Ok, my 88 GXL is finaly up and runnnig, with good wheels and tires! Kind of.... Ok, I figured out my problem for starting it was the battery I had was too small, WAY Too small, I also figured out that the knocking noise was because the spark plug wires were reversed. So I corrected those, Except for the big battery... they are more expensive, so now I'm having to wait to get one of those. I had a bigger old interstate battery, that I drained the fluid out of, and put distilled water in, Connected it to my RX, and then connected my jumper box to it, and the car started right up. Ran for a good 7 minutes... before I decided to test out if the drivetrain was ok seeing if it moved... It did, and then I stalled it out in reverse. Anyway, so I tried it again later, But If I remove the battery box, the car starts to loose power. I realise I need a good big battery, and I'm working on getting one as soon as possible, unless someone knows what I should do to one of these old batteries to make them useable more quickly.... Anyway, beacuse the car is dying rom lack of power, does this mean my alternator is also probably bad?

Also.... when I started it up... there was a good bit of smoke. Then it stopped. When I tried driving it again last night, the smoke came back. Lots of smoke. White smoke. Is this bad? It does not smell like burning coolant.... But the car has been sitting for a very long time.... Could this be normal, Or could some coolant seals be blown? Anyway... Thank you in advance...

--John

 

If your FC has been sitting for a long while, be expecting some smoke for a while.

And as far as battery size, my battery is a Hawker Genesis. its about 7 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 5 inches wide. Weighs in at a whopping 10 pounds, and it seems to start my car just fine...

 

Good job on getting it started. The smoking is normal for a car that has sat for a while. Not sure about the alternator though.....

 

Hmmm... So battery size has nothing to do with it? I wonder what this could mean then... Maybe my alternator is just bad then.... How do you generaly check that out?

 

Yeah Smoke is normal.....But your alternator brushes are worned out

 

Teh easiest way is To get A Voltmeter And check the battery voltage w/ the engine ACC and key off the ignition It should read between 10-12V and then start the car and check battery voltage again.......You should get at least 13.5V w/the engine running! if you get less than that Ur Alt is BAd