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1995 seville radio whine

hello22hello22 Member Posts: 8
edited March 2014 in Cadillac
My '95 Seville has developed an annoying whine in
the radio that goes up/down with the engine RPM.
It doesn't matter if it's AM/FM/CD/tape. It has
60,000 miles on it. Here are some observations I
made:

1. It only does it when the engine is warm.
2. The battery voltage is 14.1v cold engine.
3. The battery voltage randomly moves between
12.9-13.5v when the engine is warm.
4. Turning on the AC, seats, radio, head-lights
doesn't really affect the voltage
5. When the car is stopped at a light, it
typically reads a bit lower (closer to 12.9v)

I'm suspecting an alternator, rectifier, or
regulator. Maybe it's one unit in the alternator,
I really don't know! Any help would be
appreciated.
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Comments

  • bobs5bobs5 Member Posts: 557
    Check battery voltage without engine running, typically should read 12-13 volts.

    Now turn on headlights high beams and see if voltage drops, if the battery is going bad there should be a 2 volt decrease per bad cell.

    If this is the original battery, it may be on its way out.

    13.5 - 14 volts should be the correct voltage with the alternator working correctly.

    I would suspect the battery in your case.

    Good luck
  • hello22hello22 Member Posts: 8
    I checked the battery voltage, and it was 12.0 on the nose! Turned on headlights (high beam), seats, and hit the brakes and it went down to 11.6v after about 10-20 seconds, then held steady.

    The original battery blew up. It coroded the (+) teminal. I changed it, but jury-rigged it to. Could that be it? It's not the best connection.

    I sometimes tend to suspect alternator prematurely. GM alternators don't last as long as they should.
  • bobs5bobs5 Member Posts: 557
    A good clean connection on the battery would be desirable.
    Thats probably why you see a fluctuation on the battery voltage when the engine is running.
    Otherwise, it seems you are on the right track to figure out this problem.
  • hello22hello22 Member Posts: 8
    Changed the battery connection and it completely cleared the problem!
This discussion has been closed.

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