QuestionQUESTION: I have a 1993 cadillac seville.. i noticed that when i start my car about 5 sec will pass before my lights will brighten up. then i i started getting "No Battery Charge" on my message center, then it would go away. recently the "no battery charge" message stayed on for awhile while on the road then came on and off again.. dash lights got dim. What could be the issue? Alternator? i rode about 5-10 miles with the "no battery charge" message. If i were running on my battery it would have died within that distance correct? Thank you much
ANSWER: Hi, it sounds to me, from what you have told me, that you have an alternator issue. Your car ran for as long as it could on the 'juice' left in your battery before it died. There are two ways to go about it. You can take it somewhere and have them test your charging system using an AVR machine this will likely cost you $40 or $50, or, you can remove the alternator and take it in to a NAPA store or Canadian Tire (if your from Can.) and they can bench test it for you.
Hope this helps.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: ok today my battery was charging after i started it took a couple of seconds for the lights to brighten up.. I do believe its the alternator. I ran the diagnostic on it.. the codes i got was PO 13,17,42 which all where history.. then PO 44,46 which was current.. then PO 52,97,98 which also was history.. then IO 33,39,52 which was history.. i cleared them. then ran a follow up... it says no PCM codes, No ACP codes, NO SIR codes. but IO 39 and IO 52 which is history still showed up and my service engine soon light is on. What do the codes mean and how do i reset or turn off my service engine soon light? thank you!!
AnswerI wouldn't worry about the codes, many systems will set faults if a low voltage condition exists. If the system isn't charging isn't functioning the above suggestions would be my first course of action. Cadillacs often do crazy things when the voltage levels are inconsistant or insufficient.
Hope this helps
