nervous

[fourkidscrazy]

OK I just put my 96 LT4 back on the road , I charged up the battery and after it started I got a SYS on the monitor screen. This would happen between 14.2 and13.9 volts. the car seems to be running fine. I have never seen this SYS before. Does anybody know what this is. Could the battery just not be charged up fully. I drove the car to work which is about 40 miles. The car has been in my garage since November.

 

[Tuna]

The SYS message is related to low or eratic voltage in several circuits. In my experience, the SYS message has always meant that I needed a new battery - not holding a charge, not stable, whatever. Have the battery checked - it may not be holding a charge now.

Once started and with a working alternator, you should see voltages in this range as it indicates the 'charge' voltage being sent to the battery. Check the voltage with the motor off before start, after shutdown after driving it some and then again before starting.

 

[fourkidscrazy]

Tuna; Thanks for the info. I was pretty sure that it might be the battery also, because I have not tried to charge it all winter. The first one lasted 5 years and this one is the same one from the dealer. It didn't make it but two years, should of had the charger connected. I called someone from the dealer and he said that it could also be the fuseable link / terminal block. where the battery cable and the alternator cable are connected at. He said it is right next to the battery. The nuts holding down the wire crimps could be loose. This happened to me before on my 91 chevy van, but I had no display to look at. The van would run off of the battery until it was dead. I changed the alternator and the battery before I was able to locate the problem. Just corrosion on the terminal links. I am going to look at this first and if nothing is wrong there, I quess it's time for another battery. I will let you know what I find. AGAIN THANKS.

FOURKIDSCRAZY

 

[mac96]

I had the same warning this winter. I wasn't driving it much, so the battery needed a charge everytime I started it. Bought a new battery and have had no warning lights. I'm relieved that it was not a $$$ computer problem.

 

[fourkidscrazy]

I removed the battery last night and found no terminal block / fuseable link like I was told by the dealer ( he must have been thinking of another car ). Every thing looked fine as far as connections. I could now see down the eye of the battery and it wasn't green at all. I put it on a charger and I'll see if it holds now. I'll now tonight if I will have to buy a new battery. You better believe I'll write this down in the service manual.

 

[jcs44]

I had that SYS light for quite a while when I first started the car. This was a car I had just puchased that had been stored most of the winter. The warning finally just went away on it's own. As someone stated, it indicates some sort of electrical problem. The dealer told me to just drive it and see what happens. Apparently no code is set unless the warning stays on all the time.