Need Help Deciding If This Fiero Is Right To Buy (Page 1/2)
zach99zulu NOV 28, 05:35 PM
The thing is, I've wanted a Fiero for YEARS. Long story short, I think I'm ready to buy one. Now, my main concern is that the seller says there is an electrical drain on the system. The battery dies. I'll try and keep this short and concise, but I would really appreciate the professional insight that you gentleman (and women?) could provide.
1988 Fiero GT, 5sp getrag

BAD:
tear in a CV boot
parasitic electrical draw
the vehicle is 6hr drive away (I haven't seen it in person)

GOOD:
super clean
no apparent rust
seller is upfront about rather serious concern(s)
aftermarket camshaft, rockers, ecu tuner
aftermarket headers and exhaust
stored in garage before current owner acquired it


1) I'm familiar with electronics and troubleshooting, but not particularly experienced (it'll probably take a very long time, but I'm sure I could figure it out). Are there any shortcuts to check for the parasitic electrical draw? Like common culprits?
2) seller was offering a $1,000 discount if I purchased with the drain. Essentially, he said he didn't have time to get to it anytime soon.

Here are a few pics of it for attention and to held categorize whether it's worth it or not:
stevep914 NOV 28, 06:01 PM
Price? Looks like a car in pretty good shape. The electrical drain can be a pita to solve. I had one, and solved it by putting in a cutoff racing switch behind the passenger seat on the firewall. No power to anything when off. Good for theft deterrent too! About $12 at Autozone. Looking at your few pictures, if the price is fair it could be a great car. Probably worth taking the drive to go look at it.
richard in nc NOV 28, 06:07 PM
you can pull one fuse a day to see if that solves the problem.
Patrick NOV 28, 06:12 PM

quote
Originally posted by zach99zulu:

...seller was offering a $1,000 discount if I purchased with the drain.



Saying the seller is wiling to drop the price means nothing to us if we don't know the asking price.


quote
Originally posted by zach99zulu:

no apparent rust



Rust won't be apparent from looking at a few images of the body. It's the rear upper frame rails that need to be checked. There used to be a particular video on YouTube that I linked to here a lot, but for some reason it has disappeared... but there are many others there to look at.


quote
Originally posted by zach99zulu:

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE



I'm curious about that aftermarket aluminum suspension component. Maybe someone here can identify it.
gregr75 NOV 28, 07:06 PM
Car looks great on outside. I would insist on the owner sending you photos of the underside. it is a 35 year old car. or looking yourself. heres a thread on some pain i had by not looking under the car before buying... i doubt yours will be as bad

also check trunk corners by lifting up carpet

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/146352.html
theogre NOV 28, 07:26 PM
Battery leaches are easier to find since DC Amp Clamps got cheap now but still often eats time etc.

May have other electric problems or low battery &/or just have OE headlights that may not be halogen bulbs
all can make them look dim/yellow to take pic above even w/ best cameras.

See https://web.archive.org/web...cast.net/~fierocave/ electric section for more info

"ecu tuner" is exactly what? Depending just what is can be your battery leach because installed wrong.
If just a different "chip" in OE ECM then likely only change timing etc.

some aftermarket cams may cause vacuum problems in turn affects power brake booster that needs proper vacuum @ idle & cruise to "recharge" the booster. Need to drive before buying.

Can't tell for sure from pic's above...
If the car was lowered then have to watch suspension. Lowering is likely because has aftermarket rear arm shown. Many are lowered very poorly have alignment, "blown" shocks & struts, & worse problems.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

82-T/A [At Work] NOV 28, 08:02 PM

quote
Originally posted by zach99zulu:

The thing is, I've wanted a Fiero for YEARS. Long story short, I think I'm ready to buy one. Now, my main concern is that the seller says there is an electrical drain on the system. The battery dies. I'll try and keep this short and concise, but I would really appreciate the professional insight that you gentleman (and women?) could provide.
1988 Fiero GT, 5sp getrag




I'd need to know how much he's asking for it, in order to say if it's worth it or not.

On the face of it... it's a good year, well optioned, totally rust free, and good paint. Honestly... these cars are not that complicated, and there's not a whole lot going on with them. An electrical draw is probably just a failed relay.
Spoon NOV 28, 08:02 PM

quote
Originally posted by zach99zulu:


1) I'm familiar with electronics and troubleshooting, but not particularly experienced (it'll probably take a very long time, but I'm sure I could figure it out). Are there any shortcuts to check for the parasitic electrical draw? Like common culprits?
2) seller was offering a $1,000 discount if I purchased with the drain.




You have the potential to get that discount with very little effort! It could be many things but this is the easiest to check. Have seller connect battery an hour before your arrival. When you get there, touch each headlight motor with caution. The warm one is the thousand dollar discount. If both are warm, push for another $1000. Easy replacement and new ones are still available. Spring for a pair and the odds of them raising at the same rate are improved.

Spoon

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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut

Spoon NOV 28, 08:05 PM
DBL POST

[This message has been edited by Spoon (edited 11-28-2023).]

CFR87GT NOV 30, 07:47 AM
I also have a parasitic drain that I am determined to find the cause of. But that takes time. So to give me that time I also installed a battery isolator on the Negative post (Die Hard brand knife blade style from Advance Auto). Pros: no modification or drilling required to the car. Can be easily removed in the future if the source of the battery drain is located. Very solid and well built. Cons: I had to reverse the pieces to align with my battery cable - but that was simple to do since all the parts are held together with screws (not welded). Tight fit in the battery box when tightening battery post back down since the negative post is on the right side of the battery. And finally Ihave to open rear engine lid to shut to reach and operate it since it attaches directly to the battery but I don’t have to remove the black grill cover. I might have picked a different solution if this was my daily driver but this is my weekend fun car so it is not an issue for me. Good Luck!