I can't believe this :-((((

[oceangal]

I finally picked up my '82 vette tonight (last night the person who was going to drive me bailed at 7pm) with the help from my ex boss who owed me a favor or two. Anyway the buyer met us almost halfway with the car and his daughter was with him, his wife and other daughter followed, nice family. Anyway the deal is done I drive off and about 20 minutes into the hour ride home the radio stops working. The clock is lit but the radio isn't working, I think thats odd. So the drizzle picks up a bit and I decide to turn the wipers on and nothing happens. Hmmmm. I call my friend who is thankfully driving behind me and we decide to pull over at the service area coming up. We pull in and neither item is working. I call the owner and he has me try a few things but they don't work. All the while I kept the car running just in case. So anyway my friend says i should repark the car as i was not parked right, and as I put it in drive it dies out. It doesn't start. So the old muscle car in me thinks "alternator" I knew he had put in a new battery in it so I knew it wasn't that. Well I call the tow truck and my NEW car is 45 miles away in the summer place of the Presidents family - hardly a cheap town. I will say that the tow guy at AAA sent out was awesome. I had requested a flat bed truck and this thing was brand new and he was so careful. I was going to have him take it to a dealer but he said there were a few good guys in town so thats where it is.
What do you think that might cost? Do you think the former owner should pay a portion or offer to pay it all?? Should I had it towed to a chevy dealership instead??
I really dont think the prior owner knew about it and I don't think he has driven it a lot since he had it stored over the winter ( we had a lousy spring).
It occured to me that maybe this is why vette owners don't drive in the rain !
I am pretty bummed out.
Lori

 

[78SilvAnniv]

What a bummer! Hopefully the tow driver knows of good shops who will treat you right. Sounds like it could be something like a shorted ground? (clock, radio, wipers then dying)
Hopefully they can get it diagnosed and fixed quickly for you. No telling what cost will be until they find the problem.
Heidi Keep your chin up, things will work out!

 

[74bigblock]

Yeah... sounds like a ground somewhere to me too. Have the alternator checked while your at it... but this isn't/shouldn't cost you too much. Congrats on the new ride!

 

[Dons97]

Seller can easily say "Hey...it was working when I sold it to her" or "she had plenty of opportunity to check out the car" or a million other things.

It would be nice if he bellied up on his own, but....

Did you ask him why he was selling the car in the first place?

Good luck.

D97

 

[oceangal]

Thanks all, yah he is working on his '69 and he was moving too slowly according to his wife and wasn 't too motivated as he has this one to drive.

 

[mkapp7879]

I think it's the alternator also. No charging, Vette ran on only battery power for half the trip until no charge left. Even with a jump it wouldn't run for long. Could explain owner putting in new battery. Good luck with it, don't let it get you down. Maybe seller will at least split the bill.
Mike

 

[WayneLBurnham]

Cheer up! Big electrical failures are not a huge deal...

worry more about constantly blowing fuses on everything, ignition/computer erratic behaviors.

Nah, the rain won't hurt that. C3 wipers are an iffy proposition to begin with....mine have never "failed", per se, but love to sword fight, despite a highly engineered and technical programme (notice the metric spelling even to imply craftsmanship) of bending their little hearts into various shapes. Rain-X was invented with the C3 owner in mind!

Radio and wipers may both have blown fuses. Check the connections at your battery, the starter and the alternator - all loosen on occasion and the battery one is subject to corrosion. After that, look at the fuse box, see if it moves or rattles at all (yeah, it ain't fun ta git to!) Does your ignition switch seem "crisp" and normal or is it kind of sloppy and hard or way too easy to insert and turn the key to each position?

Get a cheap ($10) voltmeter and a cheap($15), low amp (10A is sufficient) battery charger. Charge up your battery (assuming it's under 11.3V or so) slowly - no more than a few hours at a time and check on the temperature of those terminals - if it gets uncomfortably hot, cut it till it cools. Absolutely do not do this with the windows rolled up unless you like a cloud of acidic vapor all over your interior - doors wide open and a fan are not a bad idea for prolonged charging (or removing the battery entirely.) (Yeah, my dum bass just did that clever little trick and boiled an old optima till a nice "dew" was coating the windows and everything else like it was a fall morning....I THINK I escaped serious harm, but only the following season will show if everything falls apart and bleaches out....thanks to about a half gallon of windex sprayed on everything twice and a fan....and at least the "dew" didn't sting my tongue or even taste that bitter - so it maybe was only weakly acidic....or my tongue is about to fall out...)

Once you do have decent voltage at the battery, start it, and check the voltage at the alternator when it's at fast idle (1500+). That voltage should be in the 13's - even over 14V. Voltage at the battery should also be not much less than that and eventually also in the 13.5 range or better. (Your car's volt gauge could be faulty - and there could be connection faults - so you really need to establish baseline measurements at the devices.) There are more sophisticated tests, and any parts store can check battery capabilities and alternator performance - but you have to take them out to do that and a volt meter tells you the main stuff anyhow. Once you are in service again, check voltage at these points for a few weeks, especially after a long time off to see if something is leaching voltage. (Battery voltage should not decline measurably over a week from 15 mins after you turned it off.)

Start with a $40 alternator from a parts house if that alternator isn't showing expected voltage. If it works, get a standard vette one or a higher grade higher amp one (140 and 170 amp models are getting more and more common and cheaper) - $40 is a cheap test. There is a current thread here or on CF (I'm on both a lot and can't keep it straight what was where) that is something like "replace alternator every two years?" that deals with specific alternator problems in some models.

It is possible you have a bad starter, but you didn't mention any symptoms to that effect. Again, a decent high torque version - even one of those cute lightweight little ones - are available from parts houses for cheap. If you go with the higher priced "lifetime" one they carry, you'll usually do fine.

Again, these things aren't a biggy. Relax, be happy, think "happy" thoughts....:L When your brakes quit working and your axles start "going north" THEN you can go all out and retreat to a "happy place"....:ugh

Oh - wipers. Usually the switch is iffy. My switch is on the dash - I would guess yours is on the column on a lever (although I have no idea really) - my system is much more prone to failure for some reason. My motor has proven a tough bird indeed the way those puppies like to lock up and not shutdown. The motors are not that hard to change though, although they are pricier as I recall (haven't had to buy THAT thing yet!)

I wouldn't really expect to collect any repair money - it's not uncommon for problems like this in quarter century old cars. Then again, I'm pretty much a "ripoff sponge" and the other posters may be right!

 

[JHL]

Might even be as simple as loose or worn fan belt, always worth checking the simple things first, most of the places over here in England that sell tyres and batteries will give you a free check of you battery, charging system and alternator. If you can get it going and you have somewhere close by.


J.

 

[Andy]

Lori.....Did they tell you when the car would be finished? This issue will get resolved....an auspicious start, but good to get it fixed NOW and FOR GOOD...Keep us all posted.


Andy

 

[oceangal]

Thanks all,
I should add (and was half asleep when I posted last night) that when I pulled over and put the car into drive and it cut out, that the radio and wipers then worked and the interior lights worked etc. I guess I will give the mechanic a call in a few hours, I am sure he is busy, the car was dropped off around 11pm or so and they were closed.
I am going to write the seller and request he pay, he was going to bring it all the way to me next weekend and this would have happend to him not me. Also the listing on ebay is via his friend who has a very high rating and I dont' think he is going to want any sort of negative or neutral feedback as he pretty much specializes in vette parts etc. Not that I think this was known, but I think the car you buy should at least be able to make it home, ya know? One of the bidders asked if the car was sound enuf to make it home 1500 miles and he answered yes it was very sound etc. I didn't even make it 30 miles!

 

[jdp6000]

When you say it wouldn't start does that mean nothing happened? Like having a dead battery? If so its probably the charging system.

Jim

 

[waterboy1976]

One thing Ive learned from working on my old Corvette is........


" Its always something"

But then again...thats the fun...you get to learn a ton about your new baby.....

You'll get it figured out.......

 

[oceangal]

When you say it wouldn't start does that mean nothing happened? Like having a dead battery? If so its probably the charging system.

Jim

actually the car was running and in park and when i put it in drive - it just stopped running, it didn't even stall out and make that kind of noise.
I am grateful that i was in a parking lot and not on Route 95 South when the car lost power like that, that could have been fatal.

I am trying to stay positive, I really am. I just sort of put a lot of hopes into this car as a fresh start after a really rough year. So I am trying to put the spin on it that I am lucky to have been where I was when this happened.

 

[jdp6000]

Did you try to restart it though? If so what did it do?

Jim

 

[6 Shooter]

Sorry to hear about your bad 1st experience . . .

Things will get better, your C3 just needs some TLC.

BTW - Congrats on your new Corvette!

a few questions . . .

1. How many miles does your 82 have?
2. Have ya posted any pics yet?

Later . . . . . .
6 Shooter

 

[Tritium007]

Congratulations on the new ride! Things will work out. I bought my first vette ('81) just three months ago and within days it wouldn't start (loose battery cable), the crossover hood latch snapped and I couldn't get the hood open, and the driver's window wouldn't go back up. The CAC helped me correct the last two for a grand total of about $22 in just a couple of days. This is a great forum and you will never be alone in how you feel, good or bad. There will always be words of encouragement and hope. Just ALWAYS remember to wave.

Mike

 

[jdp6000]

Mike,
We are trying to help Dawn out with a broken cable. The thread is here

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?p=584483#post584483

Maybe you can help with your recent experience.

Jim

 

[67HEAVEN]

One thing Ive learned from working on my old Corvette is........


" Its always something"

But then again...thats the fun...you get to learn a ton about your new baby.....

You'll get it figured out.......

Too true. I just completed a 4.5 year "complete" rebuild of my '67, including every new wiring harness throughout the car; all new gauges; and....well...everything is brand new. Did you notice that I said everything?

This morning, I ran out of gas. Gas gauge said 1/4 tank. Gas gauge is new, Gas tank sending unit is new too. :eyerole


(It's better to laugh than to cry)

 

[oceangal]

Did you try to restart it though? If so what did it do?

Jim

Yes, we waited a half hour and it did try a bit to kick over but not enuf juice left to do so. so we had it towed to a garage.
My baby is with strangers !
And again thank you all - its great to be able to come here anytime and get great advice and support!


this is my practice wave for when i am in my vette and see my first vette!

 

[jdp6000]

Sound simple and inexpensive. My guess is alternator or a connection. I think the minimum for our car is 70 amps.

Jim