A couple of weeks ago I started up my car. It's been in storage for only a month or two. It started right up as it always does. How ever when I turned on the parking lights only the engine stumbled. When I turned the lights off it went back to normal. When I turned on the head lights, the car immediately turned off. With the car off, the lights did not flip up, though I could hear them try.

I then hand loosened the head light motors & the car ran with no issues.

Today when I tried to star it, it barely attempted to start, sounded like a dying battery. Even the fuel pump sounded slow. The car idled lower than normal & sounds like absolute garbage.

I'm hoping that my issue is that it simply needs a new battery. However the led indicator never lights up to agree with me. I'm really hoping that I don't have mice eating up my wires. Any suggestions on what to check first?

check the alternator.

Clean the connection points for the batterry ground and see if that helps.

I'd do as he said check the ground cable at the battery and the engine.

Charge the battery

If the battery had enough juice to start the car, then shut down when the lights were on, the alt is not charging. cables to the battery wouldn't make a difference once the car was running.

Year and Engine?
Or does car have CS alt conversion?

Low battery can often start the car but too low battery then CS alt would turn on. This is safety item to save the CS alt from death. SI alts would try to change a low/dead battery. That damages the alt and can cause battery and/or wiring to fry off.

See my Cave, CS Alternator

"However the led indicator never lights up to agree with me. "
What LED?
Battery light is 194 Lamp and resistance of bulb is use to turn on most SI and some CS.

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(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

If the indicator bulb is burned out the alt won't charge. Little catch 22 there, the bulb won't come on to tell you it's not charging, and it's not charging because the bulb is burned out. Does the light come on when you turn the ign without the car running? If not replace the bulb, charge the battery and try again.

Digging this back up, as I just went & visited the car in storage. I was hoping to find the battery stone dead & add further reason to believe that the car ran the way it did because of the battery. However, this was not the case. The car fired right up & had the same symptoms, poor idle, & after 10 minutes of idle the engine bogged down when I turned on the lights.

Another strange anomaly was that the EGR (cap?) in the bottom of this photo, was loose. All 3 bolts (screws?) are missing & it spins around & around by hand.



The image is not of my car, as my phone died while taking the photo :/

First disconnect the battery

Then make sure the two nuts on the power distribution post are tight. The power distribution posts are located directly below C500, the large wire connector right next to the battery (assuming 85-88). Yes the two nuts are different sized (and SAE not Metric)



If 84, then check to make sure where the positive battery cable connects to the starter is tight. These nuts are hot electrically with the battery attached so DO NOT do this with the battery still connected. Then take a wire brush and clean the surfaces of both terminals of the battery and the surface of the battery cable that connects to the battery.

Reassemble and most likely your problems will be solved.

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Under the EGR cap is a diaphragm. If the cap rotates most likely the diaphragm is crap. Test this by disconnecting the EGR vacuum line. Then reach under and with most EGR valves there are holes and you can push the EGR diaphragm up towards the cap. Then cover the vacuum port and release the diaphragm. It should hold until you release your finger off of the vacuum port. If the diaphragm returns and doesn't hold the vacuum it is bad.



The EGR valve will get HOT on the bottom with the engine running.

If it's good replace the screws. If it is bad of course replace the valve. Check the valve with it still on the engine. Do the vacuum test first with the engine cold. If you do have to replace the EGR valve get the gasket that also goes under the EGR valve block since you will also disturb it.

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 02-22-2015).]

quote Originally posted by phonedawgz: Reassemble and most likely your problems will be solved.

Nice! Just as you suggested!

As for the EGR, when I pulled the old one off I noticed that the pin was almost gone :



As compared to the new one.





These are the bolts that went missing, & allowed the EGR to spin around.



The new EGR doesn't have any of that.



& someone hit the ramp by the train stop.



With the EGR replaced, it fired right up & ran just like it used to.