What's your diagnosis

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    Author Topic: What's your diagnosis  (Read 3352 times)

    Offline eddie7

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    What's your diagnosis
    « on: September 26, 2005 - 08:01:13 AM »
    The other day my car was idling fine. I turned on a light and the car immediately died. I started it again, had it idling, turned on a different electrical component, and it again died.

    Then I tried revving the engine, and I was able to turn on the lights without it dieing. As soon as I let the engine get back to idle speed, it again died whenever any lights were on.


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    Offline eddie7

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #1 on: September 26, 2005 - 08:01:58 AM »
    I'm a dummy. I forgot to mention it's a 73 Barracuda I am trying to figure out. Thanks for your help!
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    Offline MEK-Dangerfield

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #2 on: September 26, 2005 - 10:08:27 AM »
    eddie7,
       What is your ampmeter doing when you turn on the lights??? Your idle just might be set too low.

      Mike
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    Mike

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    Offline eddie7

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #3 on: September 26, 2005 - 10:37:14 AM »
    Mike,
    It's not the idle. It doesn't stumble at all when it dies, it just immediately quits. It's definitely something related to the electrical system.

    I drove it 10 miles and it didn't quit, so if the alternator were bad, I wouldn't have been able to drive that far. What about the voltage regualtor? Could that be the culprit?
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    Offline Chryco Psycho

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #4 on: September 26, 2005 - 10:37:59 AM »
    sounds like the battery is dead or low & the alt is not charging at idle which is normal
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    Offline 4Cruizn

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #5 on: September 26, 2005 - 10:40:32 AM »
    Quote from: Chryco Psycho on September 26, 2005 - 10:37:59 AM
    sounds like the battery is dead or low & the alt is not charging at idle which is normal



    Ya know I thought the same thing, but I got the impression that the car starts back up after it dies??  Kinda blew that therory . . .
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    Swedefish

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #6 on: September 26, 2005 - 10:46:34 AM »
    I was thinking ,isn`t there a solenoid on the carb that shuts down the fuel when ignition is turned of ? If there`s some electrical probs that affect the solenoid.Just a guess!
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    Offline eddie7

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #7 on: September 26, 2005 - 10:48:44 AM »
    Tell me if my thinking is correct here: Suppose the battery were completely dead. Once the car is running, it gets everything it needs from the alternator, right? I mean, I could disconnect the battery and it would still run off the alternator. So that would mean that it isn't the battery, right?
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    Offline MEK-Dangerfield

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #8 on: September 26, 2005 - 02:31:20 PM »
    Eddie,
       What is the ampmeter doing at idle before you turn anything on? It should be near center, or slightly charging. Once you turn on the lights, it will go higher to the charge side. If the car keeps starting, I'll assume a good battery... at least for now.

      Mike
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    Mike

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    Offline 4Cruizn

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #9 on: September 26, 2005 - 09:25:02 PM »
    Quote from: eddie7 on September 26, 2005 - 10:48:44 AM
    Tell me if my thinking is correct here: Suppose the battery were completely dead. Once the car is running, it gets everything it needs from the alternator, right? I mean, I could disconnect the battery and it would still run off the alternator. So that would mean that it isn't the battery, right?


    No what that would mean is it isn't the alternator. The problem with that is the car is stalling and then he car restart the car . . . so the battery is not dead . . . Another problem has the solution.
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    Offline eddie7

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #10 on: September 27, 2005 - 07:50:23 AM »
    The battery is pretty beat now, with all me attempts to restart it. I can charge it up and try again. I don't know if the battery is weak because the alternator is bad, or just bad on it's own. Could a bad voltage regulator be causing this?

    What about my question about running the car with no battery? If the battery is completely dead, once I get it started, it should still run, right? The alternator should power everything on its own, even at idle. Yes or no?
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    Offline MEK-Dangerfield

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #11 on: September 27, 2005 - 10:16:16 AM »
    Eddie,
       I'll ask again. What is your ampmeter(alternator gauge) saying during all of this? If it never goes towards "+", then we have to look at the alternator, or voltage regulator. If it is charging, then it could be the battery, or a short somewhere. My guess is it isn't charging at all and you have run the battery down to the ground.

      Mike
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    Mike

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    Offline eddie7

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #12 on: September 27, 2005 - 10:53:22 AM »
    Mike,
    When I try to start it the gauge doesn't budge.
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    Offline MEK-Dangerfield

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #13 on: September 27, 2005 - 05:19:37 PM »
    OK, but when you do get it started, what does it say? This is kind of the" tell-all" of your problem. If it moves left, that means one thing, if it moves right, we look elsewhere for the problem. I have a feeling it's all your charging circuit, so this shouldn't be tough to figure out.

      Mike
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    Mike

    1970 Challenger - SOLD
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    Offline eddie7

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    Re: What's your diagnosis
    « Reply #14 on: September 28, 2005 - 08:34:32 AM »
    Mike,
    What does it mean when it moves left versus right? I tried to start it to see if I could answer your question, and guess what...Now it won't even start! It makes a whining noise but doesn't turn over!

    I tried putting in a new battery (borrowed from another car) to see if that would fix it and still and nothing! I am sure this is related. I mean, I don't think it's just another problem that surfaced at the same time. But it makes it all the more confusing.




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