m102391

I just bought a 95 Ford Escort and it needed a battery.
I went and got a used battery from the junkyard, and the car ran fine all day. Next day, went out to do some errands and it died on the way home, wouldn't start.
We replaced the alternator yesterday and today I went all the way across town, and right before I got home, I was at a stop light and it started idling weird and the dash lights got dim and the radio cut on and off. By time I got to the drive way, the car died and I had to coast to park. Now it won't start again.
I jumped it from my moms car for a few seconds and it fired right up (right before I connected the cables, I noticed the little light under the hood got brighter, and as soon as I disconnected, it dimmed again) then it started idling weird again, I shut it off, and wouldn't start again. I don't know what to do.

I'm thinkin it's something between the alternator and the battery because the battery should be fine (when me and my dad went to get it, we switched batteries to get the Escort home and his truck charged mine up enough for me to run all day). What could it be?

Also, I was reading somewhere about moisture in the distributor cap (it was raining on the way home) and if that is the problem, will replacing the cap fix it, or is the moisture getting into the cap from elsewhere.

Bert

It's the charging system and not the distributor. I'd check the alternator circuit. Could be a connection or the alternator itself. There's a fusible link in the black/white wire to the alternator. It could be burnt too. See if there's voltage in that wire at the alternator.

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Bert