2000 Contour - 2.5l Duratec won't start

[PurdySVT]

Well I have to give you guys credit. I jumped my car this morning and after a few times of turning it over the car started. I drove the car to work this morning (40 miles) and hopefully the battery re-charged. Now here's my question, I bought the battery new about 9 months ago, but about 4 months ago I drained the battery when I left my lights on for about 8 hours. I jumped the car to get it going again and it has started fine ever since. Now I have this issue where the car sat for only a week, should I get the battery replaced? BTW, I did get a new alternator last Sept. so it should be charging the battery. I don't have any CELs as of this morning.

I'd have your alternator checked again. Running a battery down and then jump starting the car with out fully charging the battery can fry the voltage regulator in the alternator beacause alternators are not designed to charge a dead battery just to maintian it and supply the necessary power to keep the car going. with a fried voltage regulator it will still charge and work "ok" under normal conditions but throw a few extras on like headlights and heater fan on hi and it will not be able to keep up and on long drives can you leave you stranded or atleast leave you with a low battery in the morning. my uncle had this problem on his drive from Quebec (12 hours) my friend who rebuilds alternators told me about it and changed his voltage regulator. good news voltage regulators are cheap bad new they are PITA to change usually soldered in or brushes fall apart when you go to change it. A.Z. and auto parts stores can check the condition of your voltage regualtor. also have you cleaned your battery cables lately check the starter ends too. one way to check to see if your alternator is the problme is to pay atension to your lights see if they dim when your idling and brighten up when the rpms go up. hope this helps

 

[Don]

I have noticed that my lights do flicker when the fan kicks on and then brighten once it goes off. So I'm probably looking at installing another alternator. Can anyone recommend a brand of alternator for the contour? I just had mine replaced 13 months ago so I would like to get a quality one this time. Also would that through a P-code that I mentioned?

 

[Kevinm]

Starting batteries are not designed to be run totally down. Only deepcycle can handle this kind of duty. So I would suspect you shorthend the life of your battery! A cell could have been weakened. Put the battery on a charger and see if that provides you what you need! Flickering as you have said could still be a weak battery. The battery still supplies the power needed to the car witht he alternator keeping the battery up as the draw continues.
After you charge the battery, start the engine and put a volt meeter on the battery terminals and see what charge voltage you are getting before you start tearing the altenator out. BTW I suggest you get a Motocraft alternator, the rebuilts from auto stores do not seem to hold up. Many on this board have had to return rebuilts many times. Being that the alternator is not easy to replace, get a good one the first time.