Lately my '85 GT has been hesitating when cold, particularly right after shifting into 2nd. Nothing has been changed on the car, not getting any codes. I'd love to get Win ALDL up and running, but haven't had any luck with that at all. Plugs were changed a couple of months ago, ignition coil and ICM are about 6 months old.

The CTS (the one for the ECM not the gauge) plays a major role in cold engine performance. Have you checked to make sure the resistance is consistent with the engine temperature?

I wouldn't even know where to start to look for the resistance. Is it in the FSM somewhere?

The two terminals that stick out of the coolant temp sensor when it's unplugged, use an ohm meter to check the resistance.

Thanks guys. I'll have to try this tomorrow, as I went out to the car, the battery was just about dead . I've got some sort of electrical gremlins, because this is the second time in a month this has happened. Last time it just went away on its own.

After you recharge the battery, check that you're getting 14V across the battery terminals when the engine is running. If not, your alternator is dying or dead. Too low or too high a voltage causes some of the sensors and the ECM to go wonky. It might explain some of your other problems.

I used to have a similar issue on my 88GT, turned out the battery was going bad. I tossed in a new battery and was amazed at the performance difference.

I'll also second the check the voltage suggestion. Alternator going bad could cause this as well.

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To check the alternator at the battery, would I just run the leads from my multi-meter across the 2 terminals? What setting would I put it on, and which spots would I put the leads in (COM and mA/BATT/V/Omn or COM and 10a?). Sorry for the dumb questions, but electronics is not my strong suit.

Correct, just run across the 2 terminals. Use the 20 setting in the yellow area and connect the leads to the COM & mA/BATT/Ohm connections. Put the meter somewhere where you can read it and keep and eye on the probes at the same time. I have seen some cheap multimeters start smoking and melting down, can't really tell the quality of this one from the picture.

quote Originally posted by NetCam: To check the alternator at the battery, would I just run the leads from my multi-meter across the 2 terminals? What setting would I put it on, and which spots would I put the leads in (COM and mA/BATT/V/Omn or COM and 10a?). Sorry for the dumb questions, but electronics is not my strong suit.

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Got exactly 14V across the battery with the engine running. Will have to check the CTS next.