I have a 1967 Mustang Coupe that I have had for 2 years. It will not keep a charged battery. I have replaced the starter, alternator, generator, and starter silonoid (spelling?). I even bought one of those boat-type breakers you put on the negative post. I am getting tired of fooling with this car and cannot move forward with making the outside look good without first getting this thing dependable. Can you make any suggestions and also do you know of anyone in Birmingham, AL that does good reasonble work on these types of vehicles?
If the battery is discharging even after disconnecting it with a breaker on the negative terminal then the battery won’t hold a charge and is itself the problem.
… alternator AND generator? You don’t have a generator…
I agree. Sometimes the simplest solution is right in your face.
It seems like you have replaced about everything other than the seat belt and the battery.
Did you know that many auto part shops will check the battery and changing systems for FREE and they generally do a good job. It sure is easier and cheaper than just replacing stuff.
I’ve seen his before. Get the voltage regulator checked. The old ones are adjustable. With the motor at idle and all accessories off and a charged battery you should get 14-14.5V
Sorry, I meant to say regulator. I have replaced this batter 2 times and the one in there is only 3-4 months old from Advance Auto again.
Disconnect the negative battery cable and charge the battery. Now lightly touch the cable end to the battery neg. post a number of times. If you see a noticeable blue spark then there is a voltage draw pulling the battery down.
Since this car likely does not have a trunk light, security alarm, or high tech stereo/amplfiier?, you should consider the possibility of a faulty voltage regulator if a blue spark exists when you do the above.
There is a set of contact points inside the regulator that are designed to open when the engine is not running. If these points remain closed (due to bad regulator or some hacked wiring somewhere) then the battery will discharge back through the regulator.
This should not be a difficult problem to solve.
I think you are right. The car is 40 years old and there is an after market stereo in it and the wiring has been worked on.
About all I can suggest is removing the battery neg. cable and note if there’s a blue spark or not. If there is, then it’s going to take a little tracing. It’s not difficult to do but one has to use a methodical approach.
If you see a very faint, yellowish spark this is often not a problem. That is generally the clock at work and should not cause a drained battery over the short term.