QuestionThe alternator on my i30 went out on me after 67k miles and since then, the car just hasn't been the same.
1. THe clock lights keep dying. I've changed them three times since I bought the car, but within a month of the most recent change (after the alternator died), the lights went dead again. The clock still works fine, but I'm hesitant to change the bulbs again if the problem is somewhere else.
2. The drivers esat wont adjust forward or backwards. All other directions are ok.
3. When I use the keyless entry device to unlock the car, the lights don't flash at all. The lights do flash when I use the fob to lock the door.
4. When I start the car and try to shift out of park, the release button doesn't go in all the way and I can't shift out of park unless I use the shift release. Once out of park, I can shift to other gears, but once back in park, I have the same problem again.
I was troubel free before the alternator and I'm wonder if an alternator failure can cause cascade problems such as these.
Do I have to replace alot of fueses? Maybe a solenoid? No idea.
AnswerRory,
First, the alternator you have is probably defective and it sounds like it is putting too much voltage to the system. The car is designed to take no more than 14.2 volts or bad things happen like bulbs popping. That is, the extra voltage burns up things. Most circuits on the car are fused externally at a fuse panel and as long as the circuit does not overload they do not burn out. So, get the charge system checked for output when you are reving the engine to 1200 RPM and see what the output is. Get a new bulb from Radio Shack or your local electronics store. I like to use LED lights to eliminate having to replace them as they just do not burn out. Just solder the connection and insert the LED and you are done.
The seat motor seems to be burnt out. You could take the seat out and check the switch. But, from my experience this motor goes out first and that requires a replacement.
The light flash feature has been lost on the body control module. You could take it in and have a Consult II scan tool hooked up to change the parameter for light flash upon unlock. Otherwise, the body control module is defective and needs replacement. I would live with this unless you have a friend at a dealership. You are looking at $500 bucks or better to resolve this one if the BCM has to be replaced.
The shift interlock needs to be taken apart and lubricated. Remove the shifter cover and the console and get silicone spray and take the solenoid apart and spray it down and actuate it until it releases properly.
There is something called Mean Time Between Failure MTBF and that is what car makers design things to last a certain number of years or actuations. The Japanese are really good at determining this and it is either ten years or 100,000 miles. Things start breaking and other things follow since they were all designed to last the same amount of time. So, every now and then a cluster of things will take a dump and once they are corrected you have a while before the next number of things break.
