Help! Electrical Issues Need Help

[msvette]

I just purchased my first corvette an 88 coupe and I am having some issues and hope someone might know what the fix might be aside from torching it. It is having electrical issues, first started with the drivers window not going back up, then my husband connected some wires back that weren't somehow after several hours later, after he did that he tried the window again and it went back up. But since we picked it up there is this constant clicking like the sound the blinker makes but its by the radio area. He had connected the horn back up one of the wires disconnected then when I opened the car the alarm went off, starting the car didn't stop it he had to disconnect the horn wire he had previously connected. Second thing the right side blinker stopped working it worked earlier in the day but not later that night and the right blinker arrow stayed on. In the moring it was off when I started it to go to work. Then on the second day today, I left work all seemed fine then stopped at one place and when I started it up again, the dash panel "speedo and all" didn't light up. I know the factory alarm seems to still want to work but the horn must have been disconnected to keep it from going off since there is no remote for it. Now I am afraid to put down the drivers window in fear that it might not go back up again and I have no idea what the constant blinking/clicking sound is since it happens even when the car is off and the lights aren't on. I am in total fear that I made a bad choice on this vette. My husband thinks that maybe the issue with the security alarm might be part of the issue causeing the problems. Has anyone experienced this or have any ideas what it might be or how to fix the problem? After reading some of the posts I think I spent to much and maybe should have shopped around but It seemed fine on the test drive. Can anyone give me some input? Thanks

 

[Rabbit]

The clicking you hear in the radio area could be caused a low battery triggering relays. Have you checked the condition of the battery. When you start the engine does the starter sound strong?

It sounds like your husband is mechanically inclined. I will list a site that will show how to extract codes from the cars computer. It may help in diagnosing your problems.

http://www.corvettephotographs.com/c4vettes/index.htm

 

[Paul Higg]

Yes, please list the codes. I would love to help you troubleshoot this one.

I would first like to know exactly what wires were disconnected and why. Did someone else do some electrical work?

It sounds like you may need to trace wires to their exact source and follow them to the power window, etc.

You may just have a jumbled up mess of incorrect connections, but to me this is fun! I LOVE this kind of stuff.

Does he have access to the factory service manual?

I have a 94 so I am pretty sure the manual will be different but I have a lot of skill in electrical troubleshooting. I used to do this on airplanes. I used to see this kind of stuff all the time and most of the time it is just a matter of human error.

Keep us posted.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Following what Paul said.

If you own an old Vette you must get a set of factory manuals. Nothing else will give you the info you need. Watch on eBay. I got the factory books for Thunder for less than $70.

Most of our Plastic-Car problems are with the ground circuit. Most mechanics expect the ground to be natural through the body and chassis so they think nothing of cutting a ground wire or not installing one in the first place.

Keep us posted - we can work you through the problems.

 

[ecss]

If you can't read the schematics, right click with your mouse button on the image and print them out.

the drivers window is not going back up, then my husband connected some wires back that weren't somehow after several hours later, after he did that he tried the window again and it went back up.

If the window motor always works going down but sometimes not going up, most likely one of window switches is bad, has a loose connection or dirty contacts. The motors work on 12 volts DC. The direction the motor turns to either raise or lower the window is dependent on the DC voltage polarity that is applied to the motor.

Here's the schematic of the window motor circuit.

since we picked it up there is this constant clicking like the sound the blinker makes but its by the radio area. He had connected the horn back up one of the wires disconnected then when I opened the car the alarm went off, starting the car didn't stop it he had to disconnect the horn wire he had previously connected.

The clicking noise is probably the horn relay being controlled by the factory alarm. The horn relay is located behind the Driver Information Center above the radio.

Assuming your car doesn't have an aftermarket alarm installed, here's how the factory alarm works.

First roll down one of the windows.

With one of the doors open, if you look at the Driver Information Center (DIC) which is above the radio area, you should see the Security Light blinking.

With one of the doors open, when you use either of the power door lock buttons and lock the doors, the Security Light should go solid (Not blink).

Get out of the car. When you close the door the alarm will now be armed.

To test the alarm, reach in and open the door either by using the power door lock button or manually by using the slide button.

Open the door and the horn should pulse on and off. To shut off the alarm, use the door key in either door and rotate it left and right then back to center position. The alarm should disarm and the horn should shut off.

Here's the schematic of the Horn. The horn can be manually operated by pressing the horn button on the steering wheel or by the alarm.

Second thing the right side blinker stopped working it worked earlier in the day but not later that night and the right blinker arrow stayed on. In the morning it was off when I started it to go to work.

If you're saying the blinker indicator on the dash stays on and doesn't blink when you're making a right hand turn, one of the blinker bulbs on the right side of the car is either burnt out, the filament inside the bulb is loose or there is a bad connection inside the bulb socket. Turn the ignition to On and the blinker switch to turn right and look at all of the blinker bulbs on the right side of the car. The bad bulb won't be lit.

stopped at one place and when I started it up again, the dash panel "speedo and all" didn't light up.

There are 4 bulbs that do the back lighting for the digital dash. There are two circuit boards inside the dash cluster that are joined by some pins that over heat and eventually build up high resistance and cause the problem you describe. Here's a link about how to repair that problem which is very common.

Click on this link
http://www.batee.com/corvette/

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

eccs; may I compliment you on the excellent info you posted.

:BOW

It reminded me of the days when vigman, ken and 69myway were always there to help.

Has always been the Best!

 

[Paul Higg]

Yeah, this post was awesome!