If it ain't problem enough I got to work on my car I have to blow the whole day with mothers car now.
She was headed to the mall today, In the Left turn lane the car started bucking & chugging, but she was able to make it into the parking lot. After shutting the car off the car wouldn't restart.
Remanufactured Starter installed July 2004.
So she calls me up and I go there with the tools. I try starting it and click click click click it goes. Give the starter a few taps with the Pontiac Wrench ( ball pean ammerhay ). Hit the key, more clicks.
Put a small volt meter on the battery terminals it reads 10.9 volts. Not really being up on volts I figure 10.9 should start a car but maybe not at 28 degrees - even though its a 1000 amp 900CCA Die Hard.
The battery was installed in 2001 and has barely 6000 miles use on it.
Theres a Sears at the mall so i remove the Battery, drive it around to Sears in my car. The little gurl behind the counter tests it & says its bad, you need a new one.
Another machine is used, one that put a load on the battery. If its good the machine will kick into a charge mode, but if its bad a red light lights up. We got the Red Light.
So its prorated & a replacement battery of the same type is sold to us for $33.00
Drive back to the Cadillac parked by Carson Piere Scott, Mother goes in the mall to return something, while I drop the battery in.
Hook it up, sit down turn the key and the starter grinds, I back off on the key, hit it a second time and it fires right up.
All sounds good, - HELLO ! There's the red " No Charge " light glowing in the warning light panel.
Mother comes out of the mall. I tell her its running, but the Alternator light is on. I ask was it on today? Yeah I think so. Was it on Monday? Hmm maybe ?
I drove the car Sunday about 15 miles to get a ( real ) Christmas tree and there was no light and no starting problems.
One problem is the warning lights are not in the gauge cluster. There set in the top of the Instrument Panel cover and light up through a wood grain panel, there quite hard to see if only dimly lit, but this one was on full brightness.
So I tell her to drive it home ( about 4 miles ), I'll follow. We get home okay. Start looking for the alternator receipt & discover its MIA ( missing in action ). I figure I put an alternator in in 1997 or 1998.
So 6-7 years old I'm guessing. Remove the ALT and I bring it to Autozone to have them test it. They said its bad, but don't know what inside is bad.
Last time I had one tested somewhere they told me what part inside failed. I guess the new machine just tells you good or bad.
100 amp Alternator on order.========= Harryface =========
1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~297,024 miles_~_~_~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_
~~~The Former Fleet ~~~
89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan