Re: car dies for no apparent reason

["Smokinn" <smokinn@sbceo.k12.ca.us>]

Sounds like to me that your alternator isn't charging.  Your car is running
off of your battery.  That's why it dies when you operate the headlights.  I
recommend you remove the alternator, take it to your local parts store (i.e.
NAPA, Kragen, Pep Boys, etc.), and have them bench test it.  HTH.  Another
thing you can do (it's not recommended for the newer vehicles with
computers) is:  start your car and disconnect your negative battery cable.
If your alternator is working properly, your car will continue to run, if
not...you know what you gotta do.


Thanks,
Penny
http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/downs/7808/smokinn2.html
87 Scirocco 16v
85 Mustang GT 5.0L

----- Original Message -----
From: Gary Moore <magritte@pobox.com>
To: <scirocco-l@scirocco.org>
Sent: Friday, December 11, 1998 2125 PM
Subject: car dies for no apparent reason


>Over the last few months, I've had an incident or two each week of my '80
>Scirocco dying all of the sudden.  Usually it happened when the engine was
>idling, but it has happened while moving along under power.  The only
>warning sign I've seen is flashing of the red warning light under the
>water temp gauge, like happens when the car is first started up.  After a
>couple seconds of the light flashing, the engine just dies like I'd turned
>the ignition off.  Always, though, the car started up again easily...
>
>Until tonight.  I was stopped at an intersection.  I had the headlights on
>and the ventilation fan on full.  I noticed the instrument lighting seemed
>unusually dim, and I verified that the dimmer was turned up all the way.
>When the traffic light turned green, I hit the gas and the engine faltered
>badly.  I blipped the throttle a few times with the clutch partially
>engaged, and managed to get enough momentum to coast out of the way of
>traffic before the engine died completely.
>
>After I stopped, I tried to start the car, but the engine wouldn't even
>turn over a little bit.  The lights dimmed when I turned the key, but
>nothing else happened.  I turned everything off, went and used a pay phone
>for a few minutes, came back, and tried starting the car.  It started up
>right away and seemed fine.  I turned on the headlights--which seemed
>dim--and the engine stumbled to a stop again.  Once again, the engine
>wouldn't turn over at all.
>
>I caught a bus home, and about 90 minutes later, got a ride back down to
>the Scirocco.  It started right up when I turned the key.  I let it idle
>for about three minutes, revving the engine now and then--it seemed
>perfectly normal.  I turned on the headlights, which were again dimmer
>looking on the car parked in front of me than I expected.  Within ten or
>fifteen second, the engine died again and refused to turn over when I
>turned the key.
>
>If you've read this far--have any suggestions?  I'm thinking maybe it's
>the ignition switch, but it doesn't seem like a failing ignition switch
>would explain all of the behavior the car is displaying.
>
>
>
> +                                         +
>   Gary Moore, Technical Editor
>   gary.moore@pobox.com, magritte@serv.net
>   http://www.drizzle.com/~magritte/
> +                                         +
>
>
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