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I Hate Alternators!

D

DyComet

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Messages
526
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Battery light flicked on again after flickering at high rpm's for a couple weeks now. This is my 3rd alternator in the past 5000 miles. Anybody have any idea why they are dying on me like this?
 
DyComet said:
Battery light flicked on again after flickering at high rpm's for a couple weeks now. This is my 3rd alternator in the past 5000 miles. Anybody have any idea why they are dying on me like this?
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yeah is it a reman? more than convinced that if you don't want any issues you need to spend the money on a new oem one ...
 
Yeah it was reman. I'm going to take a gamble one last time and replace it today since it's under warranty. If this one fails again I'm going back to OEM. But my first two were brand new.
 
Its a 1999. I'll go try the wiring fix right now but if that doesn't work it's getting pulled and Autozone reluctantly said that it was under warranty even after they tried to convince me it wasn't the alternator.
 
DyComet said:
Its a 1999. I'll go try the wiring fix right now but if that doesn't work it's getting pulled and Autozone reluctantly said that it was under warranty even after they tried to convince me it wasn't the alternator.
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well return it as defective then if it hasn't been in that long ...
 
I'm having the same problems. I'd get the battery light at high RPM. I've replaced a couple alternators thinking it would solve the problem but it didn't. I even brought it to the ford dealer think they could figure it out, but they couldn't. I pretty much just gave up for now, and have been driving my car with it like that for a couple months. I just dont take it up high. I will monitor this thread hoping to find a solution.
 
I have the same problem, I'm getting some work done on mine in the next week or so. Will let you know what happens.
 
Update, did the wiring fix and the battery light went off. I thought everything would be fixed until tonight I was out driving headlights dimmed and car eventually stalled but luckily I was pulling into a friends driveway when it did. I'll be pulling the alternator tomorrow and replacing it. Hopefully that will solve the problem. I'll keep the thread updated.
 
Another update: Wiring fix did nothing but turn off the battery light and leave me hanging running just on battery and then leave me stranded at a friends house. Anyway, got the car home and replaced the alternator and kept the wiring fix. Started the car and the battery light was still on! At idle the battery was around 11 volts and even at 2k it was just under 11 volts so the alternator is doing nothing. I checked for any type of short where I performed the wiring fix but everything is sealed up nicely. Any more ideas for me to try?
 
And did you check the mega fuse? Sorry if you did, I am just tossing out what was most noticeable in your last post.
 
Yes, well, mega fuse was replaced about a month ago when I last did the alternator but I didn't check it again this time. I'll let you know in about 5 minutes.
 
Update: Mega fuse was absoutely fried. The plastic melted everywhere. I'll pick up another mega fuse tomorrow and hopefully this should be the end of it.
 
Alternator replacement

Alternator replacement

I recently had my alternator replaced, and the shop purchased the replacement from AutoZone. I am having problems with it. Even tho it is under warranty I may just give up the fight and get a new one installed at the dealer.
To me the electrical system on my 98 Contour is very complicated and not worth messing with non-OEM components - I guess I leaned my lesson.
 
Alright heres the final update. New alternator installed and wiring fix performed and a new mega fuse installed. Battery light is now off at all rpm's which is an improvement from the last alternator which still had the light on at high rpm's. Jerry, what kinds of problems are you having? I've been through the insides and outs with this alternator wiring system recently and I may be able to help.
 
Another update: Today after driving for a short distance, the battery light began to flicker..again, anywhere above 2k rpm. What else could possibly be wrong?
 
Ok fixed, hopefully this time for good. There was a large buildup of plastic where my megafuse melted last time and apparently I missed a huge piece blocking the current. Now everything runs normal. Thank you for your help everyone.
 
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