Is this an electrical problem?

[brandon51780]

Hi, I'm having a problem. Ill give you the symptoms and maybe you can give me some answers? OK i bought my pathy 1 week ago and i love it BUT i think there might be a grounding problem... - consider it as the "condition".

 

We will start with the tempature gauge. When the "condition" is active the temp gauge will be very high almost to the H.. WHEN its off the scale past the H is when it causes problems. When the temp gauge shows past the H the overdrive will kick off(meaning 4 gear lockup) so i jump to around 3100 rpms at 50 mph. Make the lights dim and many other weird things.

This is the funny part:

When the temp gauge is high almost to the H but not past the H : it will shift normally, UNITL I,

1. Turn the turn signals on - this makes me laugh because it will make the temp gauge jump from high under the H to the roof past the H back and forth- which also shifts 4th gear and lockup back and forth.

2. push the electic window buttons - this will drain power?and cause the gear to shift odd and radio fuzz

3. Punch the automatic shifter - playing with this makes the temp gauge jump all over the place.

 

the list goes on but i have a hard time keeping track and describing well but i think i got to the point.

 

I beleive this could be a VOLTAGE or GROUND problem because of all the random related problems that all come back to power. BUT im a computer man not a car man. Give me some idea whats going wrong or start a Q and A to diagnos the problem.

 

-Thank You in advance-

[deej]

The only time I've had gauges go "wonky" like that is when I had a defective battery but it also wouldn't start, boosted it, then when it did start it did all that crazy stuff. Almost like it was posessed. I'ld say check the altenator too.

[88pathoffroad]

Get your charging system checked and tested. Something's wrong with it. Also, if your temp guage tells you it's overheating, don't continue driving on it! I've seen pistons actually have bits melted off them from overheating. It's NOT pretty, and it's NOT cheap to fix a blown engine due to overheating.

[brandon51780]

see this is the funny thing.. The engine isnt hot. Ive checked it over and over when it shows hot and its very warm but not as hot as the guage is showing thats a fact. Also i had the altanator checked and he said it wasnt "bad" so i guess ill umm check the 1 week old battary.

 

this is on a 94 auto pathy btw

[brandon51780]

I'm starting to notice it only acts weird when the engin is already warm. Everytime i do a cold start and drive its fine for 20-30 mins or so..

[Grumpy]

I have no idea what is wrong, but, if this is a low voltage issue, you might try the easy stuff first. Maybe clean up all the battery & alternator connections and see what happens. As you are likely aware, try to keep the battery mung and gunk away from cloth, as it may melt the fabric.

 

Another thought - is there a company nearby that rebuilds auto electrical components? (www.switchboard.com may offer the same) Many of those folks are well versed in these types of issues, and may have some good advice on where to start.

[JeepRescueService14]

check the common ground to your instrument cluster maybe?

[brandon51780]

an update to this problem ... fixed long ago

 

it was a main ground problem