Hi everyone I have a 2004 cavalier. Recently swapped motor due to timing chain destroying old one
Now I'm having issues with electrical
Car runs great. Drive down the road and after a few min. All gauges on the cluster go to zero then bounce back up, some go back down one by one and back up as I continue to drive, then all service lights come on (theft abs service engine brake check gauges ect...) odometer says error. All back lights dim up and down and I can hear blower motor slow down as the lights dim down. Head lights don't seem to dim at all.
What Iv done: new battery. cleaned cables including chassis ground and wires on starter cylinoid
I'm thinking this is the alternator but I'm sick of throwing parts at it just want someone's input on it
ALSO when I put new battery in my key fobs quit working. Is there a fuse for these or how do I reprogram them?
Any help is GREATLY appreciated thanks you in advance.
I had the same problem with my 2002 Z24. The person who had it before me had cut off the ground wire that is connected to the negative terminal of the battery to the transmission. Were all the original grounds hooked up when the motor was swapped?
Definitely a bad ground somewhere.
Put in a new alternator today. Still having same problems. Grounds have been hooked up to battery tray and transmission and double checked twice. Tomarow I'm going to try a different battery and add another ground in there
I bought a voltage meter which plugs into my cigarette outlet and the voltage bounces around all over between 11.2 all the way to 14.0
Cluster gone haywire is a common problem for the 2004s...the issue covered quite a few cavs that year...odd part that is seems like mostly base models to me. Betting it's going to be the cluster...
(note to self-should pick up one for mine just in case..)
Fobs have to be reprogrammmed....
http://www.autorentalandsales.com/images/2004Cavalier005.JPG
Just to keep y'all updated..
I put in new alternator and voltage was still all over the place 11-14v while driving
I went to oriley and had my battery tested. They said it's at 41% and could use a charge.. Brand new battery who woulda known..
So I went home threw it on my digital charger which confirmed a 41% charge
I left it on the charger until it reached 100% and while it was charging I added an extra ground from the battery to chassis and another from chassis to the engine
Took it for a drive and now voltage is 14.7-14.9 while driving. Gauges operating properly also
PROBLEM SOLVED!
Also if you are wondring how I know the voltage because cavaliers don't come stock with voltometer in the cluster... I went to walmart and bought a volt meter that plugs into cigarette outlet worked great for helping me with this
OH I FORGOT...
My key fobs stopped working when I put in new battery in the car... They came out of sync. Just had to hold lock and unlock buttons on them for 10 sec. Then car locked. Thank goodness I had the owners manual!
