ramses666

iTrader: (1)

I was almost home when the radio fizzled out.. I looked at the voltmeter & it was around 8.. I turned off the radio.. the headlights started to go dim & the engine was stumbling & obviously running out of electrical power.. I made it around the turn into my neighborhood & the motor stopped completely so I turned on my hazards & rolled as far as possible then started pushing the 1 mile to my house.. then there were blue flashing lights behind & a cop rolled up behind me...

I stopped pushing & let the car roll to a stop & was pretty much out of breath & waited for the cop to come up. He asked what was wrong & I said the Alternator died & that I lived a half mile down the road & had just moved to the area. He asked for my license so I gave it to him. He walked to the car & checked it came back & said what's up with all the cars breaking down tonight? I said I don't know. He said I'll give U a push which he did. My headlights barely worked & I made it back to my driveway. I thanked the cop & he gave me his card & left.

I tried to start the car & a few dim lights came on now starter truning or anything - like the battery had been running the electrical system because the alternator took a dump. I then opened the hood & the hatch & hooked up my jumpstater to the battery. I turned the key & the car started right up, the headlights worked fine. I turned off the headlights & removed the jump starter from the battery expecting the car to die.. it kept running.. so I turned on the head lights & they also worked - I looked at the voltage difference between headlights off & on - no change around 12 volts (stock gauge). I turned off the engine and then restarted the car & it seemed to crank up normally. I scratched my head put up my stuff & cracked open a cold beer.

Any ideas about what's going on. Finicky alternator starting to die? Buy a new one? I apologize for the length but I'm still a little excited & I wanted to be thorough. Also, I had noticed some hesitation & a slight stumbling on the trip before & looked at the voltmeter & thought to myself.."uh-oh .. there goes the alternator... better get home before dark cause running on the battery ain't gonna get me too far down the road, especially at night.. "

I have a new RB RoadRace Exhaust(sweet!) & new K/N intake filter. otherwise bone stock"88 SE N/A & 100k miles (55k on current motor)

Thanx

Ramses666

WAYNE88N/A

After you charged the battery and started her again, if the voltmeter is only showing 12v, your alt is kaput. To be sure, get a voltmeter on the battery terminals with the car running. If she's below 13 to 13.5v, check the wiring and connector at the alt. If they look good, replacing the alt is probably the next step....

ramses666

iTrader: (1)

OK...
I didn't give the battery sufficient time to recharge. My jump starter was down to 11.8 volts & I only used it for a minute or two. Not enough to go from almost no lights to normal. Maybe its a double problem - like the battery terminal made better connection after the jump-starter clamps where put on & taken off & the alternator is taking a dump - or maybe it's the Electrical Gremlin of low voltage from ancient alternator? I guess it's time to P.M. SilverRoter & get the FD & Double pully Deal - i've been looking at it since I posted.

Ramses666

Dom_C

quik test for your alt. . Start the car, while it's running disconnect the battery. If it dies you need a new alt. I have done this many times without any negative effects. but don't take my word that there wont be any because i have no idea. I don't see how there could be though.
Dom

islanders_rx7

iTrader: (4)

WAYNE88N/A is right on the money. 12v w/ the engine running is good indication your alternator is inop. I would suggest getting a volt ohm meter as WAYNE88N/A mentioned. If you do find the alternator faulty buy a FD alternator from silverrotor if you have the time since it would probably take about 4-5 days to get it. : https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/fd-alternator-kits-fitted-fcs-now-sell%2Alast-date-purchase-sept-1-%2A-397719/
I just ordered one from him and it should be here any day now.

ramses666

iTrader: (1)

OK

I did the "Quick Test" & the car started & ran normally, I turned on the headlights & noticed a slight drop in idle & voltage, it leveled out so I proceeded to disconnect the positive terminal on the battery. The car still ran with the headlights on. They actually got brighter when I removed the battery. So I hooked it back up, turned it off & shut the hood & wrote this reply.

Ramses666

Dom_C

hmmm maybe the regulator in the alt. is starting to **** up . . but that would implythat the alt is still good.

WAYNE88N/A

How old is the battery?

ramses666

iTrader: (1)

I would have to say that for the moment the alternator is working... but the battery too? How did the car "run down" like that & then the battery seems fully charged? I just bought the battery from NAPA in the middle of December.

I had moved the car in the morning without letting it warm up. I went to leave at 4 pm & the car wouldn't start & I could smell gas - so it flooded - so I turned off the "custom" fuel pump switch & tried to crank it. Of course it didn't start so I went back inside & saw that I had forgotten my cooler & smokes. I loaded them in the car & tried to start it. It didn't start so I tried alternating starting with the fuel pump switch in both the on & off positions... The best I got was white wisps coming out the exhaust. So I hooked up my jump starter to the battery & went inside. I sat & played Solitare till I won then went outside & the car started.

It was at this point we pick up the previous narrative of the slight stumbling & less than 12 volt readings as described above. I drove 12 miles out to the beach & played darts for a few hours with my friends & then drove about 8 miles before the radio fizzed out.

I had been trying to determine if my 5th & 6th port actuators were working so I was running up & down between 3k & 5K in both 3rd & 4th gears - working the gas smoothly not jerking or anything. My fuel is getting close to empty as well.. I'm at mile 220 & I usually get at least 250 no matter how I drive. I just did the exhaust & intake 2 weeks ago - so I've been running the car pretty hard for short periods of time.

Thanx'

Ramses666

WAYNE88N/A

Wonder if you blew a diode in the voltage reg when you charged the batt?

What amp setting did you have the charger on? And did you connect the charger directly to both of the batt's terminals?

powrdby13B

make sure the terminals are tight on the battery. Had a similar problem with my honda, and it really messed up my getting to school one morning... took it home, noticed the terminals weren't as tight as they could be on the batt, noticed that they wouldn't go any smaller, and noticed a spare battery in the garage... worked fine ever since.

powrdby13B

make sure the terminals are tight on the battery. Had a similar problem with my honda, and it really messed up my getting to school one morning... took it home, noticed the terminals weren't as tight as they could be on the batt, noticed that they wouldn't go any smaller, and noticed a spare battery in the garage... worked fine ever since.

ramses666

iTrader: (1)

OK.. The positive terminal was reasonable secure - not absolutely - I used a pair of pliers to break it free & wiggle it off. As for the settings on the charger - it was not a charger it was a jump starter battery pack that wasn't fully charged. It has a digital voltmeter that read 11.8 volts. It just seems like weird kinda Karma-Voodoo stuff. The alternator is gonna take a serious dump. I noticed after being a live sound engineer for 25 years that it only takes an attitude to make borderline systems fail. Is it a full moon 2nite? Planetary Conjunction? Just kinda weird because the cop mentioned it. Maybe an EMP spike in the atmosphere? Moon Spots? **** Happens & sometimes we don't know why... I've tried to be thorough - sorry for excessive gibberish.


Ramses666

TII '87

Yeah , exact problem happened with my ALL STAR beater ( please introduce ) , my hyundai scoupe. Lost all lights and accessories, engine began to shake REAL hard, then stalled. I just shook all the connection between alternator and battery and I was able to go home.

it turned out to be the fuse block attached to the battery terminal that got loose! So I'd doouble check that if I was you

but wayne is right, 12 V isn't enough when engine running, look at the alternator belt, wiring, and connection

ramses666

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, It just seems weird to me. I suppose it could be a number of various things such as grounds & connections & such things... I suppose that as I just passed 100k on the odometer that things are going to start failing. It's just that after being around here(RX7club) I start to feel like I have to run at over 3 or 4k or else i'm not adequately running the motor & that my 5th & 6th ports may or may not start or stop working or some such silliness...

So I end up driving in the upper RPM range when I'm living in FL & there aren't many hills - so I'm punching it 'cause I got a new trick-*** RoadRace Exhaust & a K/N baby & it just goes off & does this stupid dying act on me with the cops & stuff... Like it was just what I needed to pass the night..LOL I keep going outside & starting the car... & the damn things runs normally... go figure.

Ramses666

ramses666

iTrader: (1)

Update -

Car ran perfect today. I put 14.1 gallons in it this morning, which is strange because I usually put 13.5 in it after the fuel light comes on, but the fuel light wasn't on!!! That's the second tank since my exhaust & intake upgrade. Of course I'm driving it alot harder now because it's quiet now. Anyway.. thats it any ideas let me know.

Ramses666

Project84

If it were me, I'd change the alternator. 12V is too low, and it already crapped out on you once. Its probably not going to happen again until you are far away from home or until it is the worse possible time for it to happen. I've seen this happen on a lot of different vehicles where the alt will intermittently act up, and even though I can't say I know 100% sure what it was that caused it, changing the alternator fixed it. Out of the blue, my stock electrical system was working at about 12-12.6 volts (as displayed by my laptop connected to the haltech) one day. If I drove it, it sometimes the voltage would quickly decrease down to single digits, sometimes it would go up to the 14V range. I couldn't trust it so I replaced it with a FD alternator which puts out more amps than the FC alternators do.

WAYNE88N/A

Hey Ramses, you said something that caught my eye- you said that she just passed 100K. I haven't verified this in real life (because I have the system disconnected), but the port air solenoid system (on the ACV) supposedly "reactivates" itself via the 20K switch when the odometer rolls over.

Now this is stretching things (like full moons), but what if the port air solenoid were shorting out (common occurence on our animals), yet not enough to blow the fuse (not a direct short, but an intermittent one)???

ramses666

iTrader: (1)

Yo!

ACV has been removed. but, yeah the 100k thing went through my mind as well. The ECU is doing a check and comes up with missing stuff. I don't know much about diagnostic codes & odometer readings. It certainly got my attention though. I guess I better not sleep in anymore & take my *** to work early so I can pay for a new FD alternator rig from SilverRotar.

Ramses666