Astro - Chevrolet :: Battery Gauge Stays In Red And All Lights Are Dim When Starting Car
May 23, 2015
I have a 95 Chevy astrology van that I've owned for about a year. On occasion (about once a month) when I start it, the battery gauge stays in the red and all the lights are dim. After driving a bit I can stop the van and restart it, and the battery gauge normally shoots up to normal, and lights are all bright again. Don't have any problems outside of that, until now. For the last 4 day, my battery gauge has refused to pop out of the red, and lights are always dim. I can drive for a couple hundred miles and nothing changes. Last night, as I left work, it ran like it has been with low battery and then just died. There is no clicking, no "whirring" sound the starter normally makes, the battery just died. I'm on a very small budget and can't afford a shop, or both battery and alternator. What are your thoughts on this problem and where should I invest my money? As a side note, battery cables and posts are cleaned off, and are bolted securely. Nothing loose and no corrosion.
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I have a 2001 Chevy S10 4.3L. The CHECK GAUGES light stays on, and the oil pressure gauge stays at 0. The oil is full, and the engine runs and sounds fine. I drove it about 5 miles with no change. Up until now, the gauge has worked normally. Could it be the sending unit?
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I've recently been having battery drain issues with my 2002 Chevy Astro. After taking it to a local garage I was informed that nothing was wrong with it other than it needing a new battery. They put a new battery in and within two weeks of the van not being used the battery was dead. I did a bit of research online and learned that something may be drawing power while the van is off, and that I could do a fuse test with a multimeter. After performing this test I narrowed down the drain to being related to the following fuse:
19 Instrument Panel Radio: ATC(Main Feed), 2000 Series (Standby)
The only things that seem to be on this circuit are the radio, cd player and some elements of the instrument panel (e.g. odomoeter). I'd like to fix this problem but I'm sort of stuck as to what I should start testing from here. Today I disconnected the radio and cd player and tried performing the multimeter test again, with the fuse back in place. It appeared that there was still excess power being used with the vehicle off.
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I have a 2000 Chevy Astro van, and I have this problem that no one seems to be able to figure out, let alone fix. Occasionally the car with have all the lights inside and outside the car start to "pulse". The needle on the voltmeter will be noted to surge from the average just above 14 mid point on the dial on the meter face to over this in a pulsing motion, in time to the light pulsing. I have replaced the distributor cap, coil wire, and the car has been with the mechanic numerous times. His diagnostic equipment does not pinpoint the cause of this problem. What to try next?
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So I have a very confusing problem. In my 92 Chevy Astro the battery occasionally stops charging runs down and dies while I am driving and will not restart via jump but must be fully charged. This first happened a couple months and several thousand miles ago but has occurred 3 times in the last two weeks. Both the battery and the alternator have checked out good, and the alternator belt is tight as a drum. What could this possibly be?
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I just bought a 01 Intrigue that the dash lights don't work and the gas gauge stays at fuel when you start the car. It goes to empty when you shut it off.
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2001 chevrolet astro van won't start, I have spark and fuel. compression ok.
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we have a 1995 chevy astrovan. Some days it runs just fine and then others it cuts out repeatedly when we slow down or brake. It?s been to the mechanic a million times and he can?t find the problem?
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The air bag warning light is often, but not always, ON in my 1998 Chevy Astro. Unfortunately, it is ON whenever I seem to have a chance to bring it in for state inspection. My mechanic of many years has been unable to determine the cause.
(Note: An earlier problem with the battery draining was taken care of by turning the Dome Light button to the Off position and leaving it there permanently.)
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My wife drives a 1995 Chevy Astro. It has twice now stopped running with no warning. This happened while driving down the road. The headlights and engine cut out, but the turn signals, power windows, radio display, and such have power. Once it sits for a couple of hours, it starts right up and runs fine for weeks.
Is there an electrical connection of some kind between the fuel pump and the headlights? What might be going wrong?
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2003 astro - misses and chugs and clunks until i get up to 40 miles per hr...
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I've taken it to a half dozen mechanics, none can diagnose the problem. From a cold start the engine idles well, but once it warms up and the fast idle setting shuts off, it begins to vibrate quite a bit. I rebuild that included an all new fuel injection system, new ignition parts (including distributor, replaced at a later date,) new wire to alternator (the old one had cracked insulation,) and a new mass airflow sensor (swapped in from a parts van-no effect.)
Basically everything is new except for the sensors (crank sensor, idle air, throttle position, etc.,) and the fuel filter and pump. I'm not getting any codes, and at least two mechanics said it had good fuel pressure. It FEELS like a vacuum problem on a carburetor vehicle, but I had the vacuum harness checked as well, and everything seems to be in order.
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I'm working on a 1999 Chevy Astro 4.3L with an occasional crank, no start condition. On any given day, this vehicle will start right up and run fine, although some days it will start right up and have a part-throttle stutter; not a dead miss, but a stutter when accelerating that sometimes goes away. When it has the stutter, disconnecting the MAP sensor will cause the stutter to go away completely. I replaced the MAP sensor, but nothing changed. Today, it's back to its crank, no start attitude problem. The basics check out fine: good, strong spark at the wires, 60-65 psi of fuel pressure, and I even pulled the plenum to verify fuel is firing from the injectors. Everything seems to be happening as it should except that it will not start and run. I even tried doing the Passlock relearn procedure on it, despite spark and fuel happening when it should, one or both of which would normally be eliminated by the security system, but to no avail. What could possibly cause this here-today-gone-tomorrow no-start condition?
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My 1999 Astro van recently started making LOUD rattling noises under the hood. No previous problems, ran great up till pulling into my driveway. It does have 160,000 miles on it, but has always been excellently maintained. Towed it to dealership where they told me that "by the sound of it" it would need a new engine. This van is fully loaded, power everything, leather interior, paint job is great, everything works. Breaks my heart that I may have to junk it. So, the big question is, junk it or get a new motor?
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I just had a rebuilt engine put in my 1999 Chevy Astro. However, when I got it back the lighter and auxiliary lighters don't work. I checked the fuses under the driver's side dash and the one for the lighter looked good. I change it anyhow, and it still doesn't work. Anything else I should check? I am planning a long trip and would like to use my radar detector.
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I have a 1997 Astro van and recently I shut the back doors (two door version) and now they will not open/unlock. I tried the power locks as well as the key. I read where you can take off the speaker cover in the door and reach thru and unlock/release from there. That did not work either. Not sure WHY Chevy decided not to put interior release handles. Any trick to opening the doors so I can see what the problem is?
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My 89 Astro van is leaking red fluid when parked uphill (slightly) that drips from the u-joint closest to the transmission and only from the part that is in the yoke that goes into the transmission. I dropped the drive shaft thinking wrongly that there would be a bad seal where i thought the yoke went into i thought a second piece, but it is all one piece with a collar. When parked in the garage nice and level it did not seem to leak.
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I have a 2001 chevy Astro 2 wd. After rebuilding the motor it cranks has a spark and is getting fuel but won't start. Has a new starter new battery new coil crankshaft position sensor new distributor, cap and rotor plugs and wires but does not start...
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I have a 1979 Chevy Camaro and whenever I turn the car on so it only lights up my dash, my RPM gauge goes all over the place, and the engine isn't even turn on yet. And also before i even put the keys in the ignition, the RPM is sitting at 10.
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99 Chevy Astro with 93000+ miles. Only recent problem (one week ago) was left lights on for 4hrs on a new battery and almost completely drained battery, then, vehicle cranked without a jump. This AM started van to go to work and there was a definite "whirring noise" from under the hood. Popped the hood and sounded like coming from the brake master cylinder area vs. AC compressor area-hard to tell though. AC has not worked for 2 yrs. Noise increased in proportion to revving of engine. Likewise, noise continued while driving, although seemed to not be as loud when engine warmed up. Temp outside 34. Fluid levels OK. Where the noise is coming from? Also not sure if related or a concern: brake pedal has a slight "stick" to it when initially pressing the pedal, for ~ last 6 mths. give or take Brakes seem to work fine.
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My 2000 Chevy Astro van started having problems whenever I accelerate, hesitating losing speed, and all I can possible tie it to is a new gas station where I filled up which said "May contain ethanol". I think the "service engine light" flashed on for a second but does not stay on.
Could bad gas or the ethanol be the problem? Would getting the problem codes read at a parts place work?
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