No7Yet

Guys?

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Synopsis: It's my 89 TII, it was daytime, the A/C was on, about 94 deg
ambient at ~70% hum. I was at 60 MPH in 5th gear, cruising. All idiot
lights turn on except check engine and e-brake. Stock-gauge-indicated temps
LOWER THAN NORMAL. Car still idles/runs fine, no outward differences. Check
engine light came on after a while - reports only emissions removal-related
info - nothing new.
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Alright, guys, gotta ask for some help. As Heather and I were driving home
from picking up some tires, somthing happened -- all of the sudden, all the
idiot lights come on - no sounds, nothing unusual. OH ****!

My first thought was that my water pump belt had broken again, so I
immediately kill the car and pull it over. Unfortunately, this is a 6-lane
highway with no runoff area, so I had to pull it ~200 yds to the next road.
When I re-started it, I noticed that the temps, as indicated by the stock
gauge, had DROPPED slightly. The car started right up and drove fine to the
next road.

I killed it again, and checked over the car. The last thing I touched was
the battery (relocated), so I checked all the connections as best I could
and found them all to be okey-dokey. My overflow tank's level was right
where it should be. Car doesn't "feel" excessively hot. Upper rad hose is
full, if a little pressurized, and as hot as is to be expected.
Alternator/w-pump belt is perfect. WTF?

I re-started the car (again), and checked over everything again. Temps
still reading slightly low but not fluctuating, all idiot lights still on.
A/C still works fine. I had to get home (there's nobody to call -
everyone's out of town), so I drove the ~5 miles. The whole way the car ran
absolutely perfectly.

My only thought is that the alternator has died, but even after driving ~5
miles, the e-fan still comes on with a vengeance, which indicates still-
good voltage.

Ideas? I'm f*cking stumped.

Brandon

Scott 89t2

even with a removed alternator the car will still run for 1-2 hours off the battery. so it's possable that the alternator is gone but it still ran for 5 miles. just don't expect it to go much further check your voltage at the battery with a meter if the car will restart.

what size wire did you use on the rewire? might just be a charging problem with the battery move.

No7Yet

Actually, I was having low-voltage problems before. That's why I rewired everything - the battery wasn't charging properly. I used 4AWG from pos -> starter pos -> main fuse, and 1AWG from neg -> chassis.

CRAP! My DMM is dead. The car started right up both times, ran fine, and the e-fan blew real good even after the 5 mile drive. The thing is, when the battery was dead (well, not charged), the lights would dip whenever I hit the brakes - absolutely nothing out-of-the-ordinary happened, except for lights and very slightly low temps.

Thoughts?

Brandon