape ? and d you have the engine grounded to a good source ?

Everything seems in good shape, I don't know where the engine grounds are, if someone can post a picture that would be very helpful, my car is a hot air so I don't know if that makes a difference.

Are there fusible links or some type of connections at the starter that are known issues with these cars?

 

[Wahoo]

Bump, I don't know if I also noted that my dash turn signals don't light up but outside the car everything works. I don't know if this all leads to possible corrosion on the terminals?

 

[novaderrik]

does the "volt" light in the dash come on when you turn the key to "run" but don't start the car?
if not, your issue is either that bulb being blown or a bad connection where the cluster plugs into the dash wiring... since your blinker lights don't work, i'd lean towards a bad connection..
pull the cluster out and clean all the connections with a soft pencil eraser followed by a qtip with some rubbing alcohol... also gently pull all the contacts up just a bit to get better contact... put it back together and i bet everything works..

 

[Wahoo]

does the "volt" light in the dash come on when you turn the key to "run" but don't start the car?
if not, your issue is either that bulb being blown or a bad connection where the cluster plugs into the dash wiring... since your blinker lights don't work, i'd lean towards a bad connection..
pull the cluster out and clean all the connections with a soft pencil eraser followed by a qtip with some rubbing alcohol... also gently pull all the contacts up just a bit to get better contact... put it back together and i bet everything works..

I have to figure out how to pull the cluster still. I started the process but it won't pull out?

 

[TurboBuRick]

Have you checked voltage at the back of the alternator?

 

[laws69cars]

I'm not sure if a 85 system is the same as a 87 but I jumped a wire from the pink and black egr solenoid wire to the F pin connector on the alternator to by pass the volt light and it worked for me. Car is charging great after that little adjustment.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[novaderrik]

I have to figure out how to pull the cluster still. I started the process but it won't pull out?

you gotta get your hand back there after you get the screws out and pull the speedo cable off the back of the speedo. it's been about a decade since i pulled my cluster out to fix this very problem, but i remember removing the cover from beneath the steering column and saying a string of "adult" words as i snaked my arm up thru the dash to get to the clip that retains the cable.

 

[Wahoo]

you gotta get your hand back there after you get the screws out and pull the speedo cable off the back of the speedo. it's been about a decade since i pulled my cluster out to fix this very problem, but i remember removing the cover from beneath the steering column and saying a string of "adult" words as i snaked my arm up thru the dash to get to the clip that retains the cable.

Oh so that's what's involved lol fml

 

[robzombie]

imean the cable its self ? is it in good shape ? and d you have the engine grounded to a good source ?

Like he said, check the cables themselves. If there are bumps and/or the insulation is raised in spots it is corroding from the inside and can't be seen except how I just described.

It could also be corroded and not to the point where it's pushing the insulation up in which checking the ohms would be the only way to tell how much resistance there is. If you are getting 13.5 volts off the back of the alt and only say 12.2 at the battery you have to much resistance in the wiring somewhere.

Like others have said check your grounds, but also check all the wiring and the connections that are hot as well as grounds from alt to battery, which includes the starter connections.