Cadillac Repair/Battery...

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Expert: - 3/21/2011


Question
QUESTION: I have a 1989 eldorado that i just bought. I drove it home and everything was fine.  The next morning the battery was dead. i went and got a new battery and put it in and it was fine all day.  The next morning i go out and the battery is dead again...any help would be great   thx...

ANSWER: Hello,

It never fails, battery dead--replace it. You have a parasitic draw. Could be a bad cigarette liter. Its too bad you can't take the battery back.

Buy a cheap test light. Remove the positive battery cable and put the test light between the cable and the battery post. Remove the bulb or disconnect the hood light. Remove the dome and courtesy light fuses. If the test light goes out, its on one of those circuits. If the light is out, reinstall a fuse and if the test light lights up now, you found the problem circuit. Then you need to find out what is on the circuit and fix it from there.

Good Luck!

http://www.autotheftexpert.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much...i was so lost and now its fixed!!!  i unhooked the battery and ran positive to positive and it was pullin 5.3 amps with everything off....i started pullin fuses and when i pulled the power antenna fuse it dropped to .25 amps!!!  So i just left it out for now, untill i'm able to fix it, and all is good.... Now for a new question...lol...its about the ABS system.  The ABS light is on and to me it feels like there is no power assist at all, it's very hard to depress the pedal but works ok with hard pressure applied. There is a new master cylinder and accumulator, but the pump and motor are old, my question is...is there a way to find out excactly what part is bad? before dropping 1000 or something to take it to a shop

Answer
Hello,

Hard pedal depends on the system used for power assist in your car. If using hydro but, the problem is in the unit, power steering or belt. If vacuum controlled, either a vacuum issue or the power assist unit. This is not a master cyl problem.

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Rob Painter

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Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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