At 10:55 PM 11/17/96 -0500, you wrote:
>Dammit I think I have the same thing - I just finished seven weeks of
>reuphoulstering the interior of my 72B - (and bloody fine it looks too!) -
>after i replaced the ($700) seats I was ready for a spin - and knowing the
>battery was flat from 7 weeks of open doors i jumped it - started and ran
>fine, went for a spin to charge it and the following day it was dead - red
>light out all the time..... - jumped again, drove 55 miles - dead
>
>Now the battery is only six months old and the alternator "seems" ok -
>
Hi Mike,
Please pardon me if the following makes no sense, I've been up all night and
am just winding down.
It would seem to me that if you jump the car and it runs fine till you shut
it down and then won't start that your alternator is probably fine and your
battery is hooped. When the car is running the alternator supplies all the
current necessary for your ignition, lights and accessories as well as
charging up the battery as required.
If the car will not crank over on it's own then the voltage at the starter
is insufficient. Either you've got a wiring fault between the battery and
the starter or your battery is not up to the task. If your alternator is
not doing it's thing but you can get the car running via a jump start the
car will only stay running as long as the battery has sufficient oomph to
provide ignition. Once the battery is exhausted the car will die.
Naturally increased load like lights, fans and radios will speed this
process. On the other hand if the alternator is fine but the battery is shot
you can run forever but not restart. This scenario is a perfect example of
why an ammeter is so much better than an idiot light.
Just my 2 cents worth but maybe have the capacity of your battery checked by
a good auto-electric shop.
___ \______ Ross MacPherson
/ __ \ __ / /------|) arm@unix.infoserve.net
/ (___)---------/ (___) Vancouver, BC, Canada
1947 MG-TC 3528 1966 MGB-GT
|