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Electrical Glitch


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I was out driving Uno today and it began to act up on me.  At random times the tach would momentarily drop down as if the engine was going to die. I had seen this very very rarely before the build, so I am confident the build has nothing to do with it. And if it had stayed a rare problem I would have ignored it.  :lol:

 

But today after about 10 minutes of driving, suddenly the engine quit, no power steering nothing. I was thinking the crank bolt came off because that happened to me in 2006 and the symptoms are similar.   So I pulled over and checked and the crank bolt was secure. I do need to properly torque it though or it will come off.

 

I felt the alternator housing and it was super hot I burned my hand. Not sure how hot that should be but it seemed like it was overheating. I let it cool and after 10 minutes, started it up and drove quickly home. I let it cool for three hours a home and  then came out and started the engine.

 

I put my hand on the side of the alternator and within 20 seconds I could feel it getting too hot to touch. Is this normal? I started Ash and his alternator didn't do that. It stayed cool to the touch even after 5 minutes of running.

 

New cap, rotor, spanky new Subaru wire set (all as of today. Everything else original.

 

I am thinking it could also be the coil shorted out too. Has anyone else seen this tach jumping behavior before? Seems to only do it after it gets warmed up.

Edited by MR_Loyale
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only jumpy tach and random engine dying ive had was from my Crank Angle sensor going out.. that was on my EA82T, but im guessing yours is carbed or SPFI so i dont think it would have one

 

Mine is spfi and the CAS is in the distributor. It is an optical pickup so not much to go wrong there.

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OK. I switched in the alternator from my other Loyale and it still did it. The alternator was just purchased 5 days ago from Autozone so it is going back to them. But I do think that alternator was a part of the problem. I also have replaced the coil with a new one and the issue seems to happen still but not as intensely. Could this be a vacuum leak that only shows when it is hot?

Edited by MR_Loyale
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Check the condition of the main cahrge wire, the Fusible link.

 

Also check the connector for the Ignition switch under the dash.  Seen them get loose and make the gauges jump around, and cause charging issues.....and occasionally make the enigne stop.

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Check the condition of the main cahrge wire, the Fusible link.

 

Also check the connector for the Ignition switch under the dash.  Seen them get loose and make the gauges jump around, and cause charging issues.....and occasionally make the enigne stop.

 

I will do that. Thanks.

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Well I took the overheating alternator back to Autozone and the girl at the counter brought out another reconditioned "new" one. Then a male employee came over and tried to talk me out of it being bad claiming that the bearings would be making noise and such. It was triple checked at the factory he said. Yeah, I guess in Malaysia they may have thought Triple Sec not triple check cause this one I KNEW was bad damnit.  I told him to put it on his tester and I followed him there and all three of us, the female and male employee and myself watched as the girl loaded the alternator on the tester. It spun up and reported it was BAD on the screen. Voltage too high. Now I could have been a pain and claimed it damaged components being bad but I didn't know that for sure.

 

I asked them to put the new one on the tester to so I didn't waste my time. It checked out OK.

I grabbed the swapped one and asked the girl to put her battery tester on my battery to test it out. Honestly I was prepare to buy a new battery, I wanted to buy one. She tested it and declared it good so I hopped in Uno and drove back home.  I installed the alternator and it did not get hot. But the issue was still there just not as intense. So I thought of vacuum leaks.

 

I sprayed around with carb cleaner and on one of the throttle body gaskets, I got an idle change. So I tightened down the screws and the problem got better but not completely gone. So Next I poured a bit of Berrymans cleaner in the IAC and let it sit for a few minutes. Started the car and it seemed even better but still had the issue.

 

The last thing I did was replace the fuel filter because I had a bunch when Rock Auto had a sale. They won't age like wine, so I put it in. Then I took a 50 mile drive and it all seemed much better. No hints of idle stalling at stops etc.

 

To summarize:

 

This was a multi-cause issue. No single thing fixed it.

 

- Bad reman alternator.

- Intake gasket leak

- Fuel filter

 

Hope his helps any one else experiencing this issue.

Edited by MR_Loyale
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i always check voltage outputs of reman alternators. last 4 80's cars ive replaced one on overcharged afterwards ('80 dl hatch, 83 datsun 510, 88 gl, 87 280zx) and my shop uses good parts (denso/bosch depending on application, typically denso). its very common for remanufacturers to replace bearings and brushes and test windings, then clean the case and ship it with bad regulators.

another common failure of these alternators is the diode bridge failing, and the car receiving AC current, a DVOM can confirm these issues, you want no more than .1 VAC.

 

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