Battery/Alternator..........what what!!

[73Bird]

Brothers back at it again..........thought I fixed everything. The car sat for 3 days.....came out it was dead. Jumped it.......no problem. Drove 10 minutes it died in the middle of a damn intersection. Wouldnt re jump but turned over a bit. Passerbys battery prob wasnt good enough. I recharged the battery.....tests good. Im thinking just freaking replace the alternator. Its freaking 60 bucks no biggie. Im going to invest in the lil testers tomorrow and do some electrical reading cuz I have a headache. 68 SS, you are so right. I get wrapped up in other stuff and the car sits. I hate it because my only other car is my police cruiser and I hate driving it when Im not working. duH! right...lol So Im trying to jump on this early. I am learning alot though and appreciate everyones input for sure. I wish I had a little more time to research but with work and everything else I dont. Thanks guys..........back at it in the am.

 

[73Bird]

installed recharged battery.............turned key, meter goes amost center, start it up, it drops 3 or 4 needle widths to left. Shouldnt it go UP to the right when car is on.........more power?

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

After following along with some of your issues seems to me you have a battery draining short some where. New voltage rev, new ballast resistor, new batt, new alt. If you have replaced all this and still cant keep a charge then maybe something killing thw battery.

 

[amar67]

installed recharged battery.............turned key, meter goes amost center, start it up, it drops 3 or 4 needle widths to left. Shouldnt it go UP to the right when car is on.........more power?

Here is a quick test for finding a short I read in the Haynes manual. First disconnect the negative wire from the battery. now put a test light on the negative cable (not the battery post) use the needle part of the light and then put the negative part of the test light on the negative post. if your test light turns on, you have a short.

also, you need a volt meter to best diagnose this... so pickup a cheap one for $10 and see how much voltage you are getting at the battery when the car is running and then check how much you are getting at the big wire on the alternator.

it should go up past center to the right. did you find the issue? I have a similar issue... I think my voltage regulator is bad... I'll update here as well... Good Luck!

 

[amar67]

Here is a quick test for finding a short I read in the Haynes manual.

Updated instructions directly from the Manual:

With the key off, connect a test light between the negative battery post and the disconnected negative cable clamp.
1. if the test light does not come on, reattach the clamp and proceed to testing the battery and alternator with voltage meter.
2. if the test light comes on, there is a short (drain) in the electrical system of the vehicle. The short must be repaired before the charging system can be checked.
3. Disconnect the alternator wiring harness.
a: if the light goes out, the alternator is bad.
b: if the light stays on, pull each fuse until the light goes out (this will tell you which component is shorted).

- Hope this helps...