my '91 is dead -- electrical?

[erics_bruisers]

my '91 is dead -- electrical (updated with pic)

Today I was gabbing away with a friend on my cell in my '91, parked in a lot with the AC on --

-- after 3-4 minutes, the idle went low, and I got off the phone --

-- I then pulled it forward 100 feet, and put it in park -- it was hesitant during those 100 feet -- then it stalled and wouldn't turn over -- low battery --

-- FAWK, I thought -- so, I went in to the shop, called AAA and got my hair cut -- the guy came about 40 mins later, and we tried jumping it -- it started, and he mentioned to drive it around the parking lot, so i did -- it made it around the lot, sputtering, with no power (not sparking?) -- then i pulled back to the wrecker, and put my '91 in park, and it stalled --

-- so, we flat-bedded it back to my place and now it sits here -- DOA -- I spoke with Ben from Slee and he said I need to troubleshoot the electrical system -- ugh -- that's not something I am equipped to do -- yet -- though I think I may learn it --

-- has anyone else ever had something like this come about? It seems simple, but it's unfortunately not --

Thanks -- I am back in my Civic for now --

eric

PS - I just got the positive battery lead replaced two days ago, the alternator is 2 mos new, and the Optima battery is 8 mos old -- that's a starting point --

 

[RavenTai]

Nice pic , sounds like the Alternator is not changing the battery. do you have a multimeter? If not you either need to buy one or take it back to the guys that worked on it, it would be best to take back to them already knowing the problem so if they are not honest they don’t try to screw you.

 

[erics_bruisers]

Nice pic , sounds like the Alternator is not changing the battery. do you have a multimeter? If not you either need to buy one or take it back to the guys that worked on it, it would be best to take back to them already knowing the problem so if they are not honest they don’t try to screw you.

thanks for this, raven -- we installed the alt. ourselves, 2 mos ago -- i will get a multi-meter -- how would i test the current coming from the alt?

thanks for helping me with newbie q&a --

e

 

[MoJ]

Could it be the positive battery lead you had replaced? I'm always suspicous of potential related occurence that results after something has recently been changed/worked on. Something nearby was disturbed etc?

Back in the Civic --- what about your back-up 80?

 

[erics_bruisers]

Could it be the positive battery lead you had replaced? I'm always suspicous of potential related occurence that results after something has recently been changed/worked on. Something nearby was disturbed etc?

Back in the Civic --- what about your back-up 80?

I agree with that -- I think the battery might not be getting charge b/c the connection the dealer made --

-- or disconnected -- hmmmmm ---

-- how should i approach them to avoid getting billed "one-million-dollars" when it's secretly their fault ??

??

thx --

e

 

[Waggoner5]

If the engine is running, and the meter shows any more than 12v, it should be charging. Most batteries will show 12v when not charging and should show between 12.7 and 14.2 v when engine is running. However, just because you see some output (say 12.7 or so) it does not mean that the alt is ok. A proper voltage is around 13.8 at off idle RPM. To test proper, you should load the alternator with a test box. You can somewhat load the alternator on the truck by turning everything on, bring the idle up to say 1800RPM and then check the voltage at that RPM. It should be at least in the 13v range, unless the battery is toast. pretty much every red top Ive seen that has gone really dead, never comes back to full charge. If you have a Pep Boys, they will test it for free. I guess most other parts houses will too...??

 

[Junk]

If you had a good mm like a Fluke with the proper attachment like the i1010, you could easily see exactly what the alt was putting out. If I wanted to help, which I don't, I'd offer to send you mine so you could test it like I've done for others.

Then again you probably just fawked up your system on your own. Perhaps something unrelated crapped, but yeah, go ahead and blame the dealer before you even know what it is

 

[GXO]

Gotta be battery/charging. I had my alt die on me and I nursed it almost home and had exactly what you are seeing.

EFI, etc is a completely different series of symptoms.

 

[Junk]

Dan, why were you not at the 3FE party dude?

 

[GXO]

Where was it...that may answer the question.

I am always at home or on business these days.

 

[Junk]

It was 2 weeks ago in PA. Yooper was there as were a bunch of other dudes from out of town. Figured you would be there just for the 3FE shirts

 

[GXO]

Nah, can't travel too much for fun with all this stuff for work plus two kids under 3.

 

[erics_bruisers]

Gotta be battery/charging. I had my alt die on me and I nursed it almost home and had exactly what you are seeing.

EFI, etc is a completely different series of symptoms.

I agree, dan -- the battery is new -- it must be the alt. connection to the battery -- i'll look at it today --

-- i called rick, too, who has quite a bit of expertise with this stuff, not just all the toys --

e

 

[landtank]

Eric I got your message, sort of. Sounded like a call from a dog kennel. I'd first look at the connection at the battery for the positive lead. Just might have forgotten to tighten it up.

 

[PHAEDRUS]

Dont tule out the battery eric,
you could have brought it down with the old cables and just slowly killed it. have it tested. just pull it and drag it to whereever you bought it form and make them replace it for ya, optima does have a great warranty.
and if I was really cool I ouwld get the slap smiley to work and use it on you for not having a multimeter. thats right after the fsm and the 54mm hub socket on list of most crucial tools.
back to the problem I bet on the battery.
Dave

 

[erics_bruisers]

Justy spent some time with this situation -- swapped the Ultima battery with the Toy battery in my '94 -- the '94 charged the Ultima fine, and we took the '91 to Autozone to get "diagnosed" --

-- the alternator charge isn't reaching the battery in the '91, for whatever reasons -- the alt. is a new reman from Toy and is two mos. old -- I followed the wiring, and everything looks pretty okay -- I'm gonna go give the connections another look --

-- it's narrowing down, nonetheless -- not the battery, is the alternator/cable --

e

 

[landtank]

Best of luck Eric. I'm in Dayton Ohio til Sunday morning. Maybe the week after I'll be in your area and can give a look. By then hopefully you won't need me.

 

[erics_bruisers]

Okay -- just checked the connectors -- one of them burned pretty badly -- where the plastic disk is -- attached is the pic --

-- what would cause this? Is it the wiring or the alt that is likely fried?

Hopefully there's a Toy warranty on their reman parts --

e

 

[erics_bruisers]

I am wondering if this is just a poor connection and if sanding it down and cleaning it up will help at all??

That's next --



eric

 

[landtank]

If the alternator was poorly installed then the connection could burn out from that. Cleaning it up with some emery cloth should do the trick. Be sure to clean both sides of the grommet and the stud and nut the best you can.