anthros

starting about 1 week ago my car wont hold a charge. the vehicle is a 1985 mustang gt. could anyone help walk me through diagnosing the problem? the battery is a 600 cold cranking amp and less than 1 year old, all battery connections are good, no corosion, and no aparant loose wired or shorts, all fuses are good, any ideas on where i should start or how to figure out whats wrong? thank you.

mattdel

alternator?

anthros

how would i test the alternator? and is there a way for the alternator to not charge but still produce enough electricity to run the ignotion?

anthros

but now that i think about it my lights and accesories do slowly dim so the alternator isnt producine any power i think, how would i check for a bad alternator, or just a break in a wire or a bad relay/switch?

cleanfitty

What brand of battery is it???

I have had exides kick the bucket after a year.

anthros

iam not sure, whatever was on sale............ iam going to check water levels in the battery tomorrow. if the alternator is shot its a great excuse to do a 3g upgrade. any tips on how i can find out if its the alt for sure? also could someone help me find a 140-200 amp alternator that will work and a install swap guide please ( iam looking but not finding much). thank you

Vader87

Its most likely the voltage regulator on the alternator. Pull the alternator & take it to your local parts store have it tested. I would almost bet you couldnt drive more than a mile or two at night with headlights on before you lose power, if so its the voltage regulator. Hope that helps!

anthros

ah about 4-5 miles if everything is off but my headlights.

Vader87

Definitely have your alt. tested! Good luck!