Gents,
Is it normal for the car to shut down when running and I remove a battery terminal. New battery, new alternator, new start solenoid. Car is a 68 basic cougar with 351W. I thought it should stay running using the electrical power from the alternator. Thanks for any help,
It should remain running, the charging isn’t working, it’s running on battery, now days new doesn’t mean anything.
Don’t ever remove the cable from a battery with the car running. That trailer park trick is a guarantee that you have no idea what you are doing.
The modern day voltage regulators being electronic don’t like on again off again of the cable, I haven’t compared new alternators to old but I would assume they have some electronics in them also, in the old days things were a little more tolerable, the proper way is get the book and meter and do some testing, right or wrong it is something that was done back in the day but today’s items won’t tolerate it , I never liked working on the charging system but mainly because I never stopped and took the time to read on it, good luck.
Thats not a trailer park trick, changing the battery while running is. (yes I have done it more then once!) 
The first question would by why did you pull the cable? Was it to check the alternator after install? or is there another issue your having? While pulling the cable is a rudimentary way its not reliable. You will need to check voltage output to determine the alternator state of charge.
Disagree completely. Every alternator is made with diodes. Removing the battery cable with the engine running will cause excessive current, frying one or more diodes instantly. This has always been true. It’s not a modern thing. Being stupid has no limits and does not help.
Maybe now you are going to say that it’s a great way to test generators? No it isn’t. A generator without a battery is going to produce as much voltage and current as it can, and will quickly die if the battery terminals are removed.
Come on Stupid? Most of us don’t have your knowledge, it a hobby we enjoy, mistakes will be made, money will be spent that shouldn’t have been spent but we still enjoy it.
Don’t like the word? Try ignorant.
All done with this, your people skills need help.
The point is that it’s a really bad, terrible, and pointless thing to do. It proves nothing and can cause tremendous, expensive damage. Your feelings were not my concern and were not the point - trying to keep the OP from doing it again is my goal. If he doesn’t want to learn what to do then he won’t ever know will he?
Nothing to my feelings, I’ll be surprised original poster engages any more
Have to agree with Randy on this one. When someone comes asking for help, leave the personal attacks out of it. If my automotive shop teacher in high school approached students this way, he wouldn’t have a job. The OP made a mistake. Everyone has at some time. That’s how you learn…maybe an expensive lesson, but you learn. Only an explanation of why its bad is required. Degradation is not. We are trying to get the cougar lovers together. I too will be surprised if the OP ever comes back the site.
Here we go again !!
Royce shows his true colors !
He’s nothing but a real @*&!
A pampas azz.
Great for the Cougar Community. uhhh nope !
I learned much of what I know by doing stupid stuff that didn’t work first. I would like to help others to not do the stupid stuff first. It’s really inexpensive to ask questions before you screw up and cost yourself a lot of time and money.
I read a quote that I think is applicable here.
PAUL HARVEY’S LETTER TO HIS GRANDCHILDREN
We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I’d like better.
I’d really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches… I really would.
I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.
I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.
And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.
It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.
I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.
I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it’s all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he’s scared, I hope you let him.
When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you’ll let him/her.
I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.
On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don’t ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won’t be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.
If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.
When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.
I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy / girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.
I don’t care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don’t like it… And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he/she is not your friend.
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.
May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.
I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor’s window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.
These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it’s the only way to appreciate life.
Royce you have a lot of useable knowledge of these cars and Ford Hi Performance.
But guess what it all means nothing without people. And talking to people the way you can do. They won’t be around long.
When we are wrong and we make mistakes we learn from that. And we all make them and are wrong at times.
( oh sorry not you though )
I’ve seen you be wrong about certain Parts info , or info in general in the past but then not admit being wrong when proven wrong.
Try a better approach with teaching your knowledge to the unknowing ( or as you say ignorant people ) because you sir are talking of yourself when it comes to people.
Also when an apology is due, give one.
Your good but you aren’t God.
I wonder which battery cable was pulled off.
If negative side, then ground plane is the engine and body if there’s a cable from engine to body (not always there). If not grounded to the body, the alternator will stop working as well.
If positive cable is removed, you have a very good chance of shorting the positive side of the battery to the body with the wrench, which is a great way to initiate welding and burn your hands. That’s why everywhere it says to remove the negative cable first when changing batteries.
I welded a Watch Band to a fender “once” making that mistake. got a nice burn on my wrist to go with it.
Removing the battery cable is a trick to see if the alternator is working. However, it puts other items at risk. Back in the day, after someone told me this trick I tried it and fried an MSD-6AL box. Was able to send the box back to MSD for repairs of $56 plus shipping. Not a big loss, but live and learn. It may work on 10 cars in a row without damaging anything, but a volt meter is a better choice for checking things like that.
Agreed! Removing the battery cable to test the charging system was never a good idea, but it wasn’t as risky back in the days of DC generators. The alternators on our Cougars produce AC (alternating current) which requires semiconductor rectifier diodes to turn the AC into DC current to charge the battery. Take away the battery and now the voltage regulator can’t work right. So you’ve got major current and voltage surges that can easily take out the alternator diodes and any other modern electronics that have been added to the car.
Disagree completely regarding generators. I have several Model T’s, none currently with generators but in the past I have had some that had generators. The generator goes into a spiraling melt down of the armature if the battery is disconnected. It’s really common among Model T owners. Very expensive lesson for those who don’t understand the consequences of even a few seconds of a runaway generator. When I was young and stupid I ruined the generator on my 1960 Ford pickup the same way.