Rick,
Assuming you have an original "generator" I would check that out. Symptoms
sound much the same as I experienced a year ago when the generator failed.
I borrowed a generator from "Smitty" while mine was being repaired and it
confirmed the diagnosis even before I got mine in for a rebuild.
To double check before removing the supposed problem, once you get the beast
started, take our ye old trusty Fluke meter and measure the voltage
(obviously, while the car is running,) across the battery terminals. If you
see less than 14 volts, you can suspect the darn generator. Could be the
voltage regulator as well, but in my experience, the Ford voltage regulators
are pretty darn bullet proof.
Let us know what you find out.
Regards,
AC
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-tigers@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-tigers@autox.team.net]On
Behalf Of flynnr2@btopenworld.com
Sent: Monday, May 13, 2002 11:25 AM
To: tigers@autox.team.net
Subject: Battery No Charging - Am I On The Right Track?
Background:
- Tiger garaged in damp, English weather
- 6 month old Optima Orange Top Battery
- Tiger started every 2-4 weeks
- Until now, has always started first try
Situation:
- Started car after 3 weeks of sitting, first try
- Drove 20 mintues with lights on
- Noticed turn signals took a few seconds to start blinking each time I
used them
- Parked, turned all electrics off
- Returned after 30 minutes
- Started Tiger; it turned over with much less vigo(u)r than normal
- Drove 20 minutes with lights on
- Stopped Tiger to open garage door
- Tiger would no longer start; the engine would barely turn over
- Battery showed about 11.45V at this point
Plan:
- Charge & test battery (currently underway)
- Start at the battery & work forward with Ye Olde Trusty Fluke meter,
to figure out where the problem lies
Questions:
- Given the poor performance of the turn signals and the batter not
charging, I'm guessing bad ground connections?
- Or could the turn signal problem be misleading?
- Any additional troubleshooting hints beyond those in the Tiger Manual
(conveniently available at http://www.tigersunited.com)?
Thanks in advance,
rick
B9471206 : http://www.tigersunited.com/gallery/RichardFlynn.asp
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