I recently purchased a ‘93 Club Sport that has the voltmeter pegged to the max whenever the key is on, even with the engine off. Any thoughts on troubleshooting and repair? My Google-fu skills are failing me in finding a solution.

 

I’d probably start by looking for a wiring issue or bad ground, these cars can get funky with that. Could also be the voltage regulator or even the gauge itself acting up. Might be worth unplugging the gauge and seeing what it does from there.

 

I had the gauge cluster out yesterday to remove the broken odometer gears and I didn't notice anything abnormal with the voltmeter. I applied some DeOxit to all of the cluster connections as well as the ceramic (resistor?) that is on the back side of the voltmeter, but the voltmeter still exhibited the same behavior once I reinstalled the cluster.

I don't think it would be the voltage regulator because the voltmeter maxes out even with the key On and engine Off. I'll attempt to go through the grounds today.

 

I have the same problem. I told the dealer back in the 90's when I went in for some reason, that the voltmeter was pegged. The service rep just said "they all do that". At that time I was not smart enough to question them, but now I realize they just didn't want to fix it so they simply lied. You can find other posts on this forum about the same issue. I don't remember the thread but what I do remember from the conversation was a conclusion that the voltmeter is probably bad.

 

I’ve found 7 of the 10 grounds and all of those 7 were fairly dark. Two relays had a bit of corrosion as well. All of that has been cleaned up with DeoxIT D5 but the issue remains.

I’ve read that the voltmeter supposedly has an adjustment on it that can be used to refine/modify the needle’s proper position. Can anyone confirm that?

 

Oh yea, the dealerships and “they all do that” reply. Had one of those guys at a Cadillac dealer. Got so bad he walked up some stairs 3 across with some customers.

He didn’t want to walk behind his customers to yield the down side of the stairs while eyeballing me. He got the biggest surprise of his life being propelled backwards down the stairs when walking into me.

Customers asked if I was ok and Cadillac Service writer was asked by the woman “what were you thinking?” He was gone in a few months after a decade of condescending interaction. I can’t imagine how much energy he sucked out of others souls during his employment.

 

I'm not going to answer your question without pics of the new Clubsport! Congrats!

First thing I would do is check the voltage at the battery, I would think it's okay, but a simple check.

 

I’m definitely a proud papa. This car was local to me and I’ve been following her since she was at the 2021 Werks Reunion at Amelia. Japanese market car, Maritime, Recaros, M030, 220, slicktop. 😍

She and a Tahoe Blue 968 were also featured in an issue of Panorama within the past year.

 

The battery is at 12.4v after resting overnight. I cleaned all relays and fuses today but still no fix. I’m starting to think it’s the gauge.

 

This was for now anyway. Works great and shows me the voltage with car running or not. Doesn't seem to be any noticeable load, that is, it doesn't run down the battery at least not over the course of 5 days or so. Seems to be pretty accurate compared to measuring at the battery with VOM.

I do plan to have my gauge cluster out again sometime in the future, so if there's an adjustment I might attempt it at that time.

 

That car is beautiful! What is the voltage when the car is turned on, i.e. the alternator is running and the volt meter is pegged high. I assume it's just the meter reading incorrectly, but you want to be sure.

 

She was running ~13.7 at idle after a cold start this evening.

 

What a great looking CS, congrats! Oh yes, mine has the same issue since about 10 years... So curious as well to find a solution