Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Weird Alternator Promblems! Need Comments!

I'm throwing this out there to see if anyone has had the same problems so I have a good feeling of what the fix will be.
1998 SVT E0 w/75k miles
2 month ago the alt. light started flashing above idle.
Advanced Auto checked it and said battery was bad.
Replaced battery, light still flashing. Advanced Auto checked again and said charging system was OK.
New battery showed signs of over charging (Acid leaking from the weep hole)
Cleaned off acid and charged w/battery charger.
Alt. light quit flashing most of the time and if it did, if I turned on and off the head lights and driving lights it would stop.
I installed Indglow instrument lights and noticed they pulse.
Lately with the A/C running the idle speed will drop down to almost dying and then catch itself and the rev up.
Yesterday with the a/c running it died twice with turning corners with the clutch in and while sitting at a light the idle would drop off and sometimes die.
On the way home the alt. light came on and stayed on, so I headed for Adv. Auto, but it went off before I got there but started flashing again.
They did a check on the charging system and said the alt. was only putting out either 4 or .4 amps, I don't remember which one, and that the alt was bad.
By the time I got home if I turn on the a/c the car would die.
The battery seems to be OK but the car is really acting weird.
The problem seems to come and go but was really showing itself yesterday.
I plan on replacing the alt. I just hope this fixes all the weird problems I've been having.
I searched "Problems" for Alternator and came up with people with similar problems, flashing alt. light and pulsing dash lights, but no one had seemed to say that replacing the alt. fix them.
So has anyone had these problems and fixed them?

Guzzi SVT,

I have an alternator problem but not quite like yours.

When my RPMS climb over 6000, the ALT light comes on and the engine loses power.
As the RPMs come down, the ALT light goes off and the engine regains power.

Sounds like my problem is worn brushes that are bouncing at high rpms.

I got an estimate from my dealer to replace the Alternator.

$500 w/Ford Reman Alternator. (3.5 hours Labor)