commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Maybe the battery is beyond being able to take a charge.
SOLD 1971 Plymouth Sport Fury GT
- Thread starter Wollfen
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Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
Do you mean a faulty battery?
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
Well it starts the car perfectly fine, it's still strong.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Well then.... Never mind.
Here's how you check what's wrong...
You'll need to make a jumper wire. One end will have a spade terminal that can attach to one of the field connections on the alternator. The other end is optional. The idea is to attach it to a good ground connection. I like using an alligator clip.
Unplug the green wire from the field connection. Leave everything else attached. Clip your jumper wire to the field connection on the alternator and the other end to a good ground.
Attach a voltmeter to the battery and check the voltage. It should be a little over 12 volts.
Start the car and immediately turn the headlights on.
Check the voltage at the battery. It should be at least 14 volts. Most likely it will be over that if the alternator is working right. If it is, the voltage regulator (or the wiring to the VR) is bad. If it's still at 12 volts, or less than 14 volts, the alternator is bad.
Do not run the car for an extended period like this as it can damage the battery.
What we've done here is duplicate the FSM procedure, except we aren't using a carbon pile to create a load of the system. We are using the lights instead.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
I will do this and I will see what happens, I have a suspicion it is not the alternator so I ordered a new VR, cant hurt to put a new one in. I will let everyone know what happens.
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
Okay, so I found some time to do the test tonight, the battery measured at 12.4 volts with the ignition off. Then I pulled the green ground wire and put another wire on the ground terminal and earthed that wire, started the car and measured the battery, 16.1 volts, so yes it is charging. The alternator is good. Then I grabbed the green wire to push it back on the alternator and it came off in my hand, hmm. I had to cut some of the insulation to expose the original wire in the harness only to find it had been spliced to a yellow wire. Oh boy, so I am going to have to trace that wire and see where it goes. More updates to follow.
furious70
Senior Member
the last one of mine to act up (72 RR) the charge wire from the alt went bad in a random spot along the firewall. Didn't look like it had ever been pinched there or anything, but I just kept testing along the wire until I didn't have power anymore. Spliced the bad spot out and it was fine.
Not completely unlike how the original pos batt cable on my Fury literally corroded from the inside out - looked ok from the outside but had become turquoise crumble inside.
Not completely unlike how the original pos batt cable on my Fury literally corroded from the inside out - looked ok from the outside but had become turquoise crumble inside.
Shazbot
Member
Nice car and the perfect driver too bad shipping would kill me.
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
So I traced the wire and found that it does in fact go to the green wire of the regulator, somebody replaced and spliced in a section of yellow at some stage in the harness. So I cleaned up the ends and reattached the wires. The regulator came in the mail today and I installed that too,. Checked the battery voltage again, showing at 12.4v, then I started the engine, and checked the battery once more, it reads at 14.39v while the engine is running, So yes, the system is working and it is charging. It's just the Alt gauge doesn't read for some reason, maybe the needle is sticking.
Anyway, issue resolved, I'm not going to pull the dash apart for the Alt gauge not reading.
Anyway, issue resolved, I'm not going to pull the dash apart for the Alt gauge not reading.
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
As soon as the border opens, it's time for a road trip.
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
Cross the border in the middle of the night with your headlights off, pretend it's a moonshine run.
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
The problem for him wouldn't be crossing back to go home, so the lights can stay on. It's getting down to you that's the hiccup.
Shazbot
Member
Lots of Americans getting busted in Banff and Jasper parks on vacation using the "I'm going to Alaska" loop hole. Can I tell them I'm going to Mexico?
I won't tell on you.
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
You can fly to the US without issues. Fly down, drive home. You will only need to self-isolate for 14 days when you get back.
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