Electrical Problems

[Turbo G54B]

I'll just cut to the chase. We had finally gotten my car running pretty good. I bought a new battery for it and I would take it around town at least once or every other day. On one of my trips back home I noticed my turn signals and head lights would not turn on and my stereo kept turning off and on until it finally just turned off. Besides that, my car kept running like normal until I turned it off when I got home and then it would not turn on again. The starter would click, but nothing would happen. Checked the battery and it was at 11.6v; I figured the battery might have been defective so I went to trade it in for a new one. The guy there said the battery was faulty and blamed it on my car saying something probably caused it to short-circuit.

 

The problem seemed to go away, but I would notice that every day I'd go to turn on my car it would take just a second or two longer each time. So I checked the battery and it was at 11.8v more or less. While the car was running, I tested the B terminal of the alternator with a digital voltmeter and it was reading 11.6v+/- and noticed the voltage steadily dropping. Tested the battery while the car was still on and it was the same as the alt. It eventually got to 10.7v+/- when I turned the car off, the voltmeter then showed the battery's voltage climbing back up to normal. Today I went out to turn the car on again and all I got was the click from the starter. The batter is reading 11.88v.

 

The alternator is from an '86 and it was supposed to be refurbished.

 

I'm pretty sure it's the alt, and I might just get the GM alt that jolyrgr offers, but I'd like to rule out whether anything else might also be attributing to this. I checked the main fusible link, and it does not feel broken and voltmeter shows no resistance, but the clip (white) that it connects to seems to be almost melted together (I see what looks like tiny burnt bubbles on the side of the white clip) and I can't pry them loose.

 

On a slightly unrelated note; I thought my valves were ticking, but I found it was just an exhaust leak. How much does resurfacing the exhaust manifold usually cost?

 

Sorry if I wasted your time, just trying to give as many details as I can recall, and make sure there is not anything more I should check over before tossing more money at the car. Thanks in advance.

[vbrad511]

Read through this...it'll help

 

http://starquest.i-x.net/viewtopic.php?t=1...9a87588cc063937

 

If you get your battery fully charged take the car to Autozone and have them test your charging system. I'd bet the alt's on the way out (or already gone).

 

Pull the exhaust manifold, cut the webbing between the runners, have it milled down, and install a new metal gasket. I like to put a coat of silicone on my exhaust stuff 9not everybody does). It seems to help seal up,

 

What year is your car?

[jolyrgr]

I do have a reworked alternator here that I can let go for $70 shipped. New brushes and bearings. Tested good.

 

JR

[Turbo G54B]

Thanks for the advise and I'll make sure to read through the guide. My SQ is an 85.5. As for a new exhaust manifold gasket, I saw that Dad offers the Felpro gasket, would that one be okay? I would go to a Mitsu. dealer, but the nearest one is more than an hour away, unless that one got shut down as well.

 

JR, I'd really appreciate that alternator. My brother just called and said he's going to come over tomorrow and help me look over it. I'll try and let you know if I'll take you up on that offer by tomorrow. Thanks.

[vbrad511]

Felpro is top-notch as far as gaskets go, but the metal exhaust gaskets seem to hold up very well. I don't know if the Felpro is that metal jobber, or some other composite. OEM style is good stuff. Do a little digging on the boards here and you should find a Mitsu dealer you can order from, providing you don't go with the one from DAD.

 

[Indiana]

85.5 and 86 alternators are the same, and that is NOT a volt meter in the dash its an ammeter. All it will show you is charge and discharge. 11.88v should start that car no problem. You have dirty battery terminals or the fuse link in the charge wire from the alternator is blown. The fuse link has a ring terminal and attaches to the + battery post. If the link is wrinkled or it stretches its bad. The original battery cables had a second ribbed inner ring and it corrodes on the back side to the battery terminal and this makes a very bad connection. I'd just remove that inner ring if its still present and clean up the terminals and check that fuse link.

[Tim_C.]

Yes, I would be sure to go over what Indiana suggested first, before jumping to buy anything. My friend's professional shop designed and sells the best GM upgrade alternators made for this car. Although $70 for a rebuilt OEM replacement is a great deal! I have the same mentality where I want a better alternator, but you have to know you need one to fix the problem first. Also, if the alternator is bad, there is a good chance another problem caused it, so check first then buy exactly what you know will fix it if necessary. Many times no purchase is needed, and just a little fuse link and charge wire attention will do it.

The 85.5 has a good wire harness base. Better than '87 - '89.

I like to keep that inner ring Indiana mentioned because sometimes the OEM battery cable will not tighten all the way down to the battery post without it. The bolt can get tight but the cable stays loose. I have a bead blaster at my disposal, so I blast it, blow it off and put it back in there. I do have aftermarket batteries in my cars, so the posts may not be as big as an OEM replacement battery? Plus, when the cable won't tighten without the ring, it is a sign of an aging cable, but I get a few more years out of it by keeping the ring. You have do all you can to save a little here and there when you have 5 running StarQuests! Have you ever tried to maintain and keep batteries and tires on 7 cars at the same time? :eek1bluegreen: It seems I am swapping stuff around all the time! LoL!

 

On the exhaust manifold gasket, I would order one on line from a dealer. I think maybe Dad on this site offers it too. I did buy an Ajusa head gasket kit from Dad recently that had a multi layer steel gasket in it, just like OEM, but I don't think they sell it separately? The FEL PRO is fine for a stock engine with all studs perfect, perfect manifold flange, and new OEM exhaust nuts. I suspect there are stud boss issues in the head/studs pulling out of the head.

[Turbo G54B]

Mine doesn't have the inner rings, and the posts are very clean. I checked the main fusible link, and the end that I mentioned where I saw burnt bubbles on, those plastic clips are melted together, but the black link itself is not wrinkled and it doesn't stretch. I took off the bracket holding the sub fusible links and relays so I can go through and clean them in the morning. I'll be buying new main and sub fusible links even if some of the ones I have now are good. I'm going to take my alternator and have it checked, too. I'll update later today. Thanks again for the help so far.

[Tim_C.]

Sounds great!

I prefer to get rid of those removable links myself. The connections are subject to coming loose and corroding to cause excessive current draw. I hard solder new fuse link wire in.

If you replace the stock links, make sure the female spade connector on the ends of the link grip tightly to the male, or it will run the link hot and start the decay process over again right away.

The bottom side of the fuse link box needs cleaned too, and the white connector connected to it further down. They are all known to be corroded and cause high current. I get rid of that white connector too when I do the removable link delete.