electrical problem

Hello to all, it's been awhile.

While driving today I noticed my "after market" radio/CD player started sounding like crap and sound bouncing from speaker to speaker. I thought it might be the OEM EQ messing up. (Let me give you some background on this setup. When I had the radio/CD installed it was done at Best Buy. I told them I wanted to use the OEM EQ and speakers. They said to hook it up properly they had to install a momentary ground switch to turn the radio on after the units power switch was turned on. This setup has worked fine since Christmas and has never been a problem,and, it may not be the cause of the problem I'm having now.) Back to driving. After going a little further I noticed that when I stepped on the breaks, the radio/CD would crap out. A little further and I notice my temperature, oil pressure and fuel gauges all reading low and I start losing power.

When I got to my destination I popped the hood to see if anything would jump out at me. Nothing looked wrong. I let the car sit for about 6 hours and the battery died. I get a jump and the car starts and idles but I can't step on the gas because it starts to bogg down and die whenever I do it. Also, some strange things like very dim or no dash lites, fan on AC/heater (AC not working) was running and I couldn't turn it off.

I searched and only found one thing that might indicate alternator. I don't have a lot of time to put into this and I'm not electrical savvy. Can anyone give me some input if I'm on the right track or give me an idea as to what might be the best place to bring it. Anyone in the Knoxville, TN area know any shops by name that could tackle this.

MJ

I don't remember if the '86 has the stupid plug output on the alternator but if it does that's probably what's bad. Look at the alternator and see if it has 1 plug in or 2. It it has 2 (and 1 of them has 2 rather large wires) that's your problem. My best recommendation is to get a 3g 130 amp from a junkyard and upgrade. There are instructions on here in several places.

steve

Michael, we now have an electrical forum. Anyway, many places can test alternators and batteries. Autozones and NAPAs can. Hop on the phone and make a some calls.

Thanks guys. I did see the electrical forum and tried a search but could not find anything, then checked the General Discussion forum and posted on it. I will remember that, Pete, thanks.

I was hoping it would be something simple like an alternator. I'm not ready to start any upgrades as I have to have the car up and running ASAP. It's my daily driver. Is it possible that if the plug that you described is there, that would be the problem or would it be tha alternator as well?

I forgot to mention that the ammeter(?) gauge did not register anything wrong, still showed it was charging just fine. Is this an indication of anything?

If you could let me know something soon it would be greatly appreciated. The car is about 60 miles from my house and hopefully AAA should cover the tow but I need to know if I will need to take it somewhere or DIY.

Thanks again guys!

MJ

Sounds like the classic bad ground problem to me.

That's my dilemma. Where could that be (a rhetorical question)? LOL!!

I'm tight on time to DIY and if I have to start digging around for a bad ground I might be biting off more than I can chew. Does this sound like more than just an alternator fix?

Thanks.

MJ

Moved to electrical forum

Well guys, I have determined that it's more than I want tackle right now and I just need some recommendations as to how I should approach an "expert".

What I have found is that part of my wiring harness has burned for reasons I am not able to determine. The wires directly off the alternator have burned about 6" behind the alternator. The wires in the vicinity of the PIP and the large convergence of the harness near the PIP have also burned along with some kind of connector which is half melted. I will take a crack at uploading some photos I shot tonite when I get into work in the morning.

If I feel comfortable with someone that I take the car to, I want to be able talk like I know something. Does anyone think this is a problem that would require complete harness replacement or could new wires be spliced in? Also, could the alternator have caused this or could it be my radio/CD installation?

Much thanks is advance.

MJ

P.S.

I am also considering filing a claim with my insurance. Are there any opinions out there on that issue?

Thanks.

MJ

A comprehensive insurance claim may be more trouble than it's worth, depends on your company.

It sounds like something drew too much current, without seeing it or some good pictures it's hard to diagnose any closer than that. Don't know if the 86 has the "plug style" alternator output or the single poststyle, but I can tell you the plug type is notorious for heating up, melting down, and even bursting into flame. If that's what you have, get rid of it pronto!

Sounds like you'll have to do a little rewiring. Right offhand I'm not sure what plug you're refering to - like I said above, some good pictures will really help.