Has anyone ever had the radio come on spontaneously? This has happened several times in the past month. In addition to a message about a turn indicator bulb being out, which wasn't but that hasn't come back, and one stalling incident in a parking lot during slow right turn....I'm thinking the battery is on the way out but the Foxwell indicates it is pushing out 13.5 volts at idle...Any ideas? I'll probably do the battery just to be sure it's not the battery first.

 

13.5 volts at idle is measuring your alternator output, not the battery. AMs are very sensitive to battery state. I would bet that replacing the battery will resolve the issues you're seeing.

 

Thanks, that's what I was thinking. Not sure if the Foxwell will read the battery output with the engine off. I haven't played with that aspect yet.

 

You can throw a voltmeter on the battery, with the engine off, and all electrical accessories off, to see what it reads. You should be between 12.6 ad 12.8 volts. Better still (though a pain in these cars), remove the battery from the car, and go have it load tested. Though if you're going that far, it may be better to just replace the battery.

 

FWIW, I added a button and 12v gage back at the rear area where you plug in battery conditioner. It's wired directly to main 12v cable to rear fuse panel. I use it to check battery charge before I start car and to verify the conditioner adapter is plugged in properly and charging

 

That is very slick! This one is a daily driver, so I haven't had to jump it yet. These are all new gremlins. I'll throw a new battery in and see if it resolves. I'm pretty sure the current one is at least three or four years old.

 

I went to Amazon and searched for: automobile 12 plug usb voltage monitor and got a nice one for $10... I plugged it into the lighter on the center console. Lets me check voltage at rest, on trickle charge and on the road.

 

This seems like one of those pieces of information that in a car as 'gauge oriented' as the Vantage, would be in the scroll through menu in the binnacle computer. Unfortunate that it isn't!