So I was driving my 2000 Firehawk. Everything shut down on me while driving so long story short, got it towed. Found a loss wire on alt so tightened that then thought problem was solved. Now I am still having the same issues. The car will come on, it will start, and everything will read. Once it has ran for about a minute, all the gauges will cut out and when I try to step on the gas, it wants to bog out and die. I then changed the battery thinking that was it but no luck. I did check all the cables as well and no issues where found there. Now I am trying to get my car on the road but it will not stay running and will just die. If you need any other info let me know but I am lost now. Thanks for any advice you may be able to give me.

 

Did you get your alternator checked?

 

Alternator?
Beware...others have had their alts bench tested, and no trouble was found.
However, the trouble was the alternator.
Are you sure that retightened connection is good? Sometimes, a loose connection can arc, and the contact point between the wire and the alternator/battery/whatever can become clouded/tarnished..etc.
Given that the connection had to have been loose for awhile, I'm thinking that this is the trouble.

 

It was the issue at first but I then tightened it. The issue presumed so I took the alt out and had it tested. It came back as a fail so I replaced with a new alt. it's now doing the same thing so that's why I was thinking it was something else but I don't know what.

 

Could an over heating issue cause my car to cut out like that? Like as a safety measure? If so, what sensor or area would I check. If that is not realistic, then I don't know where else to look.

 

What does your volt gauge read while running? Any lights on the dash?

 

Yes I still have lights on the dash but the gauges don't work. By the time I get it running and get out of the car, it's already about to shut off.

 

When you said lights on the dash, did you mean the service lights? I have the TCS Inop, brake, ABS Inop, and check gauges. My fuel gauge is being weird. It's the sending unit not reading properly. And the other one is my EBCM. I can hear that one clicking on and off when the car is running.

 

Measure the batt voltage before starting, + post to - post.
Then, measure again, while the car is running.

 

was it a rebuilt alternator

 

Yes it was a rebuilt. I need to recharge my battery again due to trying to start with no juice. I have two red tops so hopefully one is good

 

Maybe you got a bad rebuilt one i had that problem kept on getting bad ones oreilys just let me pay the diffrence on a brand new unit

 

Check the Alternator exciter wire for damage.

 

I did that as well but nothing. Fixed up everything and cleaned everything off. Taking the alt in tomorrow for another check even though it's brand new.

 

What do you mean when you say "the gauges don't work"?

You gotta get this car running to find the problem. It'll run a good while on a fully charged battery. Charge it up.

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Do gMAG's test. Post the results.

 

I took the battery to get it charged yesterday. Will pick it up today after work. Couldn't take the alt off because the motor got hot enough to not want to get in there. When I have the jumper cables on it, the gauges work. As soon as I remove them, all the needles don't read. None of them. Even the tach while the engine was running. So I am taking the brand new alt I just bought back today and getting it checked too. It has to be the battery or alt. well I hope. Thanks for all the advice. Most of this is common since but just making sure
I wasn't having a dumb moment. Thanks again

 

Sounds like more than an alternator problem.

Check all the ground straps and connections.....just to get the process started.

 

Where to start. I know the starter and alt grounds. Is there a major ground maybe I have over looked? I built the car about a year ago and my wife had the issue while I was gone a few months back. Didn't have any issues until the wife touched it. :-(

 

You had jumper cables connected between ? + ?.

 

Between my car and another. I pulled the cables off and I could watch my voltage drop on the gauge. I put them back on and the voltage came back up. If I left them off long enough, the car would die.