treewojima

So I've got an '87 N/A that's been running beautifully up until the other night. I went out to the store to pick up some goodies after a long day (gave the girlfriend another driving lesson, she looks damn hot driving my car ), and everything was fine, except maybe the idle was a bit high. Come out of the store, turn the key, and it cranks slooooooow, like a really low battery. But, it manages to turn over after a bit and seems to run okay.

I check the voltage gauge, and it's close to bottoming out. At this point, I'm getting nervous, and suspect that the alternator is giving out. The car drives well enough, but the interior and exterior lights are dimming sporadically, and there's no power steering. I gave it the beans once in third to see what would happen, and it couldn't manage to get above 3500 or so RPM. Come up to a stoplight, my headlights are near-dead and the idle is much lower than I'd like, so I'm obviously praying that I make it home.

Finally pull into the driveway, shut it off, thank various deities that I made it, and then try to crank it again. Electronics come on, but all it does is click. You know, that electrical click-click-click like something's trying to work, but just can't.

I'm thinking alternator or voltage regulator, since even when the car was running it had no juice. Battery could be at fault too, it hasn't been changed since I got the car, so I have no idea how old it is.

Anyways, I'm gonna poke around tomorrow, try and jump start it, see if I can narrow the problem down. Just seeking some input or suggestions from y'all; you've been very helpful in the past

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like an alternator failure to me.

Replace the battery at the same time you replace the alternator, and make sure that the battery cables and connections are in good shape.

You may want to consider upgrading to the FD alternator (see FAQ). It is a more robust 100A unit instead of the 60/70A unit from the FC.

satch

iTrader: (1)

If you can get the car started place the red lead of the volt meter to the B+ terminal of the alternator which is the Black wire bolted to the side of the alternator and perhaps covered in a rubber boot and then the black meter lead to the negative (ground) battery terminal and the voltage should read 14.2 to 14.7 volts with the car running. The battery ought to read about 1.5 volts less than the alternator or about 12.5 volts. Also, place one of the meter leads on the alternator housing/casing and the other lead on the negative battery post (not clamp) and the voltage should read less than 20 millivolts = .20 volts. This will tell you the condition of the grounding wires related to the charging circuit and this is to be done with the engine running. Lastly, place one of the meter leads to the B+ terminal of the alternator and the other meter lead to the positive battery post (not clamp) and the voltage reading should be less than 20 millivolts as this will tell you the condition of the positive related wiring in your charging circuit.

mysick77

alternator