89 caprice classic....Hello people.This forum has been invaluable to me!!

[jrhoades001]

, wI have been reading through past posts and soon realized I was in the right place! I have a 1989 Caprice Classic Brougham...a real gem! I am experimenting with getting readings through the ALDL using Winaldl (which is an awesome program-hats off to Jonas Bylund!) Anyway, the car runs fine until a load is put on the electrical system E.G.,lights, wipers, etc. and the voltage drops ALOT. Even stalled once with a heavy load on it.My question to you pros is.... Shouldn't the ECU give an error code if it is alternator? I thought it was a short somewhere in the lighting but I am almost certain of it being the alternator. Symptoms..random flickering of interior lights, drop in volts with headlights or brake light. Both turn signal indicators are lit when lights are on. Replaced all fuses and flashers Any suggestions would be very much appreciated! Still trying to decipher all the data from winaldl, will take playing with it I guess to understand what normal factory readings should be, which I won't get until voltage problem is fixed. During the night I looked outside and the blinker light was flashing and dome light flickered on and off randomly......I appropriately named the car "Christine"! Glad to be here!!!

[CFI Z51]

if you like Winaldl you`ll love Tunerpro ,you should check it out..
For electrical problem the first thing i would check ,after having alt tested, is all the grounds..batt to eng..eng to frame and body (most likely) .. should be some on back of one of the heads also ...

[jrhoades001]

Thank you for your input. I have thoroughly checked all the frame and body grounds. Totally forgot about the head! I think I have it narrowed down to the driver side front running lights. Replaced the alternator and that was a big part of the problem. Now just to find the bad spot from lights to fuse panel. I know once I figure it out I'll feel like an idiot....DUH, why didn't I look there first? You know what I'm talking about! Thanks and this is probably the most knowledgable forums out there, bar none. Thanks all for letting me join in!

[jrhoades001]

P.S. I cannot get Tunerpro to work. I don't have the correct files or it won't work with my homemade cable. Oh well, It's only time and I have an abundance of that