Car died today....stalled and then wouldnt' start for a min or so

[XtremeVette]

Was wondering if everybody might agree that this is just a bum alternator.

Had the car out, was running fine then it just died.

Tried to start it, nothing for a couple of minutes. Then after it cooled for a bit, it started up fine and ran fine till I got home. I checked things out and everytime I put the car from park or neutral into drive the volts goes from 13.9 to 12.5. Also, when I do a load test, I turn the lights, ac and rear defogger all on, again the voltage goes from 14 down to 12.5

I changed out my original alternator cause I thought it was going bad, Its been making some noise. When I changed it out today and took the car out is when all these problems started up.

If it could be anything else or if I have forgot some piece of information that anybody needs to make a better judgement. Please feel free to let me know.

I had recently changed out my distributor about a month ago, so it and all the guts are brand new, this includes: cap, rotor, ignition module, upper and lower coils.

thanks for the help
Jeff

 

[G Winter]

It could easily be a bad alt. I would check connections very closely. Most parts houses have and alt.tester.You could take it in and have it tested,in the long run it might save you some time.

Glenn

 

[Vettefan87]

Check the battery terminals to see if they are loose or if they are corroded.
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[xlwhellraiser]

Hi,
I am a Firebird/camaro guy, but I think I can direct you to few things that you can check out.

I've came across this problem before, be it my car, or another membera car here in CO.

One of the problems was the ignition module which is, if I am not mistaken, inside the distributor cap. Open the cap and you should see a black square or hexagonal shaped box. Thats your module. They usually tend to fail when new alternators are put in due to inceased current going through it. This in return makes them run hotter thus shuting off when overheated. Once they cool down they will start right up. You can take the module out and have it tested at any parts store.

Second, alternator can be faulty, but as many members already mentioned you can test it to see.

Third, and I hope this isnt it, the fuel pump. They tend to fail when hot and the symptoms are very similar to what you've described.

Also, you can check the starter and see if its overheating, it shouldnt. However, they do overheat when engine gets over 240 (trust me on that).

Just do some trouble shooting.

The thing with brand new alternators in an old system with old wires, is that they will send more current through things then what they were used to thus really putting a strain on them, even though there is current control. sometimes they fail.

So here is a check list for you.

Ignition module,
Alternator
Starter
Fuel Pump

Also worth checking is
Coil
Wires
Ignition wires
distributor cap and rotor

Good luck and let me know what the problem was.

Sasa T.