97 caddy cts not charging

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gary
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97 caddy cts not charging

Post by gary » Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:22 pm

I had been working on my caddy and when I was done I took it to a automatic car wash. When finished I drove out and got down the road about 2 tenths of a mile when the whole electrical system went out, got another 1/2 down the road and the engine died. Upon looking to find the problem, I found that I had opened up the lid on the fuse panel under the hood. There was a few places where the plastic had melted. Further checking into the electrical system all fuses were good in the panel. (power coming into and going out). Checked to see if alternator was charging and it showed very little or minimal charge, I assume just showed what charge was left in the battery, 11.2 or so. I figured that I blew the alternator. I pulled the alternator and took it to a parts house to check it, it showed it was charging fine. Which sucked beings that on my model I had to pull the radiator, fans and all that crap to get it out. My question is there a fusible link somewhere? I looked and can't find one, but that's not to say I may have missed it. I know I have power coming into the fuse panel and coming out, and the battery is new, and I charged and checked it just to make sure it was ok.

Thanks for your time.

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butch
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Joined:Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:14 pm

Re: 97 caddy cts not charging

Post by butch » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:45 pm

There is no fusible link like on older cars. The large red wire is what powers up the alternator. You may have blown what is called a "Maxifuse". This tales the place of a link. It may or not bee in that fuse panel, the car has several.

If the panel was melted, you may have burned the inside of it or burned a wire.

Check for power at the red wire on the back of the alternator. If none, follow that wire into the harness and look for it to be burned.

If there is power there, then the control side of the circuit is not working. The PCM control the alternator output, not a voltage regulator inside of it like the old days.

You may have burned up the PCM.

Guest

Re: 97 caddy cts not charging

Post by Guest » Sat Mar 01, 2014 3:54 pm

Thanks, I'll be checking those.

gary
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Joined:Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:19 pm

Re: 97 caddy cts not charging

Post by gary » Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:37 am

I have checked all fuses, wires, fuses good and no burnt wiring. I do have power on the back of the alternator.

Is it possible that the pcm went bad? There are no codes listed when I hooked up my code reader to it. Is it possible the pcm is bad? How would I check it? Or is there something else it could be?

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butch
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Re: 97 caddy cts not charging

Post by butch » Fri Mar 14, 2014 7:01 pm

Yes, it does sound like the PCM is bad since that controls the alternator output. To be certain you would have to get a scanner on it to see if you can control the alternator.

gary
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Re: 97 caddy cts not charging

Post by gary » Sat Mar 15, 2014 12:03 pm

The only scanner I have is a code scanner, I assume I need a different type?

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butch
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Re: 97 caddy cts not charging

Post by butch » Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:41 pm

Yes, you will need a scanner that can control PCM outputs.

gary
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Joined:Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:19 pm

Re: 97 caddy cts not charging

Post by gary » Fri Mar 21, 2014 12:15 pm

Thanks, I don't have access to one of those. Guess I will just have to buy a new pcm an hope that fixes the problem.

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