1992 Oldsmobile 88 Battery High Voltage & Service Eng M

CHEEAH

MEMBER
1992 OLDSMOBILE 88
6 CYL
AWD
AUTOMATIC
254,000 MILES

NOV/09 car running a little rough mechanic said it just needed a tune-up-had it done. Still a bit iffy, after 2-3
wks it tried to stall so I took it back to mechanic. Iwas
told eng was no good -was fine when itook it in just try
ing to stall. Put in used eng, 70-80,000kms, checked out
very good. Noticed a slight" growling" under front of car
& an odor like rear-end oil after the eng was installed. It's
strong if the car sits for awhile.I'm the only one who smells it! Tranny shifts great. Mechanic put all new sen-
sors, timeing belt, water pump & plugs & wires. Ran great
till 2months ago. Dash message Battery high voltage &
service eng light go on sometimes when I start my car
& when I try to drive, it's very sluggish & Ihave to push hard on the gas to get going then suddenly the powers back & dash lights go out & things are ok. Occassionly,
when I'm driving the lights come on & the power seems ok if I'm moving. If I'm stopped I have to stand on gas
again then all is fine. This problem is sporadic & my mec-
hanic said the alternator was shot-put in a new one, then
anew battery-still the same! He had my car the past 2wks called &said car was dead- no power& took it to a
friend mechanic ( electical expert) who found burn't wires
in the harness on the passenger side of car- car runs again- still has same light show on dash. He brought it back yesterday said the dash lights still come on when you start it but to let the eng warm up to 2nd bar on heat guage before driving & the lights should go out! To me nothing has been fixed & I'm fed up. Also when I start the car before all the messages start my dash will say All Monitored Systems OK! Started my car yesterday
& yes the high voltage & service eng light came on. I
didn't try to drive it tho too ticked off. Can ANYONE
PLEASE HELP?

1 Reply

FACTORYJACK

MECHANIC
4,159 POSTS

I will do my best to shed some light, first of all let's see what the check engine light is coming on for. You can do this at the diagnostic connector with the procedure that follows.

ALDL Connector

PROCEDURE:

Turn the ignition to the "ON" or "RUN" position (engine off). Make a note of the "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" light. Light should come on steady. If there is no light or the light flashes, do not proceed with remainder of test. Results of test will be invalid.
Turn the key on to the "RUN" position (engine off). Ground the diagnostic terminal (ALDL terminal A to B). The "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" ("CHECK ENGINE") light should flash a code 12. This is displayed, on the Check Engine light, by 1 flash followed by a short pause then 2 flashes. This should repeat 3 times. A code 12 should always flash when an on-board diagnostic check is performed. Any other codes, stored in the computer (PCM), will follow a code 12.

If you can, see what the charge output is when the high voltage message is displayed, is it truly high? I have not found what the threshold is for it to be considered high voltage, but I would speculate anything over 15 volts. If it is not high, then we may remove the brown wire from the generator connector to simulate the switch in the generator being open. If the light is still on, then we could have a circuit fault.

I usually visit this site once a day in the evenings, but I will check for your reply.