Hey guys...just wanted to pick your brains about something. I've noticed with the recent rains here (Tx.) that my Mav runs noticeably stronger compared to dry weather. The voltage on my gauge shows closer to 14V instead of the common 13-13.5V. The tach I have installed works more accurately without the low readings or skippy/erratic readings. The exhaust tone is slightly "beefier". Just all-around different than when the weather is dry. I thought it might be due to the air/fuel mix being changed due to humidity, but that doesn't really explain the tach reading improving. Ideas? :16suspect
Connections are very important, one thing alittle bit of water in the air helps keep carbon from forming on valves. You may not have a good ground.Always use dielectric grease on terminals.
I checked that my ground cable to the block is nice and tight. I even tried an additional cable on the other side from the block to the frame. Didn't make a difference......but throw some rain under there and it clears up nicely. Where would you start looking? Could the rain be affecting the alternator?
One problem area common to all our cars is the firewall harness connector plug. Moisture will help a poor connection (evidenced by increased voltage output), so I would recommend taking it apart and cleaning (or replacing) the pins and sockets. The one large yellow lead is live all the time, so it will corrode the worst. It also carries all the current into the car.
GREAT info! Never would have thought to look at that connector at all. I'll be cleaning it up on my lunch break today! I'll keep you updated.
Another issue to think about, if your wires are corroded inside the wire, moisture will make those wires conduct better as well. I had to replace quite a bit of wire when working through my charging system because of internal corrosion. There is no good way to inspect for it, my method was to scrape a little bit of insulation off, then patch over with liquid electrical tape.
When I cleaned mine 3 1/2 yrs ago; I put a layer of Dielectric compound on the terminals and have'nt had any issues.
You can do a voltage drop test to see if a wire is bad internally. You'll need a multimeter to do it. With the circuit in normal operation, connect one lead to one end of the wire and the other lead to the other end. On the voltage scale you should have a very low voltage reading. The higher the reading, the more resistance the wire has. (corrosion, bad connectors, some of the wires broken)
What I meant by no good way to test for it was that there aren't a lot of wires in the harness that are bare at both ends. What I have is a multimeter with hat pins soldered onto the test leads, then I poke the wire and cover over the poked area with liquid electrical tape. The most important thing is that if you break the shielding that you repair it well.
So true! You sure don't want to give corrosion a door to go through! I like liquid tape also. It's great for sealing butt connectors.
