tantricscorpio

I just bought a 1985 GT hatchback. Last night it died on me. I checked the battery and it was running a volt low. Then on my way to work it died. So today I went to buy a new Optima battery. The question is: How does the alt. in my car charge the battery? I don't see any wires running from the alt. to the pos. side terminal. I've been looking and searching this forum and other sites for a wiring diagram so I can understand it better. No luck yet. If anyone has any info I would be gratefull. Thanks, Steve

mrbmp

Congrats on the car, I recently sold an 85 GT with 295,000 miles on it, still ran great and never had to work on the engine other than alternators and water pumps and a radiator. I had bought it new and it never left me stranded despite the beatings I gave it.

The wiring is hard to explain, but if you remove one of the battery cables while its running and it doesnt die, the alt is working.
You said a volt low, is that 11 volts?
normal voltage when running is 13-13.8v.

Autozone will test it for you free on the car or off.

If you get an alt. get the lifetime warranty one, the 1 year ones dont last I went thru 3 in a row.
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GreyStang

Remember if checking your battery level with a voltmeter.. you HAVE to put a load on the battery to get a correct reading.

Easiest way is to turn on the headlights (car not running) and check the voltmeter reading. Even a nearly dead battery might still show +-11.5 volts if there is no load on it.