Brief history of problem:
1998 Contour SE 24V Duratec/Manual/112,000
Bought used, had since 2002.
About a year ago noticed lights were dimmer, and would flicker a little when driving at night. Though either batt or alt.
6 months ago while driving on highway car basically shut off. RPM's dropped, MPH did, all lights down to barely being on, clock went dim. Would let of gas for a while and would come back to life, run as normal for 1 minute then repeat. Clock DID NOT reset and all settings including radio stations were remembered. ONLY would do this when I went over 70, while under 65 was fine, light still flickered a little. Thought was either voltage regulator or alt. I understand the volt regulator is on the alt?
Yesterday, low batt light was flashing, when rpms increased while driving it would go away. Drove about .5 mile and rpms, mph dropped, and car was acting like it was gasping for air. All lights dimmed same as before. It shut off and I could not restart it. BUT, radio stations still there, clock still right, interior lights still bright as before. Got a jump and ran for about .2 mile and did the same thing. Jumped no problem.
It will not start without a jump. I believe it is the alternator. I had the battery tested at autozone 6 months ago when first happened and read OK, not perfect but ok. Put on a full load and still read ok.
Everyone think its the alternator? REcommend where to get a new one/link on how to put it in? Any tips for putting one in? Thanks, much appreciated.
