gas cap or alternator?
Thread Starter
TECH Junkie
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 3,029
Likes: 0
From: Chi-Town
gas cap or alternator? last week i went to get gas. filled up, and on my way back i noticed the car would surge real bad at idle. to the point where it would die. i was thinking alternator was taking a crap. ii watched the voltage needle dance into the yellow and die. but that could also be the result of the car idling at 300 rpms and not getting enough spin to keep it charged. today i tested the battery with a voltmeter. right around 12 or so volts with the car off. with it running it was higher than that. 13-14 (i have an underdrive pulley). surging a little. i check the gas cap, take it off, put it on, take it off, twist it a little, shake it....then after a minute its all ok. i drive to the food store and everything is fine....i load up and come home and its acting up again after i leave the parking lot. a bad alternator should be bad all the time, right. its only got 21K miles on it too, i cant believe it would go bad that quick. and im thinking the gas cap cause i only noticed it after i got gas. my TCS is turned off by itself now too. it wont go back on. could be an unrelated problem, or maybe related? no abs inop light. any ideas?
Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 58
Likes: 0
From: Lombard, IL, USA
Based on the symptoms, I wouldn't worry about the alternator. If you have enough power to restart the car the next time, then the battery should have had enough power to run the systems properly.
I bet it's that crazy cam and your computer programming!
I bet it's that crazy cam and your computer programming!
Thread Starter
TECH Junkie
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 3,029
Likes: 0
From: Chi-Town
good point. car restarts and always has a good charge on startup. really doubt its the tune cause it was fine before. will change the gas cap and see if that does anything. is yours attatched matt? maybe i can borrow yours for a second and see if that fixes it.
Good luck in your diagnosis! 
