10th Apr 2006, 22:21

Battery light and ABS break gauge ON in dashboard.

I had this problem couple of days ago. I did on-line search and found some good tips on what the problem could be.

In the back of my mind, I was going to replace the alternator regardless after I read few posts. I went to a mechanic today and I told him what the problem was. He checked the battery and said it was good. He tested the alternator and it was bad.

I asked him to replace it and the cost for the part was $240 and $100 labor. Looks like the problem is gone for now. The battery and ABS lights went off.

Special thanks to the people who posted possible solutions to this problem. I am glad I finally got that problem taken care of. The car is running great now.

I hope this post will be helpful to others as well.

11th Apr 2006, 17:14

I have a 99 Grand Am GT with 80k on it. Same problems with radio volume, fan 1 and 2. New tires fixed the noise not attributed to the brakes. I have brake noise now, probably due to warped disk, will need to turn them. I am noticing the poping noise and will follow advise presented on this web site. Just replace the alternator. If you buy a $22 repair book and a new alternator for $155, you will find it very easy to fix.

I recently had to get a state inspection and the first shop I went to wanted $1500 to fix "all" the problems, second shop noted the same "small" issues and passed the car for $15, so watch yourself out there.

No other problems with the vehicle so far, but I will look out for the ones mentioned, thanks.

11th Apr 2006, 17:31

Clearly none of you knew how to take care of your cars? I've owned a 1999 Grand Am since it came out (technically 1998) and I've replaced brake pads less than on my mx-6 and I have had only a problem with my stereo which was replaced like I would do in any other car.

The intake manifold was on factory recall and should have been fixed for free anyways. Mind you the brakes should last longer in the GT model then the SE as they are different.

All and all though I've had little problems with the car. If you have that many problems with any car you were probably doing a lot wrong.

13th Apr 2006, 20:54

Sorry, I just had to reply to the last post. It's obvious that the '99 Grand Am has some serious issues when there's tons of people coming across the same mechanical problems. I treat my car extremely well and I've had tons of problems with it... power steering pump & pulley, water pump, front wheel bearings & outer tie rods, my turn signals/ four ways don't work half the time, lights randomly come on on my dash all the time, and to top it off... my window fell down inside of my door tonight in the middle of a rain storm... the Grand Am SE is going to put me in the poor house.

25th Apr 2006, 17:03

Hello, to all. I'm a not so proud owner of a Pontiac. I brought my 1999 GT in 2003 with 48k.

The first problem I had was my struts, then the battery light came on and I assumed the battery was dead, but it turn out that the alternator was bad because of a ground wire was too close to it, causing failure.

Recently I had an antifreeze leak from intake manifold, and now the mechanic says I might be spending about $450 or more to fix it, depending on how bad it is. As soon as I fix it, I'm going to sell it for whatever it's worth.

15th May 2006, 22:33

Well it's nice to know that I'm not crazy. I've had my 99 Grand AM for two years now. I have the same problems with the front end noise. I replace my own brake pads twice a year, and I've just put on new rotors. The A/C and heater switch have never worked at 1 and 2 but 3-5 work just fine. I had it tuned up last year and I thought the mechanic broke my intake manifold because my car started running really bad after that. He told me there was a leak, I just assumed he did it because my car didn't make the noise it does now when you put it in drive. My car sounds terrible in drive. The hazard/turn signal switch has gone haywire. It makes clicking noises just about all the time... I unhook it sometimes so that I can get a break, but the signals themselves work (provided the switch is hooked up). My gas gauge has never worked and unfortunately you don't notice these things until after you've had the car for like a week or so. If I fill it up its fine, but once it gets towards a fourth of a tank it goes crazy. I haven't had to replace anything major yet though. I'm hoping these recalls I read about on this site for the intake manifold and the hazard switch go through smoothly. Has anyone else received recalls for this stuff?? I already have it up for sale, people are coming to look at it Sunday.

16th May 2006, 18:33

To the Commenter Above:

Okay here's the run down.

1. The fan not working on setting 1 and 2 is caused by a resistor located under the passenger dash. Go to grandamgt.com to find an FAQ on it.

2. If you are replacing your brake pads and rotors with OEM ones, stop. Buy aftermarket rotors and pads, and they will give you much better life. But twice a year? You must be hard on the brakes.

3. If the mechanic says that your lower intake manifold gasket is leaking, then you have to replace it. Most likely coolant is leaking into your oil and you should replace this immediately. It will be expensive. Think $500 dollars or more.

4. The infamous clicking noise is caused by dirty contacts in the turn signal selector switch. Go to grandamgt.com and find a step by step walk through on removing the switch and cleaning it with electrical contact cleaner. I did mine and it was easy.

I hope this helps.