Cougar

The best way is to check the voltage on each of the pins at the rear of the alternator while the engine is running and things are connected normally. Both of the pins should be close to the battery voltage. If one is near zero volts then the alternator has a internal problem most likely. To verify that stop the engine, disconnect the rear connector on the alternator, turn the key to the RUN position and recheck the voltage on the pins of the connector while it is removed from the alternator. If both of the voltages are now near battery voltage then the alternator has a problem, which might not show up on the test jig.

As always, the first step should be verifing power is getting through any fuses in the circuit using a test probe.

From what you say it seems that the alternator you got has a problem and you need another replacement.

Good decision on getting a meter. You will soon find you have purchased a great test tool. I assume you purchased a digital meter and you will most likely find it is easy to use and also learn various ways to test things using it. Most of the time you just need to use the voltmeter function to help you solve circuit issues. If the instuctions that came with the meter are a little vague on how to use it I'm sure you could find a lot of info on places like YouTube that will show you how to work with it. As far the running lights go, see if they work with the switch on top of the column. Power for those lights usually passes through that switch whether the switch is ON or OFF. Turning the switch ON bypasses a relay and provides an alternate path to power to the lights rather than through the normal light switch. I assume you have already checked the dash fuses for a problem there. You can also use your new meter to verify that the fuses are ok by placing the red probe on top of each side of the fuse using the small slits on each side. You should have 12 volts on each side of the fuse if it is good and power is getting to the fuse. Most of the fuses in the dash need to have the ignition switch turned ON to provide them power. The running lights are tied to continuous power so the ignition switch is bypassed in this case. Now that you have a meter you won't have to guess if something isn't working correctly. Now you can prove what is happening, be it good or bad.

Having a relay in the circuit is a good thing as it has to handle the high current needed by the lights. The light switch then just has to handle the small amount of current needed by the relay coil to turn the relay on. Any small switch can handle that low amount of current. Place the fuse in line close to the battery so in case something causes a short in the wiring it will be protected.

Someone else here had a similar problem recently. The grounds should be at the rear of the engine at the top.

Gloyale: I am curious about your comment about possibly damaging the injector if using starter fluid and a backfire occurs. I haven't heard of that caution before this. Can you tell me how the injector gets damaged from a backfire?

If you have a single injector the trouble might happening because it is leaking and letting excessive fuel build up. Spray the airfilter with a little starter fluid and see if the engine responds to that. If it doesn't then I suggest you check the plugs to see if they are getting spark. If that is okay then check the compression. Some folks have run across broken timing belts.

Thanks for the update and glad to hear you got it going. Another Soob back on the road. That's, a good thing.

It may not help anyone Nipper but that is pretty neat.

The IC amplifiers inside the newer decks use a balanced output to drive the speaker so neither of the two wires going to the speaker is grounded to the chassis. They are isolated from ground.. No pun intended and as usual, Gloyale's advice is sound.

There is all kinds of information available on the net that you can check out and see how a car starter motor and solenoid works. YouTube most likely has a number of videos about it also.

You might have a problem with the MAF sensor. Check the fuel pressure and make sure that is okay also. If those things are good then I would check the compression to see if there is a valve timing issue.

You can refer to post 14 for that info.

Are you allowing enough time for the systems go into the sleep mode when you get things connected up and before you take the current reading? You might need around 5 minutes for the things to shut down after connection to power is made through the meter.

The ultimate test would be with the engine running around 1,500 RPM and a good load on the system. The numbers you gave though sound good. Enjoy that new meter you are going to like having it.

There is a small wire going to the starter solenoid. To check the solenoid contacts and main cable to the starter you need to jumper power from the battery to that lead connection. You need to be careful when doing that as the safety switches will be bypased when doing that and if the car is in gear someone may get hurt if the car moves when things are connected. If the starter works ok then you need to check the safety switches. If the solenoid clicks and the starter doesn't work then the contacts are most likely bad or the main cable from the battery has a problem. Checking to see if there is 12 volts at the starter while the solenoid is on will mean there is a problem with the contacts. If the voltage is low then the lead connection is bad,at the battery end most likely. If the starter has never been worked on before this then the solenoid contacts are way over due to be changed out. Usually 10 years is a pretty good life for them.

The very first thing you want do with this kind of trouble is to clean the battery post connections using a battery post cleaning brush. Ninety percent of the time that fixes things. If that doesn't work then the next suspect for the trouble is bad starter solenoid contacts. If they are okay then the inhibit switch needs to be checked. There you have it.

You bring up a good point Ivans Imports because you do have to respect the amount of power this fluid is capable of. I suppose if someone sprayed a huge amount of the fluid into the intake what you say could happen but the fluid vaporizes very quickly when it is sprayed out and I think it would kind of hard to get that amount of fluid into the cylinders. By being frugal with the amount of starter fluid used it won't harm the engine at all. Spraying the air filter with a one second blast is the best method, that way the only thing that gets to the cylinders is fumes within the airflow and that is what you want. I have used the stuff for many years on different types of gasoline engines with no problems. For anyone who uses this stuff just keep in mind that a little shot goes a long way. If the engine doesn't respond to that then it usually means something else besides fuel is wrong with the engine operation, like the ignition system or a compression issue. This trick is one of the fastest methods I know of to help determine what is going on with a engine that won't start up and you are unsure what is causing the trouble. Some folks my still disagree with my statements here as this isn't the first time I have heard about damaging engines using starter fluid. I for one sure don't want to pass out advice that will cause more damage to someone elses engine. If you don't feel doing this thing is good to do then don't follow what I say here. I am just passing on what I truely feel is something that will work very well and is safe to do if you do things correctly.

While your at the parts store I suggest you purchase a good digital meter or DVM. Using it you could look at the output voltage of the alternator and establish for yourself if the unit is bad or not. For around 40 dollars it would be one of the best tool investments you could buy. A number of parts stores carry the Innova Equus meters. They are designed with the automotive repair in mind but are certainly ok to use on anything electrical. Here is a link for one of their models. http://www.equus.com/Product/3320/Auto-Ranging-DMM

A true digital multimeter is far above what you currently have. So for around 40 dollars you will have a great tool to use. Once you get familiar doing various tests with it you will wonder how you got by without it. I suggest you get one that has a seperate 10 amp current test port so you can test higher currents when needed. Also try to get one that blocks DC volts while in the AC volt mode. If you can afford it in your buget getting a Fluke model would be the ultimate but not truely necessary. Here is a link for an Innova model which is a brand a number of auto stores carries. It sells for around 40 dollars and would work great for you. There are other models available also. http://www.equus.com/Product/3320/Auto-Ranging-DMM

Another thing to try is spray some starter fluid into the intake to see if that gets some fire in the engine going. If that doesn't do it then you most likely need to check the ignition next and then the compression.

You stated in post 16 that the engine was at idle speed when you made the voltage measurements. From what you say the results were it doesn't seem too bad. You should rev the engine to around 1,500 RPM, turn the headlights and blower on high and then check the voltage at the battery. Hopefully you will have around 14 volts present and that would be good. Check the AC ripple voltage at the same time you are doing that and see if that is below .1 volt, as it should be. If you don't already own a voltmeter to test with I highly suggest you invest in one since you can get one at a very reasonable price nowadays. Having a meter and a factory service manual for the wiring.....priceless.

Putting in a known good replacement fuse is a good idea but until you test the fuse position for power you can still have a possible power problem and not know it is there. Having at least a test light probe to check problems like this can save a lot of time in looking for this kind of trouble.

The dash and running lights are tied together on a fuse different from the brake and headlights. I forget which fuse handles the dash lights but it might be fuse 11 or 12. A lot of folks mistake a bad fuse for a good one on the first check. The best way to make sure a fuse has power and is ok is to use a test light probe and check the small slits on top of each side of the fuse.