Not quite sure if this fits in this category but......Ive been having charging issues with my car......alt. seems to put out around 13.6 V with the AC on which seems a little low. Thats the first issue,......second, after driving around for awhile, battery V seems to slowly drop but seems to stay around 12V (according to gauge in the car which is slightly off). When I go to re-start, it sounds like its struggling alot, and a few times ive had to jump it. Idiots at autozone claim the tester said the battery is good, and needed to be charged, so they did and it worked ok for a few days. Now this is where it get weird. I had a MAF code pop up last few times I drove the car and idled bad so I borrowed one and put it in, which got rid of the MAF code. I inspected the MAF and it appeared to have a burnt resistor but I didnt play with it. So the other day I was doing a visual of the engine bay because I had a damn cat under my hood (gonna kill that bastard). Found the ground wires near the ICM and coil with the insulation melted. I look at ther ground strap that goes there to the body and it looks like it got HOT. Its kinda blue and charred (crusty). So I start the car and im checkin it out, and its gettin warmer and warmer. Almost to the point where its too hot to hold onto. Now I have my theories as to whats causing this and I haven't had a chance to look further into it since so,.......lets hear your opinions so If im wrong I can have some other possibilities.

 

Can we assume from your screen name that you are talking about a 94? Add a 'signature' with basic info about your car - year, model, tranny type, major mods - will help people answer your questions.

If the ground strap is eaten away by battery gasses (blue-green crust = copper sulfate), it just like reducing the size of the wire. If it carrying too much current, its going to heat up. First step would be to replace the ground strap with new one.

This isn't really 'Advanced Tech', so I'll move it to "General F-Body Tech & Info" for you.

 

Thanks for the move,.....anyways, yeah its a 94 TA. Right now its got a stock bottom cammed LT1 with full boltons. Its the ground strap that goes on the stud near the ICM to the inner frame rail drivers side. Im assuming like you said that my main battery ground is damaged or maybe the tab broke off, I havent been under the car yet. That would lead me to believe its trying to gruond the whole engine through the small straps. Thats my guess as of now until I get under there to take a look.

 

I doubt the ground strap is your trouble.
Mine was suspect too, and I took a pair of jumper cable and an 8 gauge wire (not at the same time) and mounted them to the same point.
Neither helped me.

 

Is it fixed yet?

 

I dont think so, lol. I haven't messed with the car yet. Im in the process of putting my original engine back together with some more mods and bigger cam so i just said screw it for now since ill be swapping engines shortly. Ill let you know what I find when I get her on the lift. I may look into it this weekend since I have 2 more days off to get ready for the swap. I did pull the battery out and recharge it and start the car just now, and the strap didnt seem to get hot right away but I only ran her for a few minutes. I should have a verdict on the situation in the next week or 2.

 

As I had thought, the issue was the main battery ground to the block (motor mount area). Fixed that and she fired right up time after time, and my charging issue is no more either. Gotta have a good ground!