Blinddd

88 rx7 NA

Finally got the car started and it'd been sitting for nearly two years. I was driving and noticed the car was kind of shaky (did that sometimes if I let go of the clutch too quickly) so I carefully applied it on the next few shifts and it still shook around a bit

Then my power steering shut off, and the car was dying. It eventually cut off on its own, checked the battery voltage (10.32V) had to go to Advance Auto Parts to charge it back to normal voltage

Drove it again for a few days before the same problem happened again. I wanna say the alternator is bad but I've seen cars die much quicker than mine did from what defines a 'bad alternator' so I was thinking of the possibility it could be something else...

Help greatly appreciated

satch

iTrader: (1)

You probably already found your issue. You start the car and measure the voltage at the output wire of the alternator and it should read 14 volts. While the car continues to idle observe the voltage output and see what happens. If you witness it dropping then go inside the car and rev the engine above 4000 rpm and see if this reinvigorates the alternator to climb higher or not. You could also have an alternator belt which is slipping so look into that possibility. And there should be a plug w/two wires connected to the back. The Black/White wire has 12 volts w/engine running and the White/Black wire has the same reading w/the plug connected (not disconnected) and engine running. A paperclip shoved into the back of the plug will help you take a voltage reading or a pin pricked into the wire does the same thing.

pattonrx7

iTrader: (1)

i had this same problem with my 89 gtu several years ago, my dad backed into the left front corner and pushed the bumper over the headlamp, which i didnt notice for a few days. the motor to pop the headlamp up was initially draining the battery and killing the battry, but i fixed that and after that the charging system worked great 99% of the time, but if i drove at night with the lights on or with rear defrost all of a sudden the charging system stopped working, and wouldnt work again until the car set for several hours. i replaced the battery, alternator several times, checked all the wires ... i never figured out what the problem was but it was by far the most annoying problem ive ever had with a car ... because i couldnt fix it. rebuilt the engine from scratch but a damn short stumped me for months .. i hate that. i dont have any help for your problem other than have the alt tested or test it yourself ... 14.4V with engine running. just wanted to share an rx7 problem i had ... one of many with that car.

DC5Daniel

iTrader: (10)

Make sure when you meter the voltage that you introduce load suck as stereo, lights, PS, etc. to duplicate real world driving. Voltage may show a healthy 13.8-14.4V at just idle, but dips drastically once load is placed.