With how much I love my pinto, I can really dislike it at times. about 4 days ago I realized that my addition fan (one of those that you plug into the lighter) was still going when I turned off the car. I rigged up the fan so that it is grounded, and then hooked up into the fuse panel. Turns on automatically when the ignition is on, and turns off when ignition is off... So the fan was staying on... It was late, and I didn't feel like trying to figure it out, so I yanked the wire out... The next day... My car wouldn't start... Got a jump start, thought nothing of it, except that I noticed I didn't leave anything on in the car... Car is not holding a charge for long, battery is newer, so its not the battery... diagnosis in progress... Well, if the fan was on, that has to be the issue right, so I checked my fuse panel, and noticed that not everything was on, but some of my non-constants were on constant... *ding* ignition switch has gone bad... Called the parts store, and it would take 2 days to come in... which is today... get in the car this morning to drive kid and wife to school... and car wouldn't start, I forgot to disconnect my battery last night so the battery wouldn't drain... :-( ... got a jump and the car stalled out when I disconnected the cables... messing with the car began, at way to early of an hour... first I thought my starter solenoid blew... nope.... I am assuming now, based on other things that have happened that it is my voltage regulator... :-( ... the alternator gets hot when car is off... and other electrical issues... so I am going to assume that it is my voltage regulator... sucks that the nearest parts store is 10 miles away... so I am now waiting for a ride to the parts store, and hopefully fixing my Pinto...
1977 Ford Pinto - 2.3L
After changing out the voltage regulator, the car will not stay running while battery disconnected... belive the regulator blew my alternator.
Sorry to hear that happening to you. These (and lots of others) old cars are temperamental. They need babying and kind words and pats. Sadly, this is why I won't add stuff like electric fans or newer radios. They just don't like us messing with their neurological (electrical) systems. As for newer batteries, they simply don't last very long anymore. Green Meanie, my green '73 wagon, had a two COUNT 'EM TWO year old Duralast battery that went south last year. What happened to batteries that last 7+ years!? Oh... they sell those in Virginia...right Dwayne? ::)
This is why I am rewiring the car over the winter.
Quote from: blupinto on October 20, 2010, 08:59:30 PM
What happened to batteries that last 7+ years!? Oh... they sell those in Virginia...rig ht Dwayne? ::)
Not anymore apparently! I put a new battery in my Lincoln Mark VIII in July which is dead now :( . On the other hand, the battery I put in my F-150 pickup in March of 1998 is still kicking, even after nearly thirteen years! Sounds a little puny sometimes (especially in Winter) but has never needed a jumpstart. Go figure! ::)
Dwayne :smile:
A good rule of thumb. When an externally voltage regulated alternator based car has issues with either the regulator or the alternator itself, the regulator is usually taken out when the alternator goes bad, or vice versa. I found that out the hard way and ran my car with a faulty regulator for a month and it ended up taking out a few cells in my battery to.
I run a Sears Diehard in my 78 and it was under warranty at the time. It's rated to last five years. I'm on the fifth year of it right now and still going strong. We'll see how long it lasts! <knock on wood>
I had a bad regulator that kept draining my battery overnight once, After it was replaced the battery and alternator were fine guess I was lucky, It took a while before I got the idea to test the regulator though (disconect) noone ever told me one could drain the battery I guessed it after trying everything else. It was an old mechanical one with relays inside.
Now on a side note,Im pretty sure my 78 wagon has the oroginal starter and alternator. The car was only 8 years old when I bought it and I havent ever had them changed. The alternator was squealing real bad one time and my brother in law said I needed a new one,guess it was 14 or 15 years ago.I sprayed a little wd 40 in around the shaft he yelled at me for it,but I said well if I need a new one anyway why not try it. Here 14 or 15 years later its still doing the job.