DaveAP Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Looking at buying an '84 brat with auto tranny. I owned this brat a couple of years ago, now my son needs a cheap drive about. It has sat for a few months, p.o. said it needed an alternator . He installed one today, we threw in a battery. Heres where the trouble shooting comes in. It won't idle so you have to keep feathering the gas. I suspect fuel filters first. We will do that tomorrow. Here's the weird part. With the key on, when you hit the accelerator, the trouble lights come on, and off, relative to hitting the petal (without the engine running) I don't remember it doing that. Is it tied somehow to being an automatic? It seems to have trouble getting gas, so we will do the filters, but I seem to remember that the brats fuel pump is tied into the alternator. If it has a hard time runnning would the alternator not be jucing the fuel pump enough? Thanks, any suggestions or questions would be appreciated. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Having the lights flash like that is wierd. This is a first for me at least. The trouble may be due to a bad ground in the engine area. It may also be due to something in the wiring causing a short to the linkage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 is the alternator on this model internally regulated? If not, then you may have a bad voltage regulator. The replacement alt may be suspect as well. Just some different thoughts on the matter, I am no BRAT expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Filters are unlikely to correct an idle problem. The only electrical component affected by throttle position on a stopped engine is the transmission kick-down solenoid.Perhaps it is semi shorted.Try unplugging it. Fuel pump isn`t tied to the alternator on an 84. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAP Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 Filters are unlikely to correct an idle problem. The only electrical component affected by throttle position on a stopped engine is the transmission kick-down solenoid.Perhaps it is semi shorted.Try unplugging it. Fuel pump isn`t tied to the alternator on an 84. Will try the kick down switch. If replacing the filters doesn't help (can't hurt) we are going to switch pumps with my '87 brat. Trouble shooting varied symtoms is tough. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Having the lights flash like that is wierd. This is a first for me at least. The trouble may be due to a bad ground in the engine area. It may also be due to something in the wiring causing a short to the linkage. I'm with Cougar on this one, Check the linkage to see if any wires are touching it or could touch it, when the gas pedal is pressed... Then check/re-ground your engine bay. I'm thinking rust could be a factor too! That's a weird one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Does the brat have a/c? And does it only light up the lights when the pedal is fully depressed? If so, check for a short on the switch at the gas pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAP Posted June 21, 2007 Author Share Posted June 21, 2007 Does the brat have a/c? And does it only light up the lights when the pedal is fully depressed? If so, check for a short on the switch at the gas pedal. Brat does have a/c And yes it lites up when pedal is depressed. I guess first order is to get the engine to idle on it's own. Then proceed to the weird dash light situation. Thanks for the thoughts, I'll post as I figure out more. Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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