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The procedure given by sdewolfe is superb.
A quick and dirty one is this: Get a helper to sit behind the wheel with the key in. You go to the alternator and disconnect that thin red wire.
Tell the helper to turn the key to Position II, and then you touch the red wire to a nearby ground.
Ask if the Batt light is on? Are the brake failure, bulb failure, and parking brake lights on? If they are all off, the problem is within the red wire.
Usually the problem is in the wire between the alternator and the gray connector on the firewall. Your car is of a year (1983-87) that used a harness beginning at that connector with insulation that crumbles off.
ALSO, the thin red wire, along with the fat red wire and the wire to the oil pressure sensor, are in a harness that runs under the front of the engine.
Nasty environment - heat, oil drips, vibration, road grit, and clips that can chafe their way into the harness cover.
One fix is to run a bypass wire. Begin at the gray connector. It can be removed from the firewall and the back of it opened up. Look for a hinge and tiny hold-down clips. Be sure to keep the other wires in their holes.
The new wire should be auto hook-up wire, red, 16 gauge, and routed along the firewall and down the RF fender. Leave a big loop over to the alternator. You must attach the connector from the old wire at the gray connector.
Good Luck,
bob
:>)
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