very wierd dash

[chitalon]

Alright so i am finally back in the dsm world after finally getting my 91 talon n/t m/t running. i bought the car for $160 bucks so i had to get it. it had a new alternator put in when i got it. since then i have replaced the battery, clutch three cooling sensors, one at the bottom of the radiator and 2 up by the water outlet. i also replaced the mass air flow sensor. now my problem was the other day while cruising 40 mph i had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting an idiot crossing the intersection, what happen was at first i thought the car shut off cause it acted like if the key was just put on the 'on' position, making all the noises and all the lights from the dash came on. but the engine was still running. well since then the lights continue to stay on even driving and i have no clue to where even to start lookin. the lights that stay on are 'check engine' battery' brake' and coolant
any idea ?

 

[dsm023]

Where did you get the alternator from?

 

[chitalon]

Autozone

 

[dsm023]

I went through 3 of those in 1 year! Don't know who rebuilds those, but they suck. Finally decided to shell out more and went to the dealer and got 1 there.

 

[toybreaker]

I had an issue simular to this.

I didn't have my battery holdown installed. During some aggressive driving, the battery shifted. It must have hit the hood or something because it popped a couple of fuses.
When the alternator fuse popped, it lit the dashboard up like you described.

The place you bought your parts can probably test your alternator fuse for you. I thought mine looked ok, but it's hard to tell sometimes.
It's the black fuse in the front fuse box. It bolts in so you can just put the positive voltmeter lead on one bolt of the fuse, and the other voltmeter lead to a good ground.

I hope it's as simple as that!!

And, if'n you don't have a battery hold down bracket, learn from my mistake and get one.

Good luck, and let us know what is was.

 

[chitalon]

okay, i just checked it out and all fuses are good, since this was the first time i tried anything at night, what i noticed was that when i first went to start it all the dash lights were bright and like 2 seconds later they were on but not as bright, still very noticeble but not bright. the battery did show signs of hitting the hood but still no idea

 

[DiamondStarM]

Have autozone check the alternator, they are known to die and sometimes you may even get a dud. They will check it for free, its worth the time. And if its no good then just return it and go get a new one from the dealer like dsm023 said. Save yourselt some hassel and time and money.

 

[toybreaker]

I also prefer factory alternators.

I would also get a battery hold down bracket and bolt the battery down. It will prevent some problems further down the road.

Good luck, and let us know what happens.

 

[chitalon]

well the alternator was charging low at 11.1 regulated volts, so i swaped the alternator again at autozone and hope for the best. that seemed to have fixed the problem. thanks for the help.