Electrical Help...car won't start.

[SNAKEYES86GT]

Guys, this doesn't seem all that serious, I'm pretty sure it's the alternator, but all of you know more than me so why not access that knowledge. My car had trouble starting; classic electrical characteristics...lights dimming, declining cranking power. I put a new battery in becuase the existing one was old. Now, two days later the new one is dead. Same problems. Is there anything else I should check out other than the alternator? And what is the stock size?

 

[PRO50SC]

make sure there is no draw on the system. Stock alt is 65 amp I believe

 

[HISSIN50]

Me thinks Bernie is right about the alt for your 86.

You can take the car to a parts store to have them test the charging system. Or grab your meter and take a look. If uncomfy using a meter, see Jrichker's posts about using one (for ancillary info). At least if you can tell us if you have more voltage at the battery with the car on than off, that would help (note that a bad battery can cause such a test to be invalid, and I have gotten bad batteries right off the shelf).

The repair manual has some info on running down voltage tests if you feel so inclined (the pictures are useful).

Good luck.