Posted by Kelly on January 07, 1999 at 08:40:37:
Before rebuilding my engine (200-6) while driving down the road my headlights would just go out stay out a while come back on and may do this more than once or may not do it depending on how far the drive. When replacing the engine I put a new alternator, voltage regulator and just for the sake of it the headlight switch. That headlight issue has only happened once since all that was replaced and it was more a off back on incident. While driving around I have noticed that either somewhere in the brake area/clutch area or steering colum on occasion my am radio would briefly cut off like there was a short around it but would come back on. This has happened at red lights - stops etc that is why I belive it is something to do with the steering -clutch - brake pedle area but this again has not been consistant. I had the gas tank plastic coated to stop a leak and when I put the sending unit back in it would not register past the half mark even when full so the other day I took another sending unti out of an old tank I found and swapped sending units and the gauge worked so I drove across town and on the way back home all interior electronics went dead and the ALT light came on and in a little while the ALT light went off and everything came back on, this happened intermittantly and when I got home everything was not working again and the ALT light was on. I shut off the car and unhooked the sending unit and in a minute or so the ALT light went back off and everything went back to working but it took several seconds prob close to a minute.
I have hooked the sending unit back up and just let the car sit and run and nothing has went wrong but I am wondering from someone with electrical knowledge if the alternator would be suspect, take the steering colum back out and examine all the wires around the colum pedels etc or take the sending unit back out. Any suggestions on first second steps etc and also Being just one wire on the sending unit where does it get its power and then read back to the guage ie if I take it back out and check continuity between the terminal for the one wire and the rim that I assume grounds against the tank while moving the float up and down would this show if the short is in the sending unit.
Long winded I know but any suggestions would be appreicated..
Kelly