Hi y'all. I got some more work done on the rail today so I'm too tired to go messing with it any more right now, but I have a question or two. (today I got the fire extinguisher mounted and used a ravioli can to help... also put a "cover" on my coil... and wrapped the rear axles in some padding for extra protection...and was lucky enough to have the high-pressure oil line that feeds the oil pressure gauge basically shatter in my hands... very brittle... so I replaced the entire line... lucky it happened at home in the garage instead of on the trails). Anyway... the other day I was driving home on the highway, doing about 70 mph or so. I turned on the regular running lights and also had the two big overhead lights on just for the heck of it. I'd only been driving with all of the lights on for about two minutes or so when I started to feel the engine start to lose power. It was like it was starting to miss... and it even did a couple of very small backfires... and with each backfire I slowed down a little bit. I suspected that my electrical system might be getting drained faster than recharged so I immediately shut off all of the lights. Instantly power increased and I drove home with no apparent troubles. Today after working on the rail some, I started it up to test the oil pressure gauge. I noticed that when I turned the key to the "start" position and the engine was turning over that it just would not seem to "catch" or "fire." The instant I would release the key so it would return to the "on" position, the engine would fire a couple of times before dying. I just did this a couple of times and then pumped the gas once and it started up. Seemed like while the starter was drawing on the electrical system to turn the engine over that it wasn't leaving enough for a good spark to get things started. That would explain why when I released the key and the starter quit pulling but the engine was still spinning some, that suddenly it would start to fire. The battery is almost new, I'm pretty sure... I looked at Speedy Jim's website and saw the procedure for how to test a generator. I guess even for an alternator the first step would be to measure across the battery terminals and then start the engine and watch to see what kind of voltage I get and hope for 14 volts or so. I guess I'll do that and also take a look at the condition of the spark plugs. I'm thinking I might want to go with some sort of high-output alternator since I'm going to be using a winch and I'm not sure how well a stock alternator would deal with that. Anyone want to throw out some suggestions of other stuff to look at or tell me I'm way off base or just share a funny joke you heard recently? Thanks!
"Stupid people are funny." - me