More alternator & hard starting fun!

Alright... I finally got the time to go to the JY to pick up a 3G. My alternator tested bad about a week ago and the car has been sitting. It was very hard to start the car, kind of like either the engine didn't want to turn over, or the battery was drained. ... long story longer... [Image: biggrin.gif]

The only alternator I could find in the JY that even remotely looked like a 3G was one from a '97ish Thunderbird. The weird part is it had a 5.0 HO in it? I figured if it had the 5.0 then it would probably be a 3G... maybe I was wrong. I did the swap and it turned out great. The cool part is that I didn't have to do any grinding (though I did waste money on buying a grinder beforehand... *hits head*).

The bracket holes didn't match up, but the bottom one fit fine. I bolted it in and used a piece of a metal ruler to make a top support bracket and it worked excellent. I just slid the ruler in between the alternator and the mounting bracket, drilled holes and installed bolts [Image: biggrin.gif] The alternator stays in place very firmly (the whole engine will move instead of the alternator).

The battery measures 14.63 @ cold idle and like 14.32 @ hot idle. 13.xx when the motor is off and it doesn't drain. I did forget to turn on my electrical accessories while the motor was on however, I plan on trying this in an hour or so. The speedometer still jumps at idle with the blinker on, but not as bad as before. It will jump up once or twice and then settle at 0 MPH. The blinkers seem to blink faster and the lights seem to be brighter, and the idle seems to hold a lot more steady than before.

Now for the problem: it didn't fix the hard start problem. At the store, the old alternator tested as putting out only 5v with load on it. I think I'm going to try a new starter solenoid and battery cables today, and if that doesn't work then a new starter. How does that sound to you guys?

Oh, and thank the GF for the ruler idea [Image: wink.gif] [Image: biggrin.gif] [Image: biggrin.gif] [Image: biggrin.gif]

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Ryan Harris

88 TC, 5 spd, B&M Ripper Shifter, SPEC Stage 3, Walbro 190 LPH, Kirban, K&N, 3.73 rear, KS disconnected, BCS bypassed

Not remembering everything you've been through on this, but did you clean the battery cable connections, including the ground to block and block to chassis ground wire? A little corrosion goes a long way in hard starting.

steve

what he said^^^^BTDT....wasted good $$$ on a starter. clean every related connection.

moller


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1987 5.0 sport coupe-msd ignition blaster coil, 1 7/8 heddmen headers, K&N cold air intake, new AOD, custom shifter, and PONY wheels.
1987 tc, goldie, mods: mandrel bent downpipe to cat with turn down, gillis valve, 155 lph pump, kirban afpr, 100 psi fuel guage, handmade pvc cold air intake, optima. 15.457 @89.22(special thanks to turbocoupeturbo)(firedoctor)
1988 mazda truck, 431000 mi.
Buisness partner in Aerobird Motorsports.
WATCH OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES!!!

New ground strap and starter cables. BTDT

Pete, what do you mean by ground strap? The one that goes from the bell housing to the firewall? If so, I've already added two engine to chassis grounds. I will add another battery to engine and battery to chassis ground and see if it clears up any, if at all.

I replaced the solenoid today, no go. Had the alternator, battery, and charging system tested at Advance Auto and it all checked out good. I'm going to replace all of the battery/starter cables tomorrow and go from there. Thanks again guys [Image: smile.gif]

Ryan, sorry, I should have been more precise. I meant negative battery cable.

I replaced the cables. I used a 4 gauge battery cables and cleaned the contacts really really good with sand paper & electrical contact cleaner. Used lots of dielectric grease after cleaning. The starter cable is a 51" 2 gauge.

The problem is still there but it *is* better. The black battery cable I used didn't have the chassis ground that the Ford cable had (the bolt that bolts to the fender). I'm going to add a chassis ground to the negative terminal and see what happens.

I added two 10 gauge battery grounds. One to the starter solenoid/chassis and one to the driver side headlight ground. The car didn't start any easier, but I noticed that the radio sounds cleaner and that the tachometer doesn't jump at idle anymore when I have the blinkers on. The 3G alternator fixed that for the most part, but the needle would still "blip" slightly until now. The throttle seems to be a touch more responsive also... But the bad part is that I guess a new starter is in order

Just an update since I was about to post a link to this topic in another thread.

I ended up trying a new solenoid which did not fix the problem. I then got a new starter, which DID fix the problem.

So.. you used a altenator from a '97 Tbird with a 5.0 and didn't have to grind the mounting bracket?