Idle surge + not reaching operating temp?

[92_talon_awd]

Just recently I was driving my car when out of nowhere it started to idle surge between 500-1000 rpm's. I turned the car off and when I opened the hood, I found that my alternator plug had fallen out and was resting on my downpipe. I put it back in and drove off. Driving it today I found that it is still idle surging, it's not reaching operating temp, and it is starting real sluggishly, like it isn't getting charged. I'd say it's staying around 160 degrees even when I was getting on it and it's pretty warm out today. Is there something that would cause all of these symptoms or is it more likely that my car just decided to have a few different things fail all at once?

 

[my1997gsx]

Your thermostat could be stuck open witch would keep your car around 160 degrees. And cause your car to idle higher that normal. And possibly surge. I would also make sure that your alternator is putting out power to your battery.

 

[andy4g63]

^^^ +1 on everything he said. Also make sure your battery and alternator are both good, otherwise, whichever is bad is going to bring down the other one also.

 

[92_talon_awd]

Turns out my alternator had gone bad. Very weird since this was a brand new one and not a reman. My alternator connector plug is broken and occasionally slips out of the alternator to just hang out in the engine bay. One of my buddies suggested that this could be a possible cause of alternator failure, if the connector isn't making a good connection. Is this possible? I've been on the lookout in my local junkyards for a 1g 4g63 to snag one and replace mine but if this will cause my alternators to fail, I'll double my efforts.