Battery light on, am i looking for 3rd alternator?

[doodad]

ok guys, after having some fun with CSVT members tonight, i parked the car and had something to eat, when i got back to my car, battery light came on.

the car was fine all the way to my house (1 hour drive).

i blew the stock alternator around 2 months ago and i got autozone alternator and installed it and i blew it at track (on of the tetth from the fan was broken) and i went ahead and bought factory alternator from ford dealership 1 month ago and installed it (Yes, i installed it correctly, i even posted step by step instructions)

so what do you guys think the problem could be now? did i blow another alternator? or somethingelse is wrong? OR, something is wrong and that kills the alternator?

Just trying to figure out whats up cuz it is unreal, 3 alternators in 2 months!

is there a way to test the alternator and see if it is good or bad while the alternator is still in the car? or is there some kind of test that can tell me what is wrong??

I need help. Thanks a lot!!

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[Flyn]

Autometer and other companies make charging system analyzers. Dealers and most decent sized shops have them. Pick one of our vendors who is close to you and get your charging system analyzed before spending the money for another alternator. 3 alternators in two months suggests there is some other problem.

 

[vnmpind]

are you running a lower pulley kit?

I have one if you want it decent price

 

[y2k4cobra]

a lot of times if you have a bad battery it will smoke alternators because the alternator will try to fast charge a dying battery and that burns out the diodes in the alternator. I would test the battery first or take it into a shop to have them look at it.

 

[doodad]

are you running a lower pulley kit?

I have one if you want it decent price

No i don't have lower pulley. i already have 2.76 pulley. I can't run lower pulley without port.

I will see if autozone have any kind of testers for this.

Thanks guys.

 

[Wiked03]

Is the battery original? When my alternator went I had autozone test the battery and it was shot too.

 

[doodad]

Is the battery original? When my alternator went I had autozone test the battery and it was shot too.

I have no idea if it is original. when i got the car, the car was stock so i assume the battery is from the factory too.

but a bad battery can kill alternators? I will go to autozone and they will test the alternator out.

I don't anna get under the car and take the alternator out and test it. AGAIN...

 

[Wiked03]

I have no idea if it is original. when i got the car, the car was stock so i assume the battery is from the factory too.

but a bad battery can kill alternators? I will go to autozone and they will test the alternator out.

I don't anna get under the car and take the alternator out and test it. AGAIN...

Autozone can test the battery and the ALT but they have to be off the car. You can have the ALT off in like 10 mins, you should be a pro now.

 

[doodad]

Autozone can test the battery and the ALT but they have to be off the car. You can have the ALT off in like 10 mins, you should be a pro now.

Yeah, lol, i can probably take the alternator out in 15 mins. first, they tod me to bring the car and they wil do 2 different tests and then if they see no problem, then i will wait till wife comes home and take the damn alternator out and take the wife's car and test it out and see how it is.

No way i can blow another alternator. I know factory alternator is crap but come on, it shouldn't be this bad. it has been only 2-3k miles since i put the alternator on.:crying:

 

[Wiked03]

Get the battery tested too... I suspect it might be toast as well.

 

[Flyn]

As I mentioned, some places can hook up their analyzers and test the battery and alternator while they are in the car. Call around and find out who does it if you don't want to pull the stuff to take to Autozone.

 

[doodad]

As I mentioned, some places can hook up their analyzers and test the battery and alternator while they are in the car. Call around and find out who does it if you don't want to pull the stuff to take to Autozone.

ford dealership said for 50 bucks they do some kind of test that takes like 1 hour.

I hope nothing serious!!

 

[Dana]

No way i can blow another alternator. I know factory alternator is crap but come on, it shouldn't be this bad. it has been only 2-3k miles since i put the alternator on.:crying:

Yes, you can.

Yes, it can.

Sounds about right. (j/k).

Sorry.

 

[doodad]

ok, i got in the car to go to autozone and damn light was still on. i drove 1 mile and light was gone! :whoknows:

I went ahead and asked the autozone clerk to test it out. he tested the battery and it was around 169-170amps and he did starter simulator and it only dropped 1 amp and went back to normal. He said battery is good.

he did another test and he said that my voltage is a little low. my voltage was 12.99-13.00V with full A/C and radio on. and then i turned the headlights and fog lights on and it went down to 12.5-12.6V

he told me that it might be fuse, or relay or maybe wiring.

the light is still off, so what do you guys suggest to do? how can i check if my fuse is bad, or relay is bad or wiring is bad?

 

[Dana]

The only thing you can check for at the moment is loose wires.
If the problem is intermittent, it is still probably your alternator. You'll just have wait until it fails again to have it checked.


When these cars first came out, there were 2 sources of problems with the alternator:
1) the wires on the rear of the alternator were loosening up.

2) the wires on the Battery Junction Box were loosening up, particularly the stud that protrudes out of it.
The Battery Junction Box is the black box right next to the battery.

You can also check the ground wires that connect to the engine.

Dana

 

[doodad]

The only thing you can check for at the moment is loose wires.
If the problem is intermittent, it is still probably your alternator. You'll just have wait until it fails again to have it checked.


When these cars first came out, there were 2 sources of problems with the alternator:
1) the wires on the rear of the alternator were loosening up.

2) the wires on the Battery Junction Box were loosening up, particularly the stud that protrudes out of it.
The Battery Junction Box is the black box right next to the battery.

You can also check the ground wires that connect to the engine.

Dana

Thanks a lot Dana!

I will check those.

 

[rdsnake]

Autozone Alternators are junk. 100% not worth buying. The best thing they are for is paper weights. I had tons of alternators fail on different cars, all the alternators were from autozone.

Return the alternator, go to Ford and buy a brand new one, NOT REUBILT. Problem will be sloved for awhile.

Kevin

 

[Wiked03]

Autozone Alternators are junk. 100% not worth buying. The best thing they are for is paper weights. I had tons of alternators fail on different cars, all the alternators were from autozone.

Return the alternator, go to Ford and buy a brand new one, NOT REUBILT. Problem will be sloved for awhile.

Kevin

Damn you, I wish you would have typed this BEFORE i replaced mine with one from autozone! LOL

So far so good, but now I am scared.

 

[doodad]

Autozone Alternators are junk. 100% not worth buying. The best thing they are for is paper weights. I had tons of alternators fail on different cars, all the alternators were from autozone.

Return the alternator, go to Ford and buy a brand new one, NOT REUBILT. Problem will be sloved for awhile.

Kevin

Kevin, been there, done that! when i first blew the alternator, i bought one from autozone and 15 days later, at GLD alternator gave up. i was like f*ck autozne and got my money back and went to rod baker ford and ordered a brand new one. it has been in for a little over a month now and i had the battery light on yesterday. I just went to autozone to test it since they do it for free.

 

[rdsnake]

Kevin, been there, done that! when i first blew the alternator, i bought one from autozone and 15 days later, at GLD alternator gave up. i was like f*ck autozne and got my money back and went to rod baker ford and ordered a brand new one. it has been in for a little over a month now and i had the battery light on yesterday. I just went to autozone to test it since they do it for free.

Did you buy a NEW one or a rebuilt one, the new units are more $$. Check all of the fuses make sure everything is good. Maybe you have a loose connector/dirty connector on the alternator. How many miles on the car?

You could try a PA performance alternator, I am using one. They are hit or miss with those too.

Damn you, I wish you would have typed this BEFORE i replaced mine with one from autozone! LOL

So far so good, but now I am scared.

Stay away from Auto Zone parts they are all junk. I used to work a Midas, they used all Auto Zone parts What a shitty Co.

In the end, you get what you pay for.

 

[doodad]

Did you buy a NEW one or a rebuilt one, the new units are more $$. Check all of the fuses make sure everything is good. Maybe you have a loose connector/dirty connector on the alternator. How many miles on the car?

You could try a PA performance alternator, I am using one. They are hit or miss with those too.

I bought new unit. my car just turned into 43k miles.

I have heard horror stories about PA performance alternators. I will check the connectors and see whats up. so far battery light is gone

 

[SonicBlur]

1. DON'T buy ALTERNATORS from Auto Zone.
2. If your alternator died at one point, and you drove a lot (or really hard) the only power you had was coming from the battery, which is probably fried.
3. Buy a factory (or a GOOD rebuilt one) and buy a new battery.
4. DON'T buy a PA Performance alternator...it's not worth it and you don't need it, trust me. The factory alternator is fine.

Good luck, I've been through all this before.

-Mike

 

[doodad]

1. DON'T buy ALTERNATORS from Auto Zone.
2. If your alternator died at one point, and you drove a lot (or really hard) the only power you had was coming from the battery, which is probably fried.
3. Buy a factory (or a GOOD rebuilt one) and buy a new battery.
4. DON'T buy a PA Performance alternator...it's not worth it and you don't need it, trust me. The factory alternator is fine.

Good luck, I've been through all this before.

-Mike

yeah, i learned my lesson with autozone alternator and bought a brand new alternator from ford.

i hope i am not having another laternator issue cuz it is a new alternator and it has only been in the car for 2-3k miles i guess.:crying:

 

[rdsnake]

I still can't figuare out why Ford put the alternator on the blower belt, They should have put it w/ on the inner belt, problem sloved.

 

[doodad]

I still can't figuare out why Ford put the alternator on the blower belt, They should have put it w/ on the inner belt, problem sloved.

I don't know where I heard but i think they had no other choice since the motor is big and they didn't have anywherelse to put.