SilverSilver 1 Report post Posted July 21, 2015 1969 Mustang coupe 302engine c4 trans ac/ps Was finally able to get my car street legal, after much work on it today i buttoned her up decently to hit the streets. Tried turning her on and just heard the starter click(multiple clicks) Dead battery(brand new battery, interstate. Also the car sat for around two-three weeks before this because i can only work on it when i build some money), Didn't think much of it since i started it atleast 20 times and didnt drive the car so the alt must have not charged it enough. Got a jump and drove the car around. Was nice till i got back from my test drive and put the car in park, did some running around for some last min things then got in and put the car in D. Car died before i even took my foot off the brake(never happened before). Tried starting it and no click, nada. got another jump, drove it around. parked it, same thing. Also when driving i noticed that sometimes my blinkers wouldnt blink and some gauges seemed to have stop'd working(fuel, oil press). The thing with the car dying from p to D seems not to happen RIGHT after i get a jump, as in i get the jump and i can shift fine but after i drive around for awhile and put it into park then drive, it dies(did it 3-4times, including once while on the freeway trying to get home, had to jump one last time and drive back to where it was stored) I know my alternator needs to be replaced because it's not charging the battery(want a 100amp anyways) and im sure i have bad grounds somewhere. I theorize that the car dies because i do not have enough juice to fire off the spark plugs or something of the sort. What do you guys make of it? Where are the ground locations so i can sand them all? What do you guys think about the dying when put into D? Pretty sure my alt is fried and i have bad grounds but im kinda worried about the dying when put in D, i've never had that happen before and iv driven it short distances and shifted it many times in the drive way(to move the car in and out the garage) I put a volt meter to the battery with the car running and the battery level never seemed to rise. I literally only have around 150$ left for repairs and im only 17 so getting any more would be pretty hard at this point and take time so i'd like to solve this in one go. Other than that, the car drives fine when i get a jump, i can shift it no problem after get a jump, pulls nice and hard when driving but the dying problem starts after i finish driving(when the "jump" effect wears out i guess) put it in park(while on) and then go do something while it idles in park and come back, shift to Drive and it stalls(again, without even removing my foot off the brake) I'm begging at this point, its my pride and joy here and it pains me to see her like this please help Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Conway 264 Report post Posted July 21, 2015 Well the quick/temp fix is adjust the idle rpm up. The real fix is get an ohm meter and start checking the battery at idle, car running, and at rest, not running. Follow the Neg. cable from the battery to the block. That's your primary ground. Should be another at the firewall to rear of right head. The alternator grounds to the fender wall. That will get you started and maybe a 302/auto driver will jump in with some more stuff ? Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverSilver 1 Report post Posted July 21, 2015 Well the quick/temp fix is adjust the idle rpm up. The real fix is get an ohm meter and start checking the battery at idle, car running, and at rest, not running. Follow the Neg. cable from the battery to the block. That's your primary ground. Should be another at the firewall to rear of right head. The alternator grounds to the fender wall. That will get you started and maybe a 302/auto driver will jump in with some more stuff ? Brian I idle at around 900-800 RPM and around 550 at drive(like the shop manual said). Rebuilt the carb and borrwed a vac gauge and turned the mixture screws till i had no more change in vaccum no matter how manytimes i turned. around 3 1/2ths turns out each screw. The car is at 12.47 V not turned on(but the battery was around 12.79 when new) 12.13 when running and only around 12.20 when being rev'd.Can't check the exact numbers because im miles away from the car till next week(thus why i tried to move it) The Neg cable from the battery runs to the alternator bracket and seems to be acting like some sort of shim (bad picture ahead) found better I dont remember seeing that block to firewall ground,maybe it's there but i havent checked for it. Guess thats another thing to check for. Using the neg cable as a shim seems like a bad idea, i should remove it when i change alternators and ground it somewhere on the block? edit: i also need to replace the neg battery terminal since i could slide the wire out of the terminal with a bit of force. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverSilver 1 Report post Posted July 21, 2015 Battery isnt a slouch either like i said before. Its an interstate 24f 700 cold crank amp new with less than 5 months on it. My problems are most likely ground related as of right now but im still changing out the alt for more power. Anybody know about the park to drive problem though? Thats the worrying one Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midlife 814 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Battery should read anywhere from 13.5 to 14.6V when the engine is running. Based upon what you described, either the alternator is bad or your wiring is not correctly hooked up for charging the battery. All of your symptoms are compatible with running solely off of a battery that is not being charged. 1 SilverSilver reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Conway 264 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Ditto what Midlife said. If your battery is reading in the low 12's running or rev'ing your draining and not charging. Easy fix. Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69RavenConv 286 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Battery should read anywhere from 13.5 to 14.6V when the engine is running. Based upon what you described, either the alternator is bad or your wiring is not correctly hooked up for charging the battery. All of your symptoms are compatible with running solely off of a battery that is not being charged. +1 ... Charging problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverSilver 1 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Great, New alt and sanding down every ground+making sure i have the correct amount of grounds is in order. Now i'm just waiting for someone to pitch in with the stalling in drive from park. Thanks for the help so far! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Welcome to the site Silver! As you just found out, plenty of friendly knowledgeable folks here. You're 17 and own a Mustang? Atta boy! Hell, I wish I had $150 to put into my car now :) How about some pics and history on your Mustang, please. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverSilver 1 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Welcome to the site Silver! As you just found out, plenty of friendly knowledgeable folks here. You're 17 and own a Mustang? Atta boy! Hell, I wish I had $150 to doesn't on my car now :) How about some pics and history on your Mustang, please. I've been lurking these forums unregistered for awhile now but i made an account at my time of need. I've been working since i was 15 to buy this car and finally bought it march 3rd 2015. I've been doing everything i can to make this a daily driver. I've torn out the interior twice, deep cleaned the interior and shined it up, freed up the engine and some stuck lifters, replaced the pushrods, rebuilt the carb, set timing, and she started with no problems. Did a full tune up, replaced all the normal wear and tear items adjusted the drum brakes and more all waiting for the day to drive her. The story goes as followed: It was parked in 2003(has 03 inspection sticker) by 2nd owner and she started to restore it late 2014 if i remember correctly. The body shop guy did some crap body work on it till he overdosed on drugs and his shop closed down. The girl was only able to recover the car and not what he removed from it (Front bumper, rear bumper and front valance). After that happened she just wanted it gone and then thats when i pop'd in. It's a 302 automatic car with factory AC, power steering, sport mirrors, clock and sport hood scoop. buck tag Found this under the passenger seat, squealed like a little girl when i did Before After without the passenger seat Shes not much to look at compared to the amazing work i've seen done here, but shes all i have right now and thus you might be able to see why i'm somewhat freaking out over this since every spare penny i have goes right to her(but i love doing that anyways) and im tight on time since the place i have her at is selling out so i have to move her by aug 2nd. Had to pick between a tow and parking her on the streets or get her street legal and running decently to drive around. Also need an inspection by aug 3rd so im in a tight spot here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
harlan69mach 21 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 The stalling is most likely due to weak spark because the battery is running low with no charge. I would get the alt working and see if it still stalls after that. 1 SilverSilver reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverSilver 1 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 The stalling is most likely due to weak spark because the battery is running low with no charge. I would get the alt working and see if it still stalls after that. Good to hear that my theory has some merit to it, makes sense that it doesnt stall when jumped(fully charged battery) but stalls after driving(sparks draining battery with no charging alt) I'm going to upgrade to this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tff-7068/overview/year/1969/make/ford/model/mustang 100amp one wire alt over the 65amp one thats in there or do you guys recommend something else? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Thanks for the history! You sound like my younger brother who bought his first car at 15, a 34 Ford 5 window in 1975. The 100 amp one wire alternator has two schools of thought. An older car like yours with minimal electronics doesn't need the extra amps. If you need to replace it while on the road, you can get one at most parts stores. But I suppose you could overnite it from Summit or NPD. Those favoring the one wire 100 like that it "cleans up" the engine bay by doing away with the voltage regulator. A word of advise from me would be to do a front disc brake conversion on her at your earliest convenience. One last question, where you from? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverSilver 1 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Thanks for the history! You sound like my younger brother who bought his first car at 15, a 34 Ford 5 window in 1975. The 100 amp one wire alternator has two schools of thought. An older car like yours with minimal electronics doesn't need the extra amps. If you need to replace it while on the road, you can get one at most parts stores. But I suppose you could overnite it from Summit or NPD. Those favoring the one wire 100 like that it "cleans up" the engine bay by doing away with the voltage regulator. A word of advise from me would be to do a front disc brake conversion on her at your earliest convenience. One last question, where you from? I'm going to do some upgrades such as an electric fan,radio, headlights etc. Might as well get this out of the way now. Max i would run is 120amps and even then i think thats pushing it for factory wiring. I read up on the voltage reg and i can live with not having my dc gauge work. I like this car because most of the mechanical things are just local parts store away unlike some other cars of this age where you have to order everything I totally agree with the disc brakes, before she stoped like a dog but now with the drums adjusted she stops pretty harshly(there is no "slow stoping" just stoped and not stoped) I suppose it's just pedal feel and getting use to it but again, front disc is at the top of my list I'm at the south NJ area, which reminds me..... I need to save for new weatherstripping before the snow hits, car is pretty rust free other than some small spots in the lower quarters and driver floor. Cowl seems to be rust free judging by how easy the water drains in a test i did. ps: i've been following your build even before i got my car, Your craftsmanship is top notch! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted July 23, 2015 Ya, I forgot to mention a few of the other things about the one wire salt, but it sounds like you've figured it out. South Jersey eh? I flew over you a couple of months ago en route to Annapolis, MD. You guys sure have a lot of water back there! Thanks for the kind words. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
