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[Guest Recian]

I dont know if anyone has been through this but I found something out about my 89 today. Long story really.

I've had an idle problem since I bought the car. You'd have to give it gas when cranking and when shifting into Drive or it would stall out. I've replaced everything under the hood, all the computer controls, sensors, the engine is entirely redone, new transmission. Everything is new and it would still try to stall. Well to my surprise I had to replace the alternator. I pulled it off to send it in for a core and order a new one since after my engine rebuild it's output was 0 and the battery light wouldnt come on (just a side note which was wierd)

Well with our building getting demolished next week theyre moving the entire parking lot around at my shop and it's utter chaos. I had to move my reatta from where it's been sitting for over a week without an alternator. To my surprise driving it without an alternator it cranked up flawlessly and didnt stall or stutter... To the best of my assumption the alternator has been causing a draw on the car causing these issues. Ill put the alternator on tomorrow and hopefully drive it home and she should do ok.

So a note to anyone who experiences stalling, hesitation, and the vehicle not wanting to move by itself in drive i recommend having your alternator checked if cleaning the idle valve and doing a tune up doesnt help.

Edited December 16, 2011 by Recian (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

Your conclusion seems premature until you get the altenator replaced.

[padgett]

I noticed that also - bad alternator but no warning or code until the battery was low (and that meant a 30 mile round trip restarting numerous times. Of course it is an Optima battery).

Apparently the battery needs to drop below a threshold before the code - B410 in this case - will set and "electrical fault" will appear. Other than that, the only way to tell is either ED10 or with a multimeter, apparently everything from about 11 to 15 volts is "straight up".

As to the effect, I have seen a 10A battery charger cause a bad idle.

[Guest Recian]

I put the alternator on today and drove it home. Ran great the whole time 40 miles. Stayed between 188-194 temp and never had idle issues or low voltage. My old one was running at 10.9v at the lowest and never had a battery light. It depends on what the voltage regulator tells the IPC to illuminate the light as to if it turns the light on. I assume the same is true of a code?