Decides to idle at will and dead battery?

[pistolkeith]

So my 85 720 KC RWD has decided that it will only idle when it wants to. By this i mean, ill get her started(more about this soon) and then it will rev as high as i so desire but then when i bring her back down to idle it just dies. I can keep her running by holding the revs high but its a no go on her own if i take my foot off the accelerator. If i just take off and get it going on the freeway it will happily hold the speed no worries(coughs and splutters a little but i think thats a whole other issue). And then, upon arriving at my destination it will idle fine.

On to the next issue which may be related as they started at the same time. I replaced the alternator about 1/4 the way through my journey from moving from Toronto to Los Angeles. Ever since then ive had the above issue with idle but also my battery seems to have a very very short life. I used the radio for a little over an hour and the next time i started it, nothing. It used to last a lot longer and i havent had any issues prior to replacing the alternator. Could these two issues be related or is it just showing to be a string of bad luck?

[dirtdog]

There is an idle solenoid on the carb of some models. It lets the idle down slower that the accelerator so it doesn't stall. You might want to check it out.
Good luck
DD

[flinterman2000]

So my 85 720 KC RWD has decided that it will only idle when it wants to. By this i mean, ill get her started(more about this soon) and then it will rev as high as i so desire but then when i bring her back down to idle it just dies. I can keep her running by holding the revs high but its a no go on her own if i take my foot off the accelerator. If i just take off and get it going on the freeway it will happily hold the speed no worries(coughs and splutters a little but i think thats a whole other issue). And then, upon arriving at my destination it will idle fine.

On to the next issue which may be related as they started at the same time. I replaced the alternator about 1/4 the way through my journey from moving from Toronto to Los Angeles. Ever since then ive had the above issue with idle but also my battery seems to have a very very short life. I used the radio for a little over an hour and the next time i started it, nothing. It used to last a lot longer and i havent had any issues prior to replacing the alternator. Could these two issues be related or is it just showing to be a string of bad luck?

It could be that it idles too slow when its cold if it idles after a long run. you amy need to check the rotation of the alternator or the output of the alternator to solve the second issue.

[pistolkeith]

I know the idle is fine because it idles no worries sometimes but it will decide it just won't idle whenever it wants. So I don't think it's the idle. It has to be a electrical issue I think? Could it be the solenoid mentioned above? And where would I find that?

[dirtdog]

It is mounted on the carb, and has a rod that hits under the accelerator linkage. You will know it by the wire (single) coming from it. I think the wire is red (I think!!!)
Good luck
DD