Hi all, I just recently inherited a 1974 Stingray in pristine condition. However I am out of state so when my father went to pick it up out of storage for me, he found the battery to be dead- he purchased a new battery and it started and ran fine, but as soon as he shut it off, it would not restart without a charge on the battery. Does this sound like a classic alternator-gone-bad story? If so, does anyone have a suggestion for the type to replace it with? I am going home in about 2 weeks and plan on driving the car then, so I would like to get a good idea of what is wrong with it. Thanks for any advice. Also, other than summit and jegs, where would a good source for aftermarket performance parts be?

 

Sounds like a bad altenator. If you have an Auto Zone byyou take the altenator there and they will check it out for you.
Could also be bad bat cables or cable connections. Check the neg bat cable where it connects to the frame. Sometimes the cable goes bad from being exposed to the elements over the years.
Could also be a bad bat.

Check the cables and bat before you pull the the altenator.
Good luck!

 

Could also be a heat soak problem with the starter or/and starter solenoid. pretty common on these cars specially if your running headers.do a search and you should find some info on this problem. maybe a thread or two by me.

 

Sounds like an a alternator but I would put a meter on the output side of the alternator and see if you have between 13.6 and 14.2 volts, if so check the voltage at the battery with car running and see what you have. You can get all kinds of parts at Ecklers.com and Corvettes America.com also Corvette Central.com Hope this helps that is the quickest easiest way to check the charging system without taking anything out.

 

Thanks for all the advice, I'll have that checked- what do you mean by the "output" side of the alternator? Sorry, I'm a little illiterate about cars, I work on F-15's for a living. Do you have any recomendations for a replacement alternator other than the stock replacement from ecklers? My goal is to do a lot of performance work to the car, so should I take this opportunity to upgrade past stock condition? If so, to what? Does changing the alternator give any type of a performance increase? Sorry for all the questions, I'm learning...

 

Hi NickD and welcome to the forum, you say your interested in learning about your car, well you came to the right place. You'll get lots of help here. Stop in any auto store and get a copy of the "Haynes Repair Manual" that will help you get started. Enjoy your new Vette. PG

 

Absolutely not!!!

The alternator has absolutely zero to do with a new battery starting a car.

When you say it "ran fine", for how long do you mean? A few minutes?

 

It ran for about a half hour from the storage unit to my folks house, maybe a little longer. It was then shut off for about 5 minutes so that the driveway gate could be unlocked and and then it would not restart. My father had to run out and purchase a battery charger and let it charge for a little while before it would restart. It won't start out there now unless you charge it first? Any thoughts?

 

I think Phil was correct then. I thought we were talkin' about a few minutes. BUT, a car should be able to run for a couple of hours off of the newbattery. Here's your alternator check, without turnin' a wrench, from another post:

Got multi-meter?

Put it on the field terminal on the back of the alternator - usually a medium-guage red wire. Ground it, and check the #'s. Should be 14V+, like LW said.

THEN, go to the positive clampat the battery, ground it, check the #'s. Should be slightly less than at the field terminal.

NOW, check the actual battery positive terminal itself - NOT the clamp. (You'rechecking the clamp-battery connection). Ground the meter; check the #'s. Should be the EXACT same as the positive clamp.

 

thanks I'll have my dad try it and let you all know, any recomendations for a performance alternator (if that even exsits) if that is the problem?