2002tii electrical issue?

[Razzman88]

Hey guys, 

 

my 73 2002tii just started acting up on a recent drive with the stereo restarting. It would lose power and come back on.(I’m using a retrosound deck that looks close to my stock analog). Turned the motor off to fuel up and it wouldn’t start back up. I had to jump the car to start it and it’s a fairly new battery with plenty of life. On the way home the lights were barely glowing near candle like. As soon as I got off the throttle it died again. 
 

this morning I jumped the car to start. It idled just fine, as soon as light s were turned on it died. I checked and replaced my fuses and it hasn’t fixed. I checked my battery ground and it was good. Any ideas? 
 

thanks 

['76mintgrün'02]

26 minutes ago, Razzman88 said:

it’s a fairly new battery with plenty of life.

 

But, does it have juice?

It sure sounds like a dead battery.

Do you have a volt meter to check the battery voltage and see what the alternator is putting out?

 

If not, I'd buy this one.  (It comes with a free variable advance timing light, a dwell meter and a tachometer built in).

 

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[Son of Marty]

To me it sounds like your alternator shit the bed, But as Tom said above you need to get alternator and battery voltage readings.

[Chris_B]

Read this. Sounds like your battery or charging system is dead.

[Mike Self]

49 minutes ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

Do you have a volt meter to check the battery voltage

A better measure of a battery's condition is to use a load tester--inexpensive at Harbor Freight, or free if you drag your battery to any local auto parts store.  Just make sure you've charged the battery before load testing.  More than once I've had a battery that read a nice 12.7 volts on my voltmeter, but didn't have enough amps to light the dome light.  

 

Look at Chris B's picture above--make sure

1. the three wire plug is firmly seated in its alternator socket (and the wire bail is engaged)
2. the fat red wire is also firmly attached to its terminal
3. the ground wire running from the alternator's frame to the engine block is in good condition (especially check the terminal-to-wire joint at each end) and firmly attached.  

Let us know whatcha find.

 

mike

[Hans]

Make sure battery connections are clean and tight. Disconnect neg cable and check starter cable tightness. Fan belt? How old is battery? Plug to voltage regulator?

[dlacey]

Bad earth? Check body connection points.. after a slow crank start carefully touch all the major positive and negative cable connections...the hot one is the bad one.

[jgerock]

Also your ignition switch (electrical portion) and light switch should be investigated.

 

Start with the easy things like alternator connections and grounds.

[TobyB]

[2002iii]

23 hours ago, TobyB said:

Nice looking multimeter, it's has temperature? It would help more set to DC voltage in this case.

[John76]

A fading radio on my car was caused by a faulty ignition switch.

Cruising speeds = radio normal.  Idle speeds = fading sound (bad contact on the "R" terminal).

This may also be the reason your key-start does not work (bad contact on the #50 terminal).

Easy way to rule out the ignition switch is to bypass it by using the diagnostic plug next to your fuse box.

Jumper pin #1 to pin #7 to crank the starter motor. Be sure car is in neutral and brake applied...don't stand in front of your car when testing the starter. If this works and the car spins normally, then compare this to how it spins when using the ignition switch.

This could save you the hassle of removing/cleaning/replacing a starter switch if your battery is good and your ground connections are solid.

[Son of Marty]

Many head units will turn off when the voltage drops into the -10v range. Just say'n.

[Razzman88]

On 2/11/2024 at 11:29 PM, Hans said:

Make sure battery connections are clean and tight. Disconnect neg cable and check starter cable tightness. Fan belt? How old is battery? Plug to voltage regulator?

HI Hans,

I disconnected the neg cable and checked starter cable, fan belt and all my grounds are good. 

[Hans]

12 minutes ago, Razzman88 said:

HI Hans,

I disconnected the neg cable and checked starter cable, fan belt and all my grounds are good. 

And the other things?

[Son of Marty]

You really need to get the alternator output voltage it should be over 13.8v with the engine reved to 3k or so before you start taking stuff apart IMO.

Edited February 26 by Son of Marty