intermitant no start

[bolsterboy]

i was on my way home from class today, car seemed to be running fine, and wasnt missfireing, i go and visit where i work buy something, come out, the battery light comes on, car started fine though, so i got home and try and start the car again and it seems like the battery is drained, but i just went and started it after about 30 mins of the car sitting, and i checked under the hood and one of my spark plug wires is unplugged, i just put antifreeze in my car the other day and every thing was fine and no one has had access to my car, and the revs dont bounce around when i try and start it

 

[bolsterboy]

so i lied, the revs are bouncing a bit, man im screwed :cry:

 

[Huntervf]

Battery light could be the result of a failing alternator or a bad/corroded connection at the alternator. You should see a couple wires that attach to your alternator, they're probably under a little rubber cover. Take them off and clean that connection in there...I used an exacto knife and some degreaser (sprayed carefully on the connection) to scrape the gunk off of a 93 I worked on that was having the same problem. The fact that your battery light was on and then the battery seemed drained tells me that the alternator wasn't charging the battery like it should. Basically all that time your battery light was on you were driving on battery power alone. Like I said, either that connection is a little corroded or your alternator is bad, and most auto parts stores can test an alternator on the car.

As for your spark plug wire popping off, that happened to me for a bit on my 89. I was suspicious that a heli-coil was the culprit as the wire that kept popping off was on a spark plug that had required a heli-coil in the head. I also had a bad wire on tha plug as well, but even with new wires on the car that one wire would work itself up a bit. The electrical system on a SHO is weird...I don't know exactly how it works but as I understand it some of the charge actually goes through the engine block, hence why I thought the heli-coil was causing some problems. But I suppose the wire issue on your car could be related to your alternator woes. I'd check that connection on the alternator first (it's free), make sure your spark plug wire is reattached and then see if you still have a battery light. If you do, then a new alternator is likely in order; replace it and go from there.

 

[bolsterboy]

its running now, i cleaned the alt, the battery light is still on, and its idleing REALLY hard

 

[bolsterboy]

so first on the chopping block for things to replace for matinace drum roll please...
alternator
its done, i jumped the car went to the gas station and back, and turned the car off, and tryed to turn it back on, and i got nothing

 

[SWM]

I just repaired almost the same problem. Your battery wires are probably the culprit, replace them (inc. the starter to alt wire) and you have eliminated most possibilities. I replaced the alt. also but could of gone without. 94ATX

 

[bolsterboy]

thanks for all the help so far from every one, to keep the story going how much should i expect to pay for a reman alt , and would it just be a waste of time to get one from the junk yard, and finaly would a friend of mine and i be able to get the job done in a day with me being an idiot, and him being usefull, thanks again

 

[SWM]

Replacing the alt. is one of the easier repairs to these monsters. On a 90 3.0 it's a straight forward job, loosen the tension, remove the belt and connections and pull it out. The current Chilton manual has a good description of this. Remanufactured alts. are very good these days and I would stay away from the junkyard for this. Check Rockauto.com or Advance auto for a price, a new one from Ford will run almost $300. I would still take a good look at those battery cables, get under there and look at the starter connections and clean them up. I was getting an oil shorting problem at the starter from an oil leak, road grime and old cables. Cables aren't to hard to make, find an auto parts store with a crimping machine and you can make your own. Good luck! 94 ATX