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Is this a bad alternator?

K

keeno

CEG'er
Joined
Jun 14, 2008
Messages
42
Location
Griffin, GA
Ok, my sons 98 CSVT has 180,000 on it. It started with the a/c not cooling. Making a faint but distinct whining when touching throttle from idle. I replaced the battery last month. He tells me his battery light has been "flickering" lately with a/c and lights on. I drive it today and the light does flicker at idle. When under hard throttle it comes on bright then goes out when you get out of the throttle. I look down sitting at a redlight , I have no tach, speedometer, the radio turns off. Then it starts bucking and cutting out when I take off from the light. Had to limp it home skipping and bucking all the way. I think it's the alternator. I read in a few other posts about a "fuse 5"..? Where is it located ? In the power distribution box next to the battery or under the dash? Light not on constantly , so I don't think it's the mega fuse.
I can barely even see the alternator, so if it's that, I'm gonna take it to a shop. Would just a blown fuse 5 cause all these symptoms? I'm gonna check it first before moving to the alternator.
 
Fuse 5 is in the Power Distribution Box next to the battery. I suggest you remove the serpentine belt first and then check that all the pulleys are spinning freely. It could be that the A/C compressor or clutch is messed up.
 
Well, I checked fuse 5, it looks good, and the foglights work. So, I'm guess it's going to the shop for a replacement alternator. So, most on here recommend paying more for a rebuilt Ford Motorcraft alternator, and stay away from the Advance/Autozone/O'Reileys/NAPA rebuilds??
 
keeno said:
Well, I checked fuse 5, it looks good, and the foglights work. So, I'm guess it's going to the shop for a replacement alternator. So, most on here recommend paying more for a rebuilt Ford Motorcraft alternator, and stay away from the Advance/Autozone/O'Reileys/NAPA rebuilds??
Click to expand...

If envision yourself keeping your car for any period of time, I'd suggest going for the Motorcraft. Replacing the alternator is a pain. Stupid engineers thought they were building a clown car.
 
keeno said:
Ok, my sons 98 CSVT has 180,000 on it. It started with the a/c not cooling. Making a faint but distinct whining when touching throttle from idle. I replaced the battery last month. He tells me his battery light has been "flickering" lately with a/c and lights on. I drive it today and the light does flicker at idle. When under hard throttle it comes on bright then goes out when you get out of the throttle. I look down sitting at a redlight , I have no tach, speedometer, the radio turns off. Then it starts bucking and cutting out when I take off from the light. Had to limp it home skipping and bucking all the way. I think it's the alternator. I read in a few other posts about a "fuse 5"..? Where is it located ? In the power distribution box next to the battery or under the dash? Light not on constantly , so I don't think it's the mega fuse.
I can barely even see the alternator, so if it's that, I'm gonna take it to a shop. Would just a blown fuse 5 cause all these symptoms? I'm gonna check it first before moving to the alternator.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what my car did when the alternator went out.

If you have a garage and some basic tools, it's not too bad, just time consuming:
http://contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=41780p (Scroll down for pictures)
 
Yes you have a bad alt from the discriptions you have given. You can change it out takes about 4hrs. The how to is very good, but the easiest way to get the top bolt out is to go at it from the drivers side wheel well across the back of the engine with extentions. This was not mentioned in the how to, but in some posts from other members who had done the job. (wish I could remember who to thank for that info)

As mentioned it is important (to have a good running car) to get the Motorcraft one. The others don't seem to provide the proper voltages and end up being changes out again. There are exceptions to that, but generally that is the case. That is just another thing these cars are fussy about.

Even some of the Motorcraft ones are not done right... I had one that I installed that right from the start caused my lights to flicker at idle. That melted down in a couple of months.

PDXSVT had one installed by a shop that went bad in about 30 min and when he took it back it took them about two days to swap it out again.

My 2 cents,
AF
 
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