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Coupes & Convertibles Pontiac Sunfire Pontiac Sunfire Electrical Problems
136 messages, Last post on Oct 31, 2009 at 1:22 PM
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Replying to: confused02 (Feb 12, 2008 8:12 am) If you have any experience with electrical, and a voltage meter, then this could be easy. If you don't, then I'll try to explain it to you so you can explain it to someone else so they can say "wow that's easy." Since you have a new alternator and a new battery, this should help you find out EXACTLY what's wrong with it and you can save a LOT of money with costly "let's see if this works" type repairs. First off, take the voltometer, (not a test light, those are pointless at this point) and test the voltage of the battery with the engine off, between the two terminals. If it's above 11, you're fine. Wait an hour, then check the voltage again, if it has gone down say... more than half a volt, you've got a short circuit. if it hasn't changed more than a few hundreths of a volt, then so far so good. Start the vehicle, and leave it running for the duration of these tests. 2. Test the voltage between the two battery terminals. If it's more than 13.8, you're ok, 14 and up is preferred. lower than 12 indicates a dead alternator, dead/dying battery, or a big electrical problem if those have been replaced already. If this is the case, bring your car to a parts store, most of them like Advance Auto and such will test these for free. If the voltage difference is below 13.5 it means you could have a bad ground or charging wire somewhere so we move on to step 3. (Keep engine running) 3. Now comes the fun part, test between the alternator's positive terminal, the one separate red wire coming off of the alternator housing, and the positive terminal on the battery. If there's a difference of more than .1 volts there's a problem with that wire. It's the one that charges the battery, and a common culprit. 4. Test between the frame (any unpainted bolt on the frame will do for this) and the negative battery terminal. Once again, a .1 volt difference is bad. This means that the negative battery terminal is not properly grounded to the frame. After that, test between the negative battery terminal and the engine block to test that wire. Just make sure it's an unpainted surface when testing. Lastly for the ground wires, test between the alternator housing and negative battery terminal. You're basically looking for a sharp increase in the voltage difference to indicate that the electricity isn't flowing between any of the grounded parts, the negative terminal, frame, engine, and alternator housing. I replaced my battery, and my alternator, and the garages said "everything seems fine" but THIS was how I found out that I had a bad ground wire which gave me an increase in everything electrical after I fixed it, and solved the problems. If it's not the wires, and you're getting 14+ volts between battery terminals, with less than the indicated differences in voltage, then the problem is not with your charging system, the electricity isn't getting to the spark plugs correctly. Ignition Coils on these go fairly quickly, but if you haven't replaced the spark plugs and wires yet, I'd go with that first, then get the ignition coil looked at if the problem persists. Hope this helped, I had 2 dealerships and a garage tell me "generic electrical problems" and one gave me a huge estimate, but I fixed the problem myself with a 7 dollar cable from a parts store. If you're not having the same problem I did, then at least you know what it's not without having to "replace first, figure out problem later." |
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Replying to: sunfireb (Aug 28, 2006 8:09 am) they will last and the sound will be so much better 
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where is the thermostat on my 2001 sunfire 2.2 L
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Replying to: brian52 (Mar 11, 2008 4:01 pm) |
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I have a 2005 Pontiac Sunfire and there is a loud thumping sound in the dashboard above the glove compartment. this happens the entire time the car is on. Doesnt matter if the heat/air is on or off.
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car runs fine but when u switch from park to drive theres a small power drain i can see with the dash lights and then when u first touch the gas pedal its even a more of a power lose but the car still runs fine on my dash when this all happens my day lights flash my stereo turns on and off my brake light comes on air bag light and seat belt light. then after a couple of seconds everything is fine.....or if a hit a bump in the road... i know it seems like a short... but were im thinking around the trany or the trany ground... any ideas? |
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| how do you change the back abs sensor on a 2001 sunfire 2.2 liter | |
i have a 2002 sunfire 2.2L.when i start the car the headlights flash and then turn off and the service light came on. when i turn the headlight switch to on they don't work. all other lights on the car work including the drl and high beams. please help. what could the problem be.
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| Recently my drivers side blinker and brake light have stopped working in my 2003 Sunfire. This is becoming a problem because I don't want to get pulled over for having a break light out. Does anyone have an ideas on how to fix it? I thought it was the bulb, but if you play with the bulb it will go on as long as your holding it in a certain spot. Is this a common problem? Whats an easy fix? | |
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 Everytime it gets hot in the car the gas gauge messes up....it points to the mph instead of the other way to show me how much gas it has in it... It happens almost everyday and i'm gettin tired of it...does anyone know anything about this?? Its a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire....Thanks
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