Weird problem, 88 90Q with Clifford alarm

[Huw Powell]

OK, this is an odd one, and I suspect the alarm has something to do with it.

Hopped in the car today, turned key to "on", nothing happened.  Nothing 
at "start" either.

Turned off, removed key, reinserted, same thing.  A few times.  Oddly, 
somewhere in the middle of that, with the key just turned to on, I 
turned the heater fan up to 3 from 1 (2 is dead) and the fan came on 
along with all the cluster lights, etc.  Turned to start and everything 
died.

Observations beyond the problem:  with the car simply sitting, no key in 
or key in, if any electrical demand is made (like, say, the brake 
lights) causes the LCD clock to fade out.  Clock time is correct.  Upon 
removing the demand, the clock comes right back, and there is the sound 
of a relay clicking under the dash.

Strangely, turning on the radio only dims the clock slightly, but the 
radio doesn't come on.

Put a test light on the battery and it was nice and bright, but haven't 
run around with a meter yet.

Tried pulling what I think is the alarm fuse under the hood, nothing 
seemed different.

It's like it's gone into some weird "disable" mode or something.

I have no manual for the alarm, and wasn't able to find one on line (of 
course).

Any ideas or suggestions or ideally btdts?  Anyone familiar with what 
the alarm setup might be?

***********

OK, just like the old days, but back then I wouldn't even get to this 
stage - by the time I have described a problem well enough to post it, 
I've solved it.

I felt dumb sending this off without so much as a simple voltage check 
at the battery.  So, meter in hand, back out into the waning 4 PM 
darkness I go.  Pop hood, touch banana plugs to terminals, looks great. 
  Decide I want to compare to the "loaded" condition, so I go into car 
to turn key on.  Notice clock is blank, and realize that the alarm has a 
hood switch and so is drawing some current.

I go back out to just use that switch to test load/no load voltage. 
Hold red banana plug on + terminal, jam black one under battery cable 
connector, glance at voltage prior to pressing hood switch.  WTF?  It's 
reading about 1.5 volts.  Scratches head.  Thinks about beer.

So I take both bananas in hand and go to the top of the cable connector, 
samish thing.  Happen to contact the battery terminal itself - back to 12.6!

The terminal to connector connection had gone almost completely bad 
overnight.  And this is a connection I had a apart a couple months ago 
to put a battery that worked into the car.  Oh well.  Pulled connector, 
scraped both parts with battery part scraper tool, dielectric greased, 
reassembled (headlights start flashing, doors lock themselves), 
tightened, sprayed with terminal paint, unlocked and got in car, started 
up just fine, reset radio code and stations...

Panic over.

Now for my jammed sunroof before it snows... but that's another post.


-- 
Huw Powell

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi

http://www.humanthoughts.org/