trying to fix something

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XxbmxlsxX

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right now i have my cousins 2000 v6 nonsport ls. he says sometimes it just wont start. it has died on him as well. battery is good. alternator failed with bad diode. wierd thing is it will go days maybe more with no issues. alternator is charging high at idle. im not so sure that is whats causing it to randomly do this. i will replace it but dont want him to drive back to his college 4 hours away and still have another issue. any suggestions? i did pull a code p1309 from it. runs great just randomly has no power. all connections and grounds are nice and tight.
 
faulty ignition switch?

How many miles on it? could it be related to fuel delivery?
 
What do you mean by "randomly has no power" and "sometimes it just wont start?" Is it losing electrical power and by won't start you mean that the starter won't even turn, or do you mean that the engine dies and the starter turns but the engine won't fire up?

The P1309 code points in the direction of the cam shaft sensor or the PCM. If the engine dies, then this is the place to start looking. Oh the other hand, if electrical power is being lost then you need to start by checking the connection tightness at all of the several major electrical junctions.
 
its not my car, its my 18year old cousin so all the info i have is what he told me. since ive had the car the last few days there has been no issues except when the car is idling im readijng 14.7 volts at the battery. kinda high. he said it wouldnt crank or anything, and he drove it 4 hours back to here no issues then it died in he neighborhood. wouldnt start back up, next day started, then they got it to me. they would jump it and it would start. battery has always tested good but he replaced it recently anyway. like i said alternator tested bad diode so im replacing it in the morning. im just puzzled a bit. car has like 150k on it
 
joegr said:
Oh the other hand, if electrical power is being lost then you need to start by checking the connection tightness at all of the several major electrical junctions.
Click to expand...

Sounds like my symptoms when my car wouldn't start. Starting was sporadic and jumping it only worked half of the time. When the key was turned you could hear a crackle, thought it was the starter but it was not, it was the junction. It never died on me while driving though. It ended up being a loose connection in the junction behind the plastic inner fender cover on the front passenger side.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=21622

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=20242
 
Last edited:
XxbmxlsxX said:
right now i have my cousins 2000 v6 nonsport ls. he says sometimes it just wont start. it has died on him as well. battery is good. alternator failed with bad diode. wierd thing is it will go days maybe more with no issues. alternator is charging high at idle. im not so sure that is whats causing it to randomly do this. i will replace it but dont want him to drive back to his college 4 hours away and still have another issue. any suggestions? i did pull a code p1309 from it. runs great just randomly has no power. all connections and grounds are nice and tight.
Click to expand...


if its your car thats dead, its ok, tell us, you dont have to lie about it being your cousins haha
 
CrackerJack said:
14.7v at idle is amazingly high, Im sure there may be a bit of over-charging in there...
Click to expand...

If he has a bad diode, then the very high amount of noise in the alternator output could be fooling either (or both) the voltmeter being used, or the voltage regulator in the alternator. Either way it is bad for the battery and the electrical system. In addition to changing the alternator out, I still recommend (based on the symptoms) checking all of the major electrical junctions to make sure nothing is loose.
 
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