So the 79 Sprint Veloce came out of winter storage today, it had been run and driven occasionally during the winter with no problemos. Today it started right up, as always, the alternator light glowed brightly until the engine was revved, went out, but not completely. All the way down the road it glowed slightly. Its done this before occasionally, but this seemed just a bit brighter and all the accessories were on the AC and fan, the radio the headlights etc on a 2 hour plus run.
The engine stuttered a couple times at speed towards the end of the run, I knew something was amiss, the turn signals were blinking slowly, they sped up when I started turning things off, like the headlights, left them off for the last 10 miles. Once in the driveway the car would not restart. Typical SPICA hot start problem, lots o' cranking but this time, the battery was down so it cranked but did not catch. The battery went further down after a couple of tries, the low fuel pressure light lit. I hooked up the charger and let the car cool for an hour. Started right up - but of course, the alternator light is still glowing slightly.
So, i wonder what's going on? Any ideas?
Here's the obvious check list:
Alternator new - replaced less than 3 years old
No visible loose connections on alternator
Alternator belt new and tight - turning at speed, but I'm gonna check that again
Test running in garage today, turned fan, headlights etc on, did not affect level of glow from the alternator light
Battery new - less than 2 years old, electrolyte full, terminals clean and tight
All accessible grounds, cleaned and tightened a year ago
And, its a super clean garage-kept car less that 53,000 original miles.
Thanks in advance,
8oclock
The engine stuttered a couple times at speed towards the end of the run, I knew something was amiss, the turn signals were blinking slowly, they sped up when I started turning things off, like the headlights, left them off for the last 10 miles. Once in the driveway the car would not restart. Typical SPICA hot start problem, lots o' cranking but this time, the battery was down so it cranked but did not catch. The battery went further down after a couple of tries, the low fuel pressure light lit. I hooked up the charger and let the car cool for an hour. Started right up - but of course, the alternator light is still glowing slightly.
So, i wonder what's going on? Any ideas?
Here's the obvious check list:
Alternator new - replaced less than 3 years old
No visible loose connections on alternator
Alternator belt new and tight - turning at speed, but I'm gonna check that again
Test running in garage today, turned fan, headlights etc on, did not affect level of glow from the alternator light
Battery new - less than 2 years old, electrolyte full, terminals clean and tight
All accessible grounds, cleaned and tightened a year ago
And, its a super clean garage-kept car less that 53,000 original miles.
Thanks in advance,
8oclock