1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Colby - - you said you put the alternator thru all kinds of tests but you don't say what they were. If you pulled it out of the car and had an auto parts place test it it might have tested fine but if the ground wire is broken internally or missing it would not charge the battery even tho it's a perfect-working alternator.
Also if the alternator warning light in the cluster is burned out or replaced by an incorrect size new bulb this can stop it from charging.
My favorite test, pull the negative terminal off the battery while the car is idling, never fails for me in indicating a non-charging alternator. The car instantly dies if it was running off the battery because the alternator isn't working.
But everyone on here and all manuals warn you sternly that doing this can fry your car's electronics due to the surge. I've never met anyone this has happened to however, and cables are coming loose all the time when careless mechanics only push them onto the battery posts, and that never kills ECUs.
So I'm going to keep doing it.
And that brings up another thing that could be wrong with your car, why battery might not be charging: Cables, positive one especially, can be corroded inside the insulation and barely carrying current.
Your luck with the car starting sometimes, or after sitting, can still happen even if battery is dying from lack of enough charging. It still has chemical activity and that gets better over time or from slightly warmer temps mid-day, so it gets stronger again.
A check for whether it's charging system and battery at all is, are headlights bright still, or dull yellowish, at the times it won't start? Are your lights getting dimmer and dimmer as you drive at night? And, when it finally cranks, does it do it fast and strong, or sluggish? If lights are bright and cranking when it happens is strong, look somewhere else for your problem.
If it's an automatic, try wiggling the shifter around a bit as you turn the key. The "neutral safety switch" alongside the shifter can get touchy with old age.
posted by 70.105.241...
, Sat, 1 Dec 2007 22:25:21
, Sat, 1 Dec 2007 20:10:35, Sun, 2 Dec 2007 19:02:34
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