Power drain
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 9
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From: Auburn Hills MI
Power drain
Hello everyone! I'm new to these forums and just got my first corvette project car. It is a 1978 dark brown metallic car that's all numbers matching with 50k original miles. The car sat in a heated garage for 25 years without being started. I finally got it in my driveway, changed the fluids, hoses, and it fired right up. I replaced the battery because the original was toast and the car ran fine for a day or two, but then i started losing volts and eventually my car was losing power. I replaced the alternator and it stayed charged for about 2 days then all of a sudden the battery started to die while I was driving. I just took it on a 70 mile trip and it ran fine but as soon as i got it in the garage i started losing my volts again. Also when i use my power windows, all the lights in the car go dim until i take my hand off the button. I have read some of the posts on open shorts and checking fuses, but I believe it may be something loose, or the new alternator i got is defective. Again, with this being my first corvette, I'm not familiar with common issues found on them. I went to auto zone and purchased a test light as well as a volt meter. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! 
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: Auburn Hills MI
I checked the voltage and the starter wires and everything checked out good so i replaced the alternator. The car is now charging so I'm guessing it was a faulty alternator. I did notice that the alternator itself gets pretty hot after a while ( almost as hot as the valve covers) Is this a normal thing? Also how tight should I make the belt? An inch of play at the center? Thanks guys!
