Thought my battery was just dying and needed a jump, and then possibly a replacement if that didn't hold. But what transpired after charging was strange to me....

So, I haven't had any codes for awhile since replacing my MAF and a wiring harness almost 2 months ago. All has been fine for the most part.

So the battery is recharged and car runs for about 20 minutes to power up before going for a drive and possibly to get a new battery if it leaves me stranded again. But a block out of my garage, I get flickering ABS/PSM codes on the dash and an intermittent radio connection. Then a few seconds later I get a new code - battery/generator problem - or something to that effect. So I take it back home immediately and plug in my code reader and it says 1250, which apparently is "boost pressure deviation"? How is this all related, or is it not? My previous hesitation and low boost issues could be related to this, from the searches I did, and maybe I need new Diverter Valves.... ?

I am confused as hell again here.....

Should I start by replacing the battery then?

EDIT: Just confirmed the battery was new in March of this year so I wouldn't think that would go bad so quickly. It's the Interstate Mega Tron Plus.

 

Yes I think that you need to get to the bottom of the battery/alternator issues before going further with other codes, otherwise you will just irritate yourself. Battery/generator codes? If I had the car in my shop I would test the battery and also test the alternator first and then erase codes and then see what pops up and go from there. The car can throw a lot of different low voltage codes if the battery or alternator are not working properly. You may want to try to bring the battery down to an auto parts store and they can test the battery for you, and if it is good put the battery in the car with full charge and run the car and and if you have a volt meter check on the battery post for voltage and it should show between 13v-14v if it is just 12v or lower that means your alternator is not charging due to that alternator being faulty or a connection issue. Hope that helps/ start with the obvious

 

Thanks Josh. I guess in my haste to put a post up I didn't disclose everything very clearly. It was put on a tester and after charging for a few minutes did show a voltage about about 12 volts. The tester did say "replace battery" on it. I asked him what particularly triggered that reading, and he wasn't quite sure (this was the AAA guy). He did mention something about the possibility of a faulty connection as well....

I just confirmed the battery (Interstate Mega Tron Plus) is only about 9 months old! It shouldn't go bad already...

So you're thinking alternator issue possibly? Faulty connection? I really don't wanna go back to the stealership for this....

 

Oh, and I also thought it was strange that my gas gauge shows empty now after disconnecting battery and reconnecting..... ??

 

A battery can show a 12v state of charge even though it is bad, If you just test the voltage this will not determine if the battery is healthy. You have to do a load test on the battery, the AAA guy sounds like he tested the battery and the tester showed that he needs to replace it but he assumed it was good considering it was 12v state of charge. I have seen batteries fail before 9 months old, not only that these batteries are not designed to go from a total dead state of charge and be charged again, they are not considered a deep cycle battery such as a boat battery. So being that you had the battery at a total discharged state a few times this may very well prematurely killed the battery. Any warranty on the battery? I would still not rule out the battery at this point and you need to know the batteries state before going further with your diagnosis. After you have determined the battery is good you need to test that the alternator is outputting with a test i have mentioned above, keep in mind the vehicle needs to be running while you put a volt meter on the battery post to get the correct values. I would have to say without looking at the car you need an alternator bc you have mentioned that the car will have the lights flicker. Usually when you have a battery die the car can keep running with the amount of voltage the alternator produces, but this can kill the alternator as well. So be advised one failure can lead to another so test quickly while the car is running.

 

I hope it is an easy fix. I am clueless on the approach on this one, let me know what happens bro.

 

Thanks Josh. I replaced the battery today and after firing it up with the new one, the voltage went from 14 to 12 in about a minutes time. So that told me to try alternator next. Went and got a Bosch alternator from NAPA and will get that installed next. Also bought a battery booster!

Yeah that was weird. But when I filled it up with gas on my way to NAPA, it moved back to where it should be. Not sure what the hell that was about....

 

Josh is right on....exactly what happened to my 930....the alternator was going out and I thought it was the battery (never thought to test the alternator)...so I replaced the battery....then after a number of months, the new battery got so it would go dead overnight and wouldnt' hold a charge. Turns out the alternator was bad and the new battery was strong enough to keep it going for a while, but the constant drain and recharge eventually ruined it and I ended up replacing the alternator as well as putting another new battery in it....but at least the new one was under a battery warranty so I got it free.

 

Wish you a happy new year Budd. Fix that car and take it to track soon. After it goes to track it will get better, I think your car is track sick right now.
cheers

 

Yep that sounds just right. And I thought the same thing with this new battery I got. 2 year full warranty if it dies before I get to the shop to replace that alternator.

Haha. Good call there Art! Tonight I was thinking I should just drop it off at my mechanic and tell him to do a whole bunch of stuff to it - the k24/18g, injectors, oh and the alternator I need!!

I am actually winding down on the Camaro build and am hoping to take that to the track and crack some 10s.

Happy New Year as well !

 

Is the Camaro Procharged meaning Supercharged not Turbo right? If supercharged, how many psi and how many pounds of pulley? How many HP to the tires?

 

Yeah it's a centrifugal supercharger - Procharger/ATI is the brand name. Will be running the smaller pulley to get about 14psi. It dynoed at 14psi @ just over 700 rwhp in a similar setup 69 Camaro before I bought it. It's got about 900 miles on it.

It will be first time to the track but I am aiming for mid to high 10s @ low 130s mph. Will run the 335 drag radials.

 

I took that similar car on the HWY with 16 pound pulley @16 psi rolling second gear from 40-130mph, just don't ask what happened. That is the one that I almost went to jail. Very strong car BTW, it will be interesting to see what that car does in the 1/4 mile. Keep us posted brotha.

 

Yeah I imagine it will be a little dicey. Thanks. Since it's not set up for drag racing, I think mid to high 10s is a reasonable goal. It's gonna come down to driver skill.

 

Let us know what that beast does. Shoot for a 1.5 60 foot with nice drags on. GL.