Battery won't stay charged

[HotRodLarry]

I'm having problems with the charging system in my '83 LTD ( 200 I-6)
When I bought the car, I put in a new battery, solenoid, voltage regulator and a new positive cable. The car ran good. Now I have already put in another battery because the first one went bad. Last week I replaced the negative battery cable and tightened up the alternator belt a little because that was loose. The car seems to loose charge if it sits for more than three days or so. Any ideas? thanks.

 

[66200i6]

You may have a short somewhere’s. Get yourself a voltage meter and set it to read amperage. Remove one of the fuses in the fuse block and check for current flow (amps). Do this one at a time. Hopefully you will find the guilty circuit.

Good luck, Ric.

 

[HotRodLarry]

I narrowed the problem down to the alternator. After I replaced a couple wires, I checked the alternator and it was junk. Runs better now.

 

[63comet]

Glad you found your problem, I was going to suggest the charging system, same problem with mine this summer, every couple days would have to jump start it. Found the fan belt (new) had stretched enough to not fully spin the alternator. Tightened belt and car has been sitting for over a month and it started right up, no problem.