89 300TE Bad Battery ?

[turner]

I have an 89 300 TE with a new strange problem. My wife was driving the car today, when as she went to pull into our garage she noticed the radio started fuzing in and out and the tach was fluctuating, though the car was idling fine. She poped it on the trickle charger for a few hours and then went out again no issues at first. When I drove it and sat with it idle in the shopping paza I noticed a few funny things. The ABS light came on and the rear defogger gave the blinky light indicating not enough power. The battery light did NOT come on.

Could this be just a bad battery and a slightly bad alternator? If the alternator is not producing enough amps at idle is the battery bosting it?

When does the Battery light come on?

I'm sure someone will say OVP on this as it seems that's the fix to everything including chattering wiper blades

It's on the trickle for the night so I guess I'll see tomorrow.

[lkchris]

Alternator is failing.

[Rusty Boltz]

If the battery holds a charge and starts fine, then alternatorsounds likely. I just had the same thing going on in a Plymoth Caravan and had to replace the 10 month old battery--free under warranty. Upon checking alternator /voltage regulator functions were fine--good voltage output.

One thing I would say is pretty likely and that is that the car is getting insufficient voltage. Other than that, testing seems in order if the battery seems to hold a charge over night. Wont be able to verify if it spends the night on the charger.