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Is it the battery or alternator?

L

lunatic

CEG'er
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
64
Location
Baltimore area, MD
Hello

I went out of town for 10 days. When I came back, my Contour wouldn't start. I noticed the dome light was left on. The car wouldn't turn or even make any noises. The keyless entry wouldnt even unlock it. Anyways, I jump started the battery to get the car started. The car would run for a few seconds, then stall and then I would have to jump start it again and the car would run for a little bit then stall. This went on for about a half an hour.

When the car was idling (before it stalled) the speedometer would go back and fourth between 85 mph and 130 mph! I've never seen this on any car before! Anyways, I took the battery out of the car and placed it on a charger all day and took my other car to work. The battery was completely dead when I put it on the charger and when I got home from work, it was back up to 14.4 again. I will reinstall the battery tommorrow and see what happens. I don't think it's the alternator, but then again, why in the world would the speedo move from 85 to 130 back and fourth at a fast pace and why did the car keep stalling after I jump started it? Shouldn't the alternator have charged it? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
 
The battery was too dead! Try it with the recharged battery and see if you alternator is charging (14 volts or so). If your car is running and it's 12.6 or less, the alternator is not charging. You may need a new battery a bit sooner because they don't like deep cycle.
 
Charge the battery first. Preferably overnight at a 2 amp trickle rate. Try it again. If that doesn't solve the problem, pull the battery and have it tested. Once you have a known good battery, check the charging system.

There is no reason to believe that you damaged the alternator from draining the battery. Get the battery corrected before you worry about the alternator. The chances of having an alternator problem are very low.
 
Okay, I put in the freshly charged battery. The car still wouldnt start. I had to jump start it again. It is still running but the odometer keeps putting miles on the car and the speedometer is at 100 mph (but the car is at idle!)

Anybody know what this could be?

Okay, I just went out and put it in gear while it's running, and the car stalled out and the speedometer is pegged all the way past 130mph and the car's not even running. I tryed to start it up and nothing happened.
 
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Were you able to check the volts while the car was running? Should be 14.4 volts. And when my alternator went, lots of crazy stuff happened with electrical systems, ie. wipers, lights, speedo/tach, etc.
 
Just change the battery first. It is highly likely it is permanently damaged and NEEDS to be replaced. Your problems will likely go away...:shrug:
 
zorrex said:
Just change the battery first. It is highly likely it is permanently damaged and NEEDS to be replaced. Your problems will likely go away...:shrug:
Click to expand...

i highly doubt that. When i started to have these same problems, e.g (my speedometer needle going crazy, odometer running by itself), i bought a new battery thinking it would solve em. Well, couple o' weeks later, i completely drained the new one. I just bought anotha alternator hoping it will be fixed.
 
Alright, car was towed to a shop today. They said the battery definatly needs to be replaced. I took the battery back to where I bought it and the guy said he can't refund me my money or give me another battery until he charges it himself and tests it. I will hear back from him tomorrow.

As for my car, it's at a service shop. They tested it and said the alternator is fine, but I will definantly need a new cluster as well as a battery because it's pegged all the way past 130mph. (Can a 2.5 Contour actually hit 135mph?) That questions off topic but i figured I could squeeze it in. Anyways, I should know more about whats going on tommorrow.

These are fun cars to drive but the way they're designed and set up is crazy. Every mechanic I've talked to, said they hate Contours/Mystiques and that they are full of problems. I don't know, I guess thats a matter of opinion.

It has 117K so I'd like to keep it for another 100K but I may just have to trade it in and get another car, but I hope not.
 
BAD SVT said:
i highly doubt that. When i started to have these same problems, e.g (my speedometer needle going crazy, odometer running by itself), i bought a new battery thinking it would solve em. Well, couple o' weeks later, i completely drained the new one. I just bought anotha alternator hoping it will be fixed.
Click to expand...

But why would the alternator just RANDOMLY crap out like that?:shrug:
The alternator doesn't just go bad because the battery dies...

EDIT: To OP: I would take a look at that cluster for yourself, I don't see why it would need to be replaced...I'm sure the needle just got stuck...
 
The battery died. When you jumped the car the alternator was trying to charge the dead battery and putting out >60 amps. This overheated the alternator and killed it.
 
zorrex said:
But why would the alternator just RANDOMLY crap out like that?:shrug:
The alternator doesn't just go bad because the battery dies...
Click to expand...

because a bad battery won't take a charge.. the alternator works ultra-hard and overheats, etc.

it happens all the time. just as a bad Alternator can ruin a battery..
 
I suspect that the alternator is fine. It usually takes a while to fry an alternator due to a badly wasted battery. Get a known good battery in it and see what happens next. You often can't get a reliable alternator test with a bad battery although you may get a reasonable indication (and you might not).
 
lunatic said:
If that's the case, why did the service shop tell me the alternator is fine?
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Nobody ever said the alternator WASN'T fine... I haven't lead you towards replacing the alternator at all.. I was merely pointing out how an alternator can fail due to a battery.
 
Got the car back today. It's running fine except for the radio, dome lights and power locks, which aren't working. It's probably just a blown fuse, I'll check it out tomorrow morning.
 
Well, the car runs fine still, but on my lunch break from work, I sit in it with the ignition turned to accesories so I can listsen to the radio during my lunch (1/2 hour) Anyways, when I leave work, she won't start and I have to jump start it. It only does this when I sit in my car and listen to the radio for about a half an hour. I think this is definantly a battery problem but if someone here thinks otherwise, let me know. It can't be the alternator because it was tested and it's fine.
 
If you put in a brand new battery and it is still draining down so that you can't start the engine, the charging system is allowing this to happen. Plus, is there really a key position for accessories? On my car in order to listen to the radio or work the windows or moonroof you have to turn the key to just before the starter engagement position. At this position, all electrics are activated so you are probably really putting a drain on an already weakened battery.
Karll
 
Your car must be built different than mine. I have a crank position, on position, acc position, and off position, just like the owner's manual and shop manual says.

Your other statement is wrong too. You can have other problems than a bad alternator that makes a battery run down. Shorts, crossfeeds, soththing left on, etc.
 
Big Jim said:
Your car must be built different than mine. I have a crank position, on position, acc position, and off position, just like the owner's manual and shop manual says.
Click to expand...
I think maybe the radio will work in the first position after "off" but the windows won't. It has to be at the "on" position.
Your other statement is wrong too. You can have other problems than a bad alternator that makes a battery run down. Shorts, crossfeeds, soththing left on, etc.
Click to expand...
Unless someone was fooling around with the wiring, I can't assume that any of those other possibilities can happen on their own. What we do know or assume is that this charging system was trying to charge a really dead battery and that the new battery is running down. The simplest, though not necessarily cheapest (although troubleshooting a wiring problem at today's labor rates isn't cheap) two things in this case are the battery and the alternator. The battery has been replaced so assuming the battery is still good, I'm left with the charging system.
Karl
 
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