We received the car as a gift, it had been towed behind a motor home, so I'm not sure of the actual (driven) miles. I detailed it in and out, the engine compartment, etc... It seemed like a nice little car, I think it had about 113,107 miles when my son started to drive it, it was definitely not new, but in fair shape. I had the belt serviced, etc... so it was taken good care of.
One night going around the loop, son said the battery sparked and smoke came out of the hood, and then shortly after the headlights/taillights went out! On the bridge! And then he got pulled over! He was able to make it home.
The next morning I tested the output and was over 16 volts at an idle! So the battery was overcharged bye the alternator, and a few days later it was dead and would not take a charge (it was an old battery anyway).
The main fuse link was smoked, but did not burn out, (WT?) and welded itself to the terminals and is NOT removable now. The headlight relay was fried/stuck as well (but I was able to fix/free it) temporarily. I installed a new interstate battery, cleaned the terminals and tested the fuse link's, and still had a good connection. (I totally burnt the top off but still good? That explains the sparks under the hood.) It could have caught fire! This is not right!
I had to replace both headlight bulbs and tail lamps (blown from overcharging).
I got it started and checked the alternator output and was 13.5 volts with accessories on and headlights!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
We received the car as a gift, it had been towed behind a motor home, so I'm not sure of the actual (driven) miles. I detailed it in and out, the engine compartment, etc... It seemed like a nice little car, I think it had about 113,107 miles when my son started to drive it, it was definitely not new, but in fair shape. I had the belt serviced, etc... so it was taken good care of.
One night going around the loop, son said the battery sparked and smoke came out of the hood, and then shortly after the headlights/taillights went out! On the bridge! And then he got pulled over! He was able to make it home.
The next morning I tested the output and was over 16 volts at an idle! So the battery was overcharged bye the alternator, and a few days later it was dead and would not take a charge (it was an old battery anyway).
The main fuse link was smoked, but did not burn out, (WT?) and welded itself to the terminals and is NOT removable now. The headlight relay was fried/stuck as well (but I was able to fix/free it) temporarily. I installed a new interstate battery, cleaned the terminals and tested the fuse link's, and still had a good connection. (I totally burnt the top off but still good? That explains the sparks under the hood.) It could have caught fire! This is not right!
I had to replace both headlight bulbs and tail lamps (blown from overcharging).
I got it started and checked the alternator output and was 13.5 volts with accessories on and headlights!
- humpmaster, Clarkston, WA, US