So when I press the clutch on my 2013 Camaro V6 manual, the rpms will drop rapidly to around 500 maybe 400. When this happens, it causes the radio to go completely haywire and not make any sound or respond to any commands. It’s the stock radio that comes with the base model camaros. It’s getting bad enough that I hardly use this radio anymore. I just had to replace the alternator because it went out at 97k miles. I was secretly hoping that replacing the part would fix the radio issue, but nope that’s still going on. Anyone have this issue? Does anyone know a fix?
First, measure battery voltage when rpm drops.
If it drops below 12V that might explain why the radio malfunctions.
Alternator output falls and can’t keep up with demand.
Next, the question is why the rpm drops, under exactly what conditions.
If idling in neutral and you press the clutch, it drops?
It might be that the ground between the engine and the chassis is interrupted when you depress the clutch. When the clutch is engaged, the ground from the engine block to the chassis is complete. Depressing the clutch breaks the ground. There may be a missing or broken ground wire from the engine to the chassis.
1 Like
Does it idle at them same RPM rather in gear or in neutral when the clutch is pressed???
If the RPMs only drop while in gear and not in neutral with the clutch pushed you may have a Clutch master cylinder bypassing or throw-out bearing not engaging far enough or clutch issue causing drag and lowering the RPMs…
If the RPMs drop in neutral and in gear then it might be a chassis ground issue as stated above…
If the RPMs drop in neutral also when the clutch is NOT pressed, then you probably have a throttle body issue, part of the idle air control or maybe the pedal off idle sensor issue…
I think once you find the idle issue the radio issue will take care of itself…
Your alternator may not be able to charge at 400-500 RPM and when the voltage drops computers can go haywire, and at least, might be cutting power to the radio to save on battery life…
I had the car on the volt meter from the dash, and it was showing 12.6 when this happened again. I notice the engine only has these quick rpm drops when the engine is cold. Not often does it happen when fully warmed up. And these RPM drops from like 2000 to 500 very quickly only when i’m about to come to a stop on the road when the car is in gear.
I feel like this could be it. How many grounds does this car have and where are they?
This might give you some ideas to add grounds.