Thanks, I got the million hits as well but was hoping someone here had already done the legwork and had a pointer. I also found a few on Ebay.

A question - is the ZR1 alternator the same as the Base? I see two on Ebay for 189 and 165 for the Base, but one at 130 that specifies the ZR1.

Understood - that's why I'm interested in just replacing it once and for all with this 200 that everyone seems to be talking about, since I'm turning a wrench on her anyway.

Thanks for the reference - I searched around and found a dealer on Ebay selling the 2-manual set on sale for $50 shipped - on the way!

Quick side question - I've been searching the forum and have seen lots of talk about this 200 amp alternator replacement mentioned above; which brand(s) is this and where is generally a good-priced place to get it? Any gotchas? With the audio gear I'm going to be dropping into my 92 toy, I expect I'm going to need something larger than stock, even with a big cap.

Thanks,

Tom / zxcasd

Why not use LEDs? Lots of places online sell them now, they'll be super-bright, be temperature-cool, and last forever, for around $10. I switched out all the interior incandescents in my BMWs and truck a few months ago and love them. A quick Google search shows drop-in replacements for these bulbs.

Tom / zxcasd

Oh - anyone have a teenage girl or a midget to lend me to do the under-dash work? These things aren't made for six-foot, 220-lb guys to work on.

Hi, Bogus.

I completely removed the audio today, soup to nuts - I'm upgrading the system with a cute JVC KW-AVX710 2-DIN does-everything unit that was a smoking deal on Amazon last month ($250, touch-screen, add $20 for iPod interface, plays every type of disc, and so forth) and some residual gear in my garage from my IASCA SQ competition days in the late 90s when I had the Camaro - Rockford 225.2 amp for a pair of 10" Boston 10.5LF subs (I thought about trying to shoehorn one of my two Rockford 12" Punch DVCs, but after a lot of reading, no way that's going to happen and remain stealthy - so I'm going to the 10s that I used previously) and a 400.4 amp for a pair of Boston 6.5 Pro woofers for rear fill and 5.5 Pro separates in front, controlled through an Alpine 3342 EQ/Sound Field processor. I'll post pics - everything's going in next weekend (hopefully) except the subs and the final placement of the amps - I need to build the stealth box to go behind the seats and that'll be the following week.

So, back to the topic - I removed the audio and the drain is still there. I haven't found the Viper brain yet - they didn't shove it in the center dash with the head, so I'm thinking it's likely up behind the steering wheel; the antenna is high-mounted on top of the windshield and the wire runs to the left and down and then into the dash area, and that's where I stopped (just to figure out the wire runs for my new gear). While I was in there I ran the wire for the perma-mount Valentine One (the S.O. is going to be soooo surprised when she gets the girl back - if I give it back to her... maybe I'll just let her keep my M3, which is my droptop ), so it's not bugging me yet having to tear everything apart.

If I can't find the brain next weekend I'll have to pull the Christmas Tree off the + battery post and hit them one by one to find out which one it is. I don't disagree about the built-in theft deterrent system; I had the same thing in my Camaro and it's fine. Of course, this is a Viper 5000 with the two-way notification fob, so it is cool. If it does turn out to be the alarm, I'll be very pleased and just bring that in to be looked at.

If it ISN'T the alarm, I'm going to get worried, because I saw the mess of wires in there around the wheel... I'm not looking forward to tackling that.

So, for right now, I'm just yanking that LCD fuse when I'm done working on her for the day. Interesting thing that I hadn't read anywhere - without that fuse in, the car won't start. Everything lights up (except the LCD items and interior lights, obviously), but the starter won't move. Funky.

Anyway, thanks so much for the help. I'll post more as I dig.

Tom / zxcasd

Hello all; I've been lurking for a while as I play with my girlfriend's toy car, a 1992 'verte that she grabbed last year. I bought a 1998 Camaro SS (LS1) new and put 100k on it before selling, so I fell right in love with this LT1 beast - it was like coming home. I also have a BMW M5 (2002 - E39) and a Dodge SRT-10 (2004) in the stable, so I know all about torque, and really missed having an older-school on-the-ground low-rev burbly-V8 rider like this (as opposed to the M5's "techno" V8).

Anyway, one problem I noticed right away is that the battery doesn't last long. A quick test with the ammeter and fusebox shows a 4-amp (!) drain coming through the LCD fuse with the car off. I've Googled until my eyes have bled, and haven't found any references to obvious "known problems" with the dash cluster and other assorted entities that come through this fuse.

Now, the car does have an aftermarket stereo and Viper alarm in it, and those are the obvious places to start (since they likely tapped from under the cluster area); I'm about to pull the dash apart to yank those, but while I'm doing that I thought I'd just throw this out there, in case there are any well-known issues in the cluster area.

Oh - re: the stereo, no, the amps (one each for the separates and subs) are not on constant-power, and neither does the head unit appear to be (it won't turn on unless ignition is on) - and memory (cluster and/or radio) can't possibly be drawing 4 AMPS... that's just an insane drain.

Also, there's nothing else obvious, such as lights stuck on, sport seat switches stuck, and so forth.

Thanks all,

Tom / zxcasd