Urgent: Chicago Members: Stranded in Chicago

[Jim Wright]

Big thanks go to Alex Samardzich who braved bad weather and interstate
traffic to give me a hand this AM.  Turns out the alternator was at
fault, and the battery was fine.  The first test of the alternator at
the parts place passed, but it turns out that it just wasn't putting out
enough amperage, so unless the engine was pretty much constantly
revving, power levels would drop off steadily.

Unfortunately by the time we were pretty sure the alternator was the
problem, it was back on the car as we tracked down symptoms, and I made
the decision to leave the repair until we got back to our temporary home
base near St. Louis (where I am now) to finish things up.

Part of this decision was the fact that in removing the alternator, one
of the bolts snapped off, and the other one that should have been there
wasn't!  So I did pick up a new bolt, but we weren't equipped to drill
out the bad bolt and extract it up there, but I've got everything I need
here now, so I should be in good shape.

Thanks also to Larry Weeks, Wayne Cox, and Derrick Stgrikeleather for
offering suggestions.