Took the car out for the first ride of the year and it started kind of hard but I got it running. Made it to the Gas Station and needed a jump to get going again. I took it for a nice long ride around town hoping to charge the battery, but when I got home and shut it off, I only got about 1/2 rotation of the fan, and the starter wouldn't even click anymore. I am going to charge the battery today (800CCA), but should I be thinking new battery. Just changed plugs, HEI cap, and rotor, and ignition coil, and everything ran fine. I also monkeyed with the timing a little bit, I suppose that could have somethign to do with it, couldn't it. Everything worked fine when I put it away.

maybe alternator?

*waits for someone with more experience to come in*

I went down that same road last week in Fond du Lac. Put that charge on the battery and then check the voltage with the charger off. You should have around 12.5vdc ballpark. Fire up the engine and check battery voltage again with the engine running. Now you should see something around 14.5vdc (again ballpark). This is a fair alternator check.
If you think ignition timing is an issue, eliminate it. You can unplug the HEI and see if you are fighting against spark. I would say not as likely because you would get about the same amount of movement of the fan with each try.
I would say your next step is to charge the battery and get it load tested. Mine is on the charger now and I'll take it in Saturday morning.

Good Luck!

Always suspect the battery first, reguardless of it's age. The most unreliable part on your car.

Got a volt meter?

I took my battery in and found it failed at only 4yrs old. Because we live in the cold north part of the year, we store the car and let the battery sit without being cycled. I just picked up a battery tender (and new battery) that can be plugged into the battery for the entire winter. This will allow the battery to discharge on its own to about 12.2vdc and then recharge it again. This keeps the battery fresh till the snow melts. Its worth the $35. Just remember that the tender is not meant to charge a dead battery but only cycle it while being stored.

I took my battery in and found it failed at only 4yrs old. Because we live in the cold north part of the year, we store the car and let the battery sit without being cycled. I just picked up a battery tender (and new battery) that can be plugged into the battery for the entire winter. This will allow the battery to discharge on its own to about 12.2vdc and then recharge it again. This keeps the battery fresh till the snow melts. Its worth the $35. Just remember that the tender is not meant to charge a dead battery but only cycle it while being stored.

Great advice! If a battery is let discharge, the plates get sulphated. A light trickle charge will keep this from happening.

FWIW< I was told many years ago that the best way to store a (good or new) lead\acid battery is to fully charge it and store it in a deep freezer. In the spring, bring it up to ambient temp then install it. About 5 days for a car battery. The cold temps slow the chemical reaction down to almost nothing during storage. I tried this once and got 8 years out of a lawn tractor battery. The wife objects to batteries in the same space as edibles though, so I now I get about 3 years.

My "understanding" is that the alternator will not charge a low battery while driving. You will need to put a battery charger on the battery to fully charge it.

Kent
68 Malibu ZZ502/502 :)
ACES #5102