Mike,
Check these sites out for charging system theory and troubleshooting
techniques.
http://www.tpub.com/basae/index.htm http://www.tpub.com/basae/33.htm
At the very least you should have a meter to measure voltages (preferably
digital) and a charger for the battery.
With the car running you should see between 13.5 and 14.5 volts across
the battery terminals.
Given the symptoms and recent history it sounds like the battery needs a
good charging session or it's time for a new one.
Good luck,
Jay
On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 22:09:31 EST SamuelsMA@aol.com writes:
> Listers:
>
> I recently started up the '70 PI after a couple of idle weeks. The
> car
> barely cranked, as if the battery was dead. I wasn't overly
> surpised, since
> I had completed recently 2 lengthy sessions of fuel injector testing
> which
> required repeatedly starting the car for a few seconds each.
>
> I jump started the car and it started right up (on all 6 cylinders,
> by the
> way!). While driving, the voltmeter (?) showed charge when the revs
> were up
> and discharge when idling. I only had a chance to drive 2 or 3
> miles, and
> had to park it. It wouldn't crank again today.
>
> My question is this: Does my description indicate only a discharged
> battery,
> or a bad alternator? In other words, does the position of the
> voltmeter on
> the "charge" side of the scale while revving indicate proper
> alternator
> function? In that case, I will just take the car out for a long
> drive and
> everything should be fine. If not, how do I check the alternator?
>
> I would have trickle-charged the battery, but my charger is
> malfunctioning
> and needs to be returned to the company for exchange. I can easily
> replace
> the battery if need be, but I am curious if I have supplied enough
> information to know that the alternator is all right.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Michael Samuels
> Miami Beach, FL
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