Weird Occurance.... Some Electronic Minded People Wanted

[GTRAAH]

Hi,

You will have to read the whole post if you want to get the whole story... I know some people tend to read the 1st paragraph and assume what its about ... SOrry its so long I just want to make sure you get all the facts ...

I started a thread a few years back about the R32 GTR Digital clock anyhow I ended up buying a new one of someone that bought it but never ended up installing it, It came in the box it looked new no scratches anyhow, I installed it and all is good.

Anyway since the car is not a daily driver, I actually never noticed the issue until one day battery drained and I had to jump start it, so when I did this is when I noticed the clock not showing, after driving to where I wanted to go and the alternator has had a run Id switch the car off and after 1 hour of being parked I turn the car on and the clock is back on as normal, so I started to see a pattern , when the car battery would drain and I needed to jump it or not even if the battery was very drained but it would JUST kick over by a thread well the clock wont be on or it will appear on for a second then disappear again, Id drive the car for awhile then park, next time I start it its on. Battery was failing by the way, anyway this time I went home and did not turn my car on for 3 months I know "Silly"

OH YEH---- During that time above I did replace the alternator to a larger more powerful one.... And the clock thing still happened--- Next thing I would replace is the battery read below---

Next time I un-covered the car, I didn't bother trying to start it I new the battery was gone as it was on its way out before.. I purchased a new battery plugged it all it and started it, well to my surprise clock is not on, I left car on for 25 min to get the insides lubricated again then shut it off , to my curiosity I tried to start it again to see if the clock would work but Nope, so I started tapping the surrounding of the front face directly underneath the clock and I saw the clock come on, Perfect brightness looked very healthy, anyway 10 seconds later turned off again then I saw it come on by it self for a few seconds and then back off I started to think was it even my tapping that turned it on or was it just coincidence. so I quickly pulled the surrounding and unplugged the clock to see if it was a dirty plug , nope they looked good to me although I aint no electrician, plugged it all back , ignition on and clock came on again 20 seconds later, it turned off.. It was getting late and I am frustrated so I packed up and went in side .. the only thing I did different to the other time this happened is drive and use the alternator properly, as in idle mode I don't think the alternator is properly used, now that I am thinking about it I have a feeling this is somehow connected, as I said above it will only show after the battery was drained and after I have driven for a bit, and when the battery was full and I never let it drain the clock will come on the next day or next 2 days what ever, as I said it only happened when it drained, almost like the clock drains and then runs of the alternator - but then why would the headlights turn on and all the rest.. I dont get it.

Sorry for the life story but I really want this thing to work, since i bought a new clock a couple years ago and I have not even done 15000kms in the last 3 years, I don't get it... I have a New BIG alternator. & Brand new battery.. Why do you think this happens--- My car is under a few covers I cannot be bothered unwrapping it all over again, but I definitely will this weekend, I am betting the clock will start again after I have driven the car for about 15 minutes, but my question is why...

[GTRPSI]

I remember reading somewhere about dry solder joints inside.

Could explain why it goes on when tapped.

I have not had time to open my one up and go around with a solder iron yet, im pretty sure thats all it probably is, pain in the butt not having everything working.....

[Mick]

well you mentioned that this is a new clock so i assume the old one had the same problem??

Anyways if this is correct i would be looking at the wires going into the plug cos i know from experience that it is a tight plug to push in and even harder to pull out and cos of that most people usually grab on the wires to get a better grip when unplugging it and that could easily lead to a bad connection into the plug, you could test this easily with a multimeter as it is a simple 12v type of device so just check the power wire in the plug

[GTRAAH]

I am not sure if you read the whole post or not, But i mentioned that I am pretty sure it had nothing to do with the tap because it comes on and off even with out the tap, 5% on 95% OFF so it very rarely turns on... I just thought the tap did it but was just a coincidence. Also did you read the part when I said that when I drive and the alternator runs, the clock then works fine the next time I turn the car on? LOL thats why my first sentence said ---You need to read the life story so you know about whats happening

And No the old clock NEVER came on, it was totally dead. So its totally different symptoms as to what I see now, I am definitely going to take it to the auto-lec but I just wanted to see if anyone knew why the alternator seems to be connected to it in a way.

Ok I try repeat what I said in a brief short way, here we go:...

So.......

When Battery drains OR when it JUST kicks over by a thread meaning the battery is almost dead the clock doesn't show. BUT and I mean a BIG BUT!! When I drive the car and get the alternator spinning and the battery gets some charge as well as warming up the alternator it seems :\ yup the clock WILL appear the NEXT time I turn the car on after I do that.

So again, if I drive it for 30 min and then park it , when I start it up again the clock is back on as normal it wont be back to normal if I just start the car without running the alternator... Its almost like the clock needs charging..

Here comes the weird parts ......So 1st I replaced the alternator as I have always wanted a new BIG POWERFUL one.. But I left the battery , I knew it was failing but I didn't want to buy a new one yet as I dont drive it often....well I'll just add, even after the new alternator was installed the same thing happened with the clock , if I left the car off for 1week+ and I start the car and its DEAD or it BARELY starts well the clock does not show until I drive it around abit and run the alternator abit, well the clock goes back to normal when the battery has been charged up with the alternator... Reason I say Alternator is because I left the car off for 3 months but this time I didn't jump start it Instead i bought a brand new battery and plugged it in as this was dew, now.............shouldn't the clock come straight on as I have a fully charged new battery? NOPE soon as I drive it for 10 min and run the alternator THEN turn the car off and back on, YUP clock is back on and stays on... even if I leave the car off for days upon days.. AS LONG as I dont let the battery die as this would mean, I not only have to jump start it but I have to run the alternator for abit and then the clock will appear the next time I start the car.

Tell me that is not weird huh?

Edited May 28, 2014 by GTRAAH