dead battery

First of all, you should check the battery voltage readings with a voltmeter and then start the car to see what voltage reading is comparing the two. If the voltage reading goes up between 13.5-14.8, it would be a bad battery, if no change it would be the alt. not charging. And also others things to check is the voltage regulator and make sure the gen bulb or resistor is still functional behind the speedometer case. Good luck.

Would you know what the resister looks like ?and how would you know if it was good our bad ?

For the charging system - alternator - to work and get a charge into the battery, current must pass through the 'gen' bulb. If the bulb burns out, no charging. So... DeTomaso added a resister across the bulb to create a current path should the bulb fail. The resistor is a ceramic style, squarish shape about 1 1/2 " long - IIRC. Really doesn't matter if it is good or not as long as the bulb is working.

What fails in a charging system is usually the battery, followed by the voltage reg, and finally the alt.

Get a voltmeter and see what the battery voltage is without the engine running. Good battery will be around 12.2 volts or so. Start the car and again check the battery posts for voltage - should now be higher...13.5-14.2 or so. Battery is good for 3-6 years, at most. Nothing exotic about the pantera system - standard Ford. Any shop can hook up the standard testers and troubleshoot for you.

Hope this helps.

Larry

Thank you larry ,it wsa the voltage reg ,the bulb works