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How much is my 1985 cadillac fleetwood brougham worth

10K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  talismandave 
#1 ·
WMy cadillac has 46000 miles. It was kept by an older man as a show car its in very good condition perfect yellow paint job,leather top is in perfect condition, leather interior excellent condition no tears or stains. It has like shag carpeting all in perfect condition. All controls and radio and stuff works only gas gauge dosent work. No scratches or dents in the body only on the front of car there are two panel things that are missing on both sides. The car is really nice we didnt want to sell it, we have a short in it or something that havent found yet. Weve recently in the past 3 months replaced the altanator, battery, fan clutch, thermostat, altanator belt, and just bought a new water pump that were bout to put on, to try to solve the problem. And have noticed that the car only shuts off when the headlights are on. So we are just getting tired of all the effort weve put in and still not bein able to drive it at night. It runs perfect as long as headlights are off. We also have the price tag that was on the window when the man bought it brand new and all documentation of every work thats ever been done to the car including oil changes, new batteris, etc. this car is really awesome and has everthing it came with from the day it was bought.
 
#2 ·
I'm not sure what the car would be worth in a retail setting but I do know that the yellow (if it's original) is a pretty desirable and classy color. With low miles like you're reporting (again, if they're original...mind you the odometer only has 5 digits so it could have rolled over unlesss you have it documented) you could probably get a couple grand from a true caddy fan.

The two panels you said are missing are most likely the "fillers" and they are often times missing. You can buy used or reproduction ones but I've heard lots of bad about the reproductions.

As for your electrical problem...that is very odd. Does the car die right away as soon as the headlights are turned on or does it run for a while and then die out? If it runs for a while you can try checking your voltage at the battery while the car is running (should be like atleast 14 volts.) and then have someone turn the lights on and see what happens to the voltage. Just an idea to start with. You can also try pulling out your light switch and test that. maybe even try replacing it with one that you know is good and see if the problem persists. It sounds like a very odd problem.
 
#3 ·
It runs for a while and then dies and wont start back up when the lights are on. If we jump it off it starts again but only runs for about 5 minutes and turns back off. And yes the paint job is original, and as far as we know the miles are original. The man that had it kept it under one of those shade things that u put together yourself. he took very good care of it. Thank u so much for your input. We love this car we just dont have the money to keep putting work into it.
 
#4 ·
It's worth whatever someone else is willing to pay for it. Start at what you want for it and negotiate from there.

That being said, I can almost guarantee that the cost of fixing the electrical problem will be less than the financial beating you'll have to take from a buyer after telling them that they can't drive the car at night. I would get that corrected before trying to sell it.

When it dies, does everything slowly go dim first? It sounds like the alternator isn't charging the battery (I realize you said you replaced both).
 
#6 ·
Thats exactly what happens it dims and then dies. so maybe we should take the alternator and have it tested? Because we did get everything as far as battery and alternator brand new and we took battery back to have it tested and it was damaged so they replaced it.
 
#8 ·
Like Outsider said, you should be getting 14V (give or take) out of the alternator when it's running. If not, then that's your problem. If it's slowly dimming and then dying, then it's a charging problem which really could only point to the alternator itself or connections at the battery.

I'm not as familiar with the mid-80s cars, but is there a fusible link between the battery terminal and the alternator that could be blown? I'd check the output of the alternator itself at the alternator, then at the battery terminals and then inside the car to see if it's consistent.
 
#12 ·
@moistcabbage everything weve replaced was replaced with brand new name brand stuff all with warranties. Maybe it is the alternator, because it seems like autozone,where we got everything, may be getting alot of bad products in. we had to trade the first battery in because it only had one working cell, I think thats what they called it. we will go have everything tested asap and thanks for the advice it is much appreciated from u all.
 
#14 ·
It sounds like the alternator has a shorted winding as you get squealing. the belt tensioner has a set tension. confirm the belt length is there, was higher amp alternator with a different belt and tensioner they were not interchangeable. Alt should be putting out between 13.5V to 14.2V at the bat terminal. you should be able to remove the battery + with motor running and measure the voltage. Motor should not shut off if battery disconnected, if it stalls out then Alt is not putting out voltage. As squeal indicate alt is loading up so I would
check rectifier array is not blown or shorted stator windings to ground. last could be the regulator is not providing current to the field winding. Last confirm the Charge indicator light is not burned out in the dash. if this does not light confirm bulb is good then the field winding is not getting 12V from the regulator and field diode array or shorted stator windings.
 
#15 ·
If the car isn't dying at all when the headlights are not on, then the alternator is charging the system. I think it would be a little too coincidental that the previous alternator and the current alternator fail with the exact same (and rather atypical) symptoms.
The belts in that car are v belts which are manually tightened, there is no automatic tensioner typically found on a serpentine belt.
The alternator connection to the battery might be weak (cable might be worn out, or bad connection point).
My guess would be that there is a short that puts one heck of a huge load on the alternator when you turn the lights on. This would explain why the previous alternator was making noises too.
I would first remove the headlight relay and turn the switch on. If it doesn't die, then the problem is after the relay. I would then put in a relay from a different, known to be good, circuit in the head light slot and try it again.
If that doesn't track down the problem, I would then proceed to take the headlight bulbs out of the car and try them again. If the car doesn't die with the relay out, but does die with the bulbs out, then there is a short in the headlight wiring. Are there any bulbs that aren't working properly?
 
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