joeyemma

Hi...I have a 65 green Mustang that I store in a garage in NH over the winter. Picked it up yesterday. Had to jump it....no problem, I expected that. Let it run for a while to charge the battery back up and it did the trick and started right up several times and ran like a charm. I drove it home (over 100 miles) with several stops along the way. No problems with the car...ran great and started back up easily every time I had to stop.

After about 150 miles of driving I noticed it running a "bit rough" but no problem. I parked it in my driveway and 1 hour later went to start it...dead. Turned over slightly but not even close to starting. Took the jump but would not re-start again so it is not holding the charge now.

This happened to me last summer and I replaced the battery and the alternator and the problem was solved. Belts look fine.

The engine is recently rebuilt.

I don't dare take it out today (even though it is gorgeous out) because last summer when this happened I got stuck 30 miles from home and it would take a jump, but would not continue to run as the alternator was shot.

HELP.....I am going to take it into my mechanic on Monday but if there is anything I can do myself today I would love to try.

Thanks!

joeyemma

I decided to just buy a new battery....installed it. The car won't start....it turns over a bit...should I jump it?


Thanks

Nabster

You need to get a multimeter, check the new battery's voltage, get it running and check it again to be sure it's charging. If I had to guess, since it's got a new alt and new battery, it's either going to be the voltage regulator (which is a simple replacement and costs ~$20) or the starter solenoid.

MIL1ION

Buy a battery charger and charge it first

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...444&pricetype=

JMD

You should charge a new battery before useing it, and you SHOULD charge that dead battery and consider replacing it before starting your car after winter.

An alternator is designed to MAINTAIN the battery to a charged state, not to bring the battery up. A "dead" battery works the alternator too hard for too long. Sometimes a dead battery will kill a good alternator.

Do I always follow the advice I have given above? Hell no... I should, but well...

Anyway since your Mustang has displayed a patern here, I would charge things up before starting the car next year.

I am guessing you have a "good" battery, high cranking amps. If so, the alternator has to work even harder to bring this one back from the dead than a cheapo.

Don't forget the regulator when fixing the car this year, MIGHT not be the alternator this time.

joeyemma

ok....this is what is going on now. I put the new battery in and it was fully charged. The car still required a jump to get started. I don't understand that. But then it ran great. Perfect...smooth and strong. After about 20 minutes it started to muck down again....sputter and not idle properly. And when it did finally stall, it would not start without a jump. I am hoping to get it to my mechanic tomorrow....just don't understand what is going on.

valley firearms

Again, there are ways to go about this. You purchased a new battery without checking the battery that was in your car. You probably wasted $50. A new battery purchased at a store is not necessarily charged. Now you have run down the new battery. Did you pull the positive terminal off the battery while it was running to see if it would die? You have basically narrowed it down to the alternator or bad wiring since you ran down the new battery. Check the wire connections on the back of the alternator. The car started running like crap because it was running off the low voltage from the battery. As the battery was dieing without a charge, your voltage was dropping giving the coil less voltage to give ample spark to your spark plugs. Eventually there is not enough spark to ignite the gas in the cylinders and it dies. As said before, if you can, take the alternator in and have it tested. We are here to help you work on your own car. Don't pay a mechanic to do simple tests.

MIL1ION

Please note:
This person has a exact thread going on at another Mustang site.

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...ml#post1507008


also Removing a battery cable with the engine running will DESTROY and alternator

Never suggest this practice.

MIL1ION

another double post..
why is this site's server causing problems ?

JMD

MOST (ALL?) batterys only have a "surface charge" when new. A new battery should ALWAYS be SLOW CHARGED on a low setting for a couple of hours before use.

And I just have to say that I have always HEARD that a battery cable should never be removed on a running engine with an alternator, but in practice I have seen it done many times with no effect. Additionally, IMO, my understanding of how thsese circuits work does not lend credence to the alternator being destroyed by this practice.

When I think about this statement, I have to take notice that I see very few blind teenage boys, even though I am sure many of them spend way too much time in the restroom....