Just took my 1969 Charger Daytona out of winter storage. The battery had a trickle charger on it all winter, but car would not start after I drive it for first time. As the battery was four years old, I replaced it with a correct original repro battery. I drove the car this afternoon and, while traveling above 20 mph, noted the battery was charging fine (per alternator guage). However, at stop, battery was discharging. After about an hour, the battery was discharging even while driving at normal speeds. Checked alternator belt and cables. I am unfamiliar with Mopar electrical systems. Aside from replacing alternator, any suggestions on some simple, obvious things I may be missing? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Welcome to DF! You've got one of my all time favorites.[sm=smiley20.gif]

It would sound as though it is the alternator. An easy way to check it is to start the car, then disconnect the battery. If the car dies as soon as you disconnect it, then thats the culprit. If it does not die right off, it could still be bad. If it stays running after you disconnect the battery, turn on the lights, radio, wipers, etc. Turn on any and all electrical components. If it dies, the alternator is once again your problem. The chances of it being something else that is wrong, is very unlikely. If it remains running with the battery disconnected and all the electrical accessories turned on, then you alternator is in perfect operating condition. Good luck![sm=smiley2.gif]

If you have some pictures of it, we would love to see it.[sm=smiley20.gif]

 

Thanks for the advice. I drove it again this morning and it's still discharging, but just barely. One final question ... I am assuming I would disconnect the negative battery cable to test the alternator?

 

On the older cars it doesn't seem to matter, I've done it both ways before. The negative is the prefered cable to disconnect, but either one will break the circuit. This will make sure that the battery is not powering the car by itself, and it will check to see if the alternator is or is not supplying enough power. You can disconnect the positive, the negative or both if you want, but the general rule is the negative(especially with todays cars). Some newer cars cannot be checked using this method, because they rely on the battery and it's unbroken circuit. This is just another reason to love the great classics.