Having some issues with my stock 1985 Cougar LS V6 charging system. Looking for ideas on what my be the problem.
When Accelerating and or at a speed around 40MPH or more my voltage gauge drops to around 10(On the digital dash gauge its one bar above the Very Low cutoff). I also get static interference coming thru the stereo speakers when the voltage is low like that. As soon as I take my foot off the gas/come to a stop/ coast etc, the voltage jumps up several notches to the normal level. I can see the dash lights dimming and brightening when in these stages as well. When I drove on the freeway at 65MPH for 10 miles the gauge stayed very low and the battery icon even started blinking at me. So it doesn't seem to be charging unless the car is idling or or the RPM's are low when driving at slower speeds.
A few weeks back before any of this was noticeable the battery died on me so I got a new one (after the store charged it they came back saying it had a bad cell). Car ran for 2 days and died again. At that time I put on a new external voltage regulator and new alternator. Since then its ran but I've noticed this voltage drop issue and the static interference thru the speakers. The stereo is aftermarket and has a older amp hooded up, none of which I installed, not sure how much if any that may have to do with it.
I’ll have to take a look when I’m working on the car later. I know the bumper doesn’t have to come off ... did the swap myself a long time ago. There should be a metal plate/cover on each side. These bolt into the back of the metal bumper ... remove the light bulb socket (twist and pull out) then remove the plate. The light housing is mounted to the plate.
Thanks for the info on the plates. Ill be in the garage in a few hours to take a crack at this
I swapped one on my brothers 85 cougar years ago, I don't remember it being a big deal. Sure didn't take the bumper off.
Sorry that my memory isn't better. lol
I hope your right. I need to get the front of the car jacked up and take a better look. I didn't see obvious mounts when I was laying under it last week but I was limited on space. Thanks
Can anyone that's changed the turn lens's on the front bumper(below headlights) tell me what changing them entails? Does the entire bumper need to come off the car? Would like to swap out my the existing orange for the clear/white lenses. Thanks
Thanks for all the help. Ive borrowed the in-laws spare vehicle this past week and been getting by with it as we planned what to do with he Cougar. I bought a MSD ignition and have a mechanically inclined friend that's going to help me install that in the next few days. We figured it's the most likely cause of all this and if not at least it will help the car going forward. Ill post some updates as I have them.
-When I took off the air filter and manually moved the gas line the throttle plates went back to the same position as when I started which seems to be all the way closed.
-I didnt have any luck with the car shutting off when it sat and idled at around 1000rpm for 15 min. -I can hear the fuel pump humming in the tank when the key is turned on, it does then turn off like normal a few seconds later.
-The water pump, belts and hoses were all replaced a year ago, since then the car has only been driven about 1,000 miles.
there's a shrader valve on top of the CFI driver side.
also,, to get rid of that "hesitation off the line, remove injectors and start a sheet metal screw into the top of the injector,,, pull with pliers to remove and dispose of the injector screens.
Scott, Thanks for all the suggestions. Ive tried to cross a few things off from your list. I'm not very mechanically inclined unfortunately. I can handle some basics but this may be over my head with how many different scenarios there are. Below are a few pictures I took. From what I understand its the Duraspark setup, no module. On the last picture I posted, is that Yellow cap the shrader valve you are referring too earlier to test the fuel pressure?
Its been quite some time since I posted, since then I've added to the fleet with a 83 Cougar LS 5.0. Its up too 132,000 miles but really well cared for, single owner had it until I bought it in 2011. Its completely stock with the 5.0 throttle body setup,not my preference for sure.
-Recently I've had problems with the engine dying for no apparent reason. It's happened at speeds of 65mph on the freeway and mostly 20-40mph when on city streets. It wont restart right away either. Typically I coast off to the side and it takes 5-10 minutes for it to start again. Ill try cranking it over 4 or 5 separate times and it if it doesn't work I let it sit a few minutes and try again. Needless to say, its a scary situation when it happen in a large city like I live in. I'm needing to use the car as my DD for a while since my other vehicle was totaled in an accident(drunk driver). Once it does restart it seems to run normal. My drive is only 12 miles one way too and from work so its not like the car is being run long hours before this happens. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for a ll the info guys. Got another question.
I Haven't been able to locate any COUGAR/BIRD parts cars near me in the past month. My brother found an 86 mustang he could use the Tranny for one of his projects, but would the Cradle work on my 86 cougar? Sounds like other than changing motor mounts it may being its a fox body?
Please let me know if you have any knowledge on that...
Hello, I'm looking to replace a damaged cradle from an 1986 cougar. Does anyone know if other fox body cars use the same cradle or does it need to come from an 83-86 cougar/Tbird? Its a V-8, also not sure if a V6 cradle would be any different but assume it isn't?
Darn it, I thought I was in the leads section of the forum when I made this thread. I tried deleting this and moving it but I'm not having any luck....
