Starting and Running Issues

[bassboy3313]

Hey. Here is the story ...

Awhile back my 91 240 would only click when trying to start. I replaced the battery and still nothing. I took it to a shop and they said it was the starter and after they replaced the starter it was fine. a couple days after that the battery light slowly came on. it was fine for the 2 days i drove it with the light on until last night.
I started it and let it idle to warm up. when i came back outside to leave the car was not runnign anymore. i went to go start it again and the dash lights were dim and it clicked onced and then nothing. i figured, ok the alternator is bad since the new battery is now dead after 3 times driving it.
this morning i went out to see if it would start and it fired right up. i let it idle for awhile and everything was good. i drove it around the neighborhood for about 5 minutes. when i pulled back into the driveway, it immediately started bogging and then died. i tried to start it up again and it just clicked.
What could cause this? I am desperite since there are 3 people in the house with only 1 car now. if anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it. thanks.

[Dream240]

My first guess is the charging system, since you have a battery light on. Cold weather? Old battery? Check the battery life, if that's good then you could have a bad/loose ground wire or a failing alt.

From experience, if you've got a car that at least starts up, then it's not your starter. Starters don't have anything to do with the car once it's started, sounds like you got ripped for that one.

In any case, you have alot of diagnostics ahead of you. If you just simply can't figure it out, take it to a trustworthy mechanic (not the one that did the starter, shady). My main reasoning behind that is: You drive a 19 year old car, prolly on it's original starter. Which means it's worn but prolly still worked. ANY shop that is well versed in ripping people off will sell them a starter on a 19 year old car, and if you're not knowledgable you're going to buy it thinking your problems are solved. Well obviously they're not, so it wasn't the starter. If you can, get your money back, but I doubt it.

Sorry, I just hate shops that rip people like you off because you prolly didn't know better. I'll try to help you as best I can from here on out. So get to diagnosing!!

Good luck.

[bassboy3313]

starter was actually bad and the ground cable going to it was kind of crappy. its my moms cousins husband who is the mechanic. he wouldnt rip me off. ive been reading up on the diodes on the alternator. it says the charging system dash indicator light on the dash will start off really dim if 1 diode goes out then get progressively brighter as more diodes go. thats exactly what happened with the battery light on my dash. now its much brighter then it was the first time i noticed it was really dim. i thought the dash lights were faulty since my e-brake light is on even when it is disengaged and my gas light is on even tho i have a full tank.