Electrical Really Confused And Would Like A Little Help

[prozak55]

Ok, im new to the forums but thought i would give it a shot. i have an 87 2.3 convertible non turbo. iva had it for a little while now and it has ran with only a few minor problems and i would just like to see if anyone else knew anything about any of them. the first problems is really the main reason that im writing this forum. the car ran ok up until last week when all of a sudden i went to start it in the morning and it was completely dead. once i got home i had a jump and it ran fine. once i shut if off it dies in 10 mins. since then i have tried to tinker with it and haven't gotten any turnouts ive noticed that my car can run for a little over five mins and the alternator gets really hot and will stay that way after my block is cold. im not exactly sure what to do about this or how to address it. my other problems is that when i start my car i have to wait for a few mins then it will start missing(on cyl 4 i believe) it will last for about a min or two then it clears up and it will run fine for as long as i need until i shut it off then it will repeat. anything can help and thanks in advance

 

[KhanTyranitar]

Moving forward without getting your battery tested is pointless, and if you keep trying to run a car with a dead battery, it will overheat and destroy your alternator. Go get the battery tested at your local auto parts store.

 

[prozak55]

ill head down and do that today. a couple of my friends say that it could be my alternator and i was also wondering if i could use the one from my truck (1990 F-150 with the 302) in place of it

 

[Shawneebear93]

I'm don't think the alternator off your F-150 would be much of an upgrade but a popular upgrade is installing a 3G alternator from an SN-95 5.0L.

 

[prozak55]

i could do that but would the truck alternator be alright to install in place of the old one?

 

[KhanTyranitar]

If it fits, sure. But again, even trying that is pointless. If your battery is dead, and you put another alternator on, you will end up with a dead battery and 2 damaged alternators.

You need to make sure you are connecting to a good battery. You might want to consider pulling your old alternator and bringing it to the parts store and having it tested too. If it is bad, hooking it to a new battery will cause the new battery to run dead, and when that happens, the new battery could be damaged.

 

[madspeed]

take it to your loacl Advanced Auto/Autozone/Checkers etc. They will perform a FREE charging systm test that will include the starter, battery, alternator and also tell you if anything is draining the battery.

Did I mention that it's FREE?

 

[stykthyn]

check your wiring. I had one come loose at the solenoid that shorted and caused the alternator to over heat.