#1 |
Hello all, so I have a strange issue that I haven’t been able to solve and it’s starting to drive me crazy. So my TBird (‘88 TC 5spd mostly stock, has a Ranger roller cam setup) has been down for quite a few years, then October of last year got it running again and I picked back up where I had left off with it. When it died I was preparing to do a 3G alternator upgrade to help its very taxed electrical system.
After reading the tech article write up I got all the things I needed and got at it. Everything seemed to go great, car runs fine and it’s charging at right around 14.4 volts. Drove it a little while and life was great. Well between moving, getting sick and having some other little issues the car sat for a month or so. Well after getting it back out and sorting the little stuff (tuneup/brakes/added a gauge or two/etc) I started to drive it again. Everything it great until I turn on the lights or really any big electrical load and rev it anywhere at or above 3k rpm’s. If RPMs get to 3k plus (free rev or moving) it basically sounds like it has a launch control/anti lag.
Ok figured maybe it was just a bad alternator, had it checked and it passed (multiple times). Put a known good battery in it…no change. Then a friend at work said to just disconnect the alternator and see what it does. Disconnected everything, turned on all the lights and reved the car up and it went all the way to red line without a single issue. I’ve double checked my wiring with the tech article and I don’t see any issues there. When it does act up with the lights on the voltage stays around 14.4 the whole time so it’s not loosing voltage.
I’m just so confused on what I might be fighting. Another random thing before I get asked about codes the check engine light doesn’t come on. I’ve been trying to figure out if there is an issue with the cluster or something along those lines. I remembered reading about a wire that was supposed to be connected on the turbo inlet that was tied in with the CEL and it is connected.
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Cody
After reading the tech article write up I got all the things I needed and got at it. Everything seemed to go great, car runs fine and it’s charging at right around 14.4 volts. Drove it a little while and life was great. Well between moving, getting sick and having some other little issues the car sat for a month or so. Well after getting it back out and sorting the little stuff (tuneup/brakes/added a gauge or two/etc) I started to drive it again. Everything it great until I turn on the lights or really any big electrical load and rev it anywhere at or above 3k rpm’s. If RPMs get to 3k plus (free rev or moving) it basically sounds like it has a launch control/anti lag.
Ok figured maybe it was just a bad alternator, had it checked and it passed (multiple times). Put a known good battery in it…no change. Then a friend at work said to just disconnect the alternator and see what it does. Disconnected everything, turned on all the lights and reved the car up and it went all the way to red line without a single issue. I’ve double checked my wiring with the tech article and I don’t see any issues there. When it does act up with the lights on the voltage stays around 14.4 the whole time so it’s not loosing voltage.
I’m just so confused on what I might be fighting. Another random thing before I get asked about codes the check engine light doesn’t come on. I’ve been trying to figure out if there is an issue with the cluster or something along those lines. I remembered reading about a wire that was supposed to be connected on the turbo inlet that was tied in with the CEL and it is connected.
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Cody