Alternator not charging, volt light not on. Please help

[6whistler]

Details,
Buick Grand National- I took it out the other day. Drove about two miles. Ran fine, then sputtered, and died. Car did start with a jump, once, but then died. I had to get a new battery in to get the car home. Right now the car shows 11.99 volts at the battery while running. The volt light in the dash does not come on when the key is in the run position. I have taken the dash off, the connections and bulb look good. In addition, none of the turn signal lights in the dash work. The outside marker lights are a constant solid when the signals are put on. The outside hazards flash correctly, but the dash lights still do not flash. I basically have no power going to the left dash column (temp, volt, seatbelt, turn signal, etc). Can this be a fusible link problem? All fuses have been checked, and I dont believe this is the issue. The dash lights, speedo, that are in the middle and right side of dash all work. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

[SHADOWII]

check the fuse-link B w/red wire, it feeds the lite switch, instrument cluster, and part of the fuse block.

 

[phil_jordan]

Does all of your brake lights work? I just had a similar issue, but not quite this intense. Could be your turn signal switch. Just a thought tho. I could be way off. Or, you could just be experiencing multiple problems at once.

 

[6whistler]

Thank you for your suggestions. The fuse link B wire would be found under the dash near the fuse panel I assume correct? Once I find it, what kind of issue am I looking for? Just check it for continuity? This sounds like what could be the problem.
(Additional info that might be relevant) Last week my fan didnt turn on. As I was eliminating the relays as a source of the problem I jumped the wrong terminals on the harness. There was a little spark. Im thinking this might related as it both issues seem to deal with a power supplying wire.
Phil, I have not looked at the brake lights. I do know the taillights work.

 

[6whistler]

Or is fuse link B one of the fusible links down by the starter?

 

[SHADOWII]

It's down by the starter. I removed to the firewall above the engine and relocated some to the batt. post. A lot less hassle when they clear. Is your alternater bulb working? I don't think the bat. will charge if it is bad.

 

[SHADOWII]

Power passes thru the lite switch to the dimmer to the instrument panel lites.

 

[6whistler]

Thanks Shadow, I will take off all of them and replace them this weekend. Did you buy the caspers re-route kit, or just pull the wires up through the firewall and connect them to the battery? I really do not like where they are currently run. Seems way too close to heat/fraying, for wires that are so important. I am thinking I must have shorted one of them when I was reinstalling the starter and didn't pull cable off battery. There was a quick spark and that must have been enough to fry the link. I will let you know the result. Thanks a ton!

 

[6whistler]

Oh, with regards to the battery bulb, it is not working, but it is on the side of the dash cluster that does not have power. You are correct in saying that if the battery light does not come on with key in run position, that the battery will not charge. I checked the bulb and everything behind the dash yesterday, it does not seem to be the culprit.

 

[bison]

Fuse link and 12v wire replacement. These fuse links can be ordered cheap from Caspers and the factory links/wire replaced. The purple wore is the solenoid wire. You need to use some wore loom and electrical tape to make a nice clean harness. Almost everyone of these cars needs this done. The wires are typically rubbed through in spots and the 12v wires are typically corroded several inches up the harness. Make your harness and attach it to the starter. Then cut the wires to length after you run them. Then crimp ,solder/heat shrink them after you get them to the correct length. Now you have a nice tightly bundled harness that will help supply power to the fuse block and other non fused items.

 

[6whistler]

Bison, essentially I can do the same thing you mentioned, but run the links right to the battery, and continue to run the purple wire to the starter (I believe thats the ignition wire). Correct?

 

[Turbotre]

Did you check the gauge fuse?
It supplies power to some of the information lights,including the volt light.

 

[jmendlik]

check into Caspers Field Fix Harness---if your bulb is burned out the Alternator will not charge....

http://www.casperselectronics.com/store2/product_info.php?products_id=618

 

[6whistler]

Gauge fuse looked good. I am going to test it with a test light tonight.
Field fix harness is a consideration of mine, but ultimately I do not think its the sole issue right now because the other lights on the cluster also do not work.

 

[Turbotre]

The gauge fuse supplies power to at least these lights
Check engine
Oil/choke
Volt
Brake
Coolant temp

 

[6whistler]

After getting home from work I have.....
confirmed that the fuse links coming off the starter have continuity across all 5.
conformed continuity from battery to alternator
discovered that although the inst lps fuse was good itself, the terminal is not getting power.
Relieved that I have narrowed down the problem, still do not know why this terminal would not be getting power.
Does that mean there is a bad wire between the fuse panel and the fuse link somewhere?

 

[bison]

Bison, essentially I can do the same thing you mentioned, but run the links right to the battery, and continue to run the purple wire to the starter (I believe thats the ignition wire). Correct?

Yes. You would want to run a post with a short cable to the battery. You can also mount a junction box on the fire wall and run all the grounds to it and either go directly to the battery or use a nice copper ground strap and go to rye engine. Believe it or not in the last 5 years I've seen at least 4 cars with the ground cable not connected to the engine. The path it usually takes without that is through the firewall ground to the firewall and somehow gets through the small ground up at the fender. With continuous cranking it melts the ground wires insulation. I saw a TTA like this also. The ground strap in back got really hot while cranking. The car ran like a bag of poop also. Once fixed it was like new again. I can't believe these things are so easily overlooked

 

[bison]

Gauge fuse looked good. I am going to test it with a test light tonight.
Field fix harness is a consideration of mine, but ultimately I do not think its the sole issue right now because the other lights on the cluster also do not work.

The one wire can be followed in the car and through the dash. The cluster could be loose and or the pins corroded. Use a pencil eraser on the pins. I've fixed a couple intermittent charging issues this way.

 

[getdowngranny]

Remove the cluster and inspect the ribbon cable and the plug. Had a similar charging issue that was fixed by cleaning the connections. I keep a field fix harness now in the glove box because of this.

 

[6whistler]

After a long and frustrating day I am still in the same position as I was yesterday. I spent the morning redoing fuse links, and the afternoon replacing the ingition switch. Simply trying to eliminate possible culprits. I still do not have power to any of the dash lights on the left side, and when I turn my turn signals on the outside lights are solid (rather than blinking), and there are no inside flashers in dash. However, hazards still work perfectly inside and out. Im wondering if I could have fried a wire without blowing a fuse>​