'86 barely running
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: outside San Antonio
'86 barely running
Hello All:
New to this forum so I'll say in advance, thanks for any help afforded.
I've owned my '86 150, 300" 6, manual, 2wd since new. She's been a good trooper but hasn't been driven much lately. She's got 136,000 on engine broken in til 12k with regular oil then synthetic ever since.
She sits a lot these days but when I went to drive her last month, she was really running rough. I changed the plugs, wires, rotor and cap and performance was back to normal. After about a 45 min. run, performance started to gradually deteriate, I barely made it home. When I tried to start it the next day, it sounded like the battery was down so I put a long, slow charge on it. Next day it started and again ran OK. My thinking was that my alternator must've gone out and that is why the performance gradually decreased as I was running on battery. I had noted that the amp guage stayed centered during the long drive. OK, new alternator now, shows charging when running, but idle is extremely rough and it is missing so badly that I dare not go anywhere in it.
If my premise about the alternator going out is true, could I have cooked something in the ignition system as the voltage dropped off? Everything is stock, TFI (has wires no vacuum tubing), I think. Does this system have a "limp home" mode that I'm in now? Where is the computer, under the dash next to steering column? Would appreciate any suggestions on what to look at or replace next. Thanks, Lou.
New to this forum so I'll say in advance, thanks for any help afforded.
I've owned my '86 150, 300" 6, manual, 2wd since new. She's been a good trooper but hasn't been driven much lately. She's got 136,000 on engine broken in til 12k with regular oil then synthetic ever since.
She sits a lot these days but when I went to drive her last month, she was really running rough. I changed the plugs, wires, rotor and cap and performance was back to normal. After about a 45 min. run, performance started to gradually deteriate, I barely made it home. When I tried to start it the next day, it sounded like the battery was down so I put a long, slow charge on it. Next day it started and again ran OK. My thinking was that my alternator must've gone out and that is why the performance gradually decreased as I was running on battery. I had noted that the amp guage stayed centered during the long drive. OK, new alternator now, shows charging when running, but idle is extremely rough and it is missing so badly that I dare not go anywhere in it.
If my premise about the alternator going out is true, could I have cooked something in the ignition system as the voltage dropped off? Everything is stock, TFI (has wires no vacuum tubing), I think. Does this system have a "limp home" mode that I'm in now? Where is the computer, under the dash next to steering column? Would appreciate any suggestions on what to look at or replace next. Thanks, Lou.
Last edited by 36tbird; Jan 5, 2004 at 11:27 AM.
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From: Virginia
I am guessing you have the electronic carb? If you let it sit around a lot, the fuel they sell these days gums up pretty bad, usually ruining the carb seals and gaskets. When it's running rough, does it have black smoke coming out the back? It could be a stuck choke too.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: outside San Antonio
Dave:
Yeah, its got that e-carb. I think your suggestion would be applicable if it had not run so good after I replaced the wires, plugs, rotor and cap. The steady degradation on the way home and the subsquent drained battery situation is what led me to suspect the alternator went out. With its replacement, I thought it should now run well again, but it barely runs now. I think the reduced voltage situation fried the electronic ignition module. Do you think this is plausible? I had always heard that those modules were very voltage sensitive. Lou.
Yeah, its got that e-carb. I think your suggestion would be applicable if it had not run so good after I replaced the wires, plugs, rotor and cap. The steady degradation on the way home and the subsquent drained battery situation is what led me to suspect the alternator went out. With its replacement, I thought it should now run well again, but it barely runs now. I think the reduced voltage situation fried the electronic ignition module. Do you think this is plausible? I had always heard that those modules were very voltage sensitive. Lou.
