Cougar

I think you should try charging it up to see if that helps. I think it will. Having a battery charger on hand is a good thing to have anyways. If the car starts up better after charging it for a least a few hours I think you will be good to go. You could have it tested if you want to.

Good choice on the brand of meter. What did you find the AC voltage to be with the engine running around 2,000 RPM? Just curious.

Conversion charts are easily found using a web search. 1 pint is equal to 16 fluid ozs. and also equal to 473ml. A quart is equal to 2 pints so that equals 946 ml. Since you only have 1 can I suggest you use what you have. It may take a little longer to work but I would think it will still do the job.

To verify the coolant sensor is the trouble you could watch the voltage change while you monitor it with a voltmeter at the connection to the ECU. This very well could be the trouble. Other things to check are the TPS and MAF sensors.

I assume the shop checked the DC voltage while the engine was running at around 2,000 RPM and found no trouble. They may have overlooked checking for excessive AC voltage ripple though. If there is more than .1 volt of AC ripple voltage you need to replace the alternator.

It sounds like the solenoid contacts inside the starter are bad. You can replace the contacts for a cost of around 15 dollars or just replace the starter.

This trouble sounds like a bad power connection somewhere. Since the blower motor is being effected also I would check out the power circuits that feed to the blower motor for a bad connection. There may be signs of overheating at the bad connection if this is the case.

Opps! You're right Gloyale and good catch. I was thinking of EA82 systems.

I doubt that the coil is bad. You stated you think you have a short from the primary side of the coil. Is that to the minus side of the coil or ground? A better check is to see if you have voltage getting to the minus side of the coil with the ignition ON. If that is ok then check to see if you have pulses getting to the minus side of the coil while cranking the engine using a test light probe with the clip lead tied to ground. You most likely will see a steady light indicating that the CAS in the disty is bad or the ignition amp is bad. Since this trouble seems to be intermittent there may be a bad connection in those areas causing the trouble.

Try spraying some starter fluid into the intake the next time the trouble happens. If the trouble is with the fuel system it will start and run briefly. If you get no action from the engine then suspect the ignition system for the trouble.

Even though the voltage is low going to the coil you should still get spark. The voltage should be close to whatever the battery voltage is at the time. If it is lower then it may mean there is a bad connection somewhere but there still should be spark. Make sure fuse 5 is good, the horn should work if it is ok. The other possible troubles are the CAS in the disty and the ignitor module.

The regulator is built into the alternator. I don't know why their information is stating that is isn't built in. The warning lights are part of the exciter circuit of the alternator so they can be tested when the key is turned to ON. Even though the test stated the alternator is ok it has an intermittent problem and it needs to be replaced. The brushes may be going out on it.

Since the voltage isn't changing when the shifter is in neutral it means there is a open connection somewhere to the ECU pin. Like Imdew stated the ECU pin should show zero volts when the switch is closed and making the connection to ground.

Have you verified that the switch is suppling the correct voltage at the pin? If it is then I would have to say that the ECU may have a fault.

I take it that the blower isn't working at any speed. Which may mean the thermo protector in the resistor block may be open. When some of the speeds don't work it is usually due to open resistor coils. Either way the block needs to be replaced. Another possible area of trouble is the blower relay. By using a test light probe to check for power at the blower you can see if the relay is working or not. If you do have power then the relay is ok and the resistor pack is most likely bad. You can also apply power directly to the motor to see if it is bad.

You can do that alright but you defeat the safety feature by doing that. If you have a bad accident some serious things could result. Something to consider at least.

I think these will work for you. You will need to push the wire leads out of the holes on the old ones to replace them but not a bid deal. A box of 10ea. is about 9 dollars. They have a minimum order amount I think. http://www.newark.com/spc-technology/2182/incandescent-lamp/dp/50N8118?Ntt=50n8118

Did you check the fusible links in the box mounted on the coolant reservoir also?

The wire connection is just that, a connection. That means you can connect it any way you want to just as long as the wire connection is good. Which means there is no added resistance to the circuit at the slice point. The circuit is a pretty high resistance circuit anyways so even if the splice added a little resistance somehow it wouldn't make a difference.

I think you are making a wise decision based on what you told us has happened already. May this year be without any break downs.

We have told you several times that the alternator is shot but you don't seem to believe the advice. The shop didn't test for AC voltage appearently. Go ahead and put it back in and see what happens.

Hopefully the bad alternator didn't damage the battery too badly also. If the battery doesn't take a good charge you are going to have to replace it also.

Your alternator is bad, replace it.

Yes, I know. I was responding to your question about what happened. Hopefully the only thing that was damaged was the radio.

I doubt the sensor is the trouble. Try spraying some starter fluid into the intake to see if that will help get it going. If that doesn't work then there may be a problem with a timing belt.