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On the way in to work today my battery light came on and stayed on (turned car off, restarted, etc...) It has been flickering at high engine revs for a while but i never paid too much attention....Question is, does the battery light coming on affect the driveability of my car ie will i soon be losing power in traffic or something like that?? DO i need to rush out for alternator and battery?? I apologize for not searching first but the state (my employer) has been cracking down on time spent doing personal stuff on their pc's. Thanks

If alternator is dead you will still be able to start and operate car until battery loses its charge. With a good battery I'm guessing 20 miles with all accessories off at 50mph.
Best you get volts at battery read; 12.5 engine off, 13.5 + with engine on and alt OK.
Due to its location alternator replacement in these cars is a major DIY project.

So battery is reading between 9-10 volts when ingnition is off and slightly over 10 when car is running....any ideas...just got quoted over 200 bucks for and alternator. Should i just try and replace the battery? Went throught the haynes manual and everything else checks out fine in the car...

No....bad idea. I'm pretty sure it's the alternator and if that's the case, you'll be left stranded somewhere eventually. Mine is an 00 Mystique with the 2.5 and in 46,xxx miles I've had the alternator replaced twice. The first time it was doing the same thing yours is. I was lucky enough to make it to the dealer and have them drive me to the train station in it before it cut off on the tech on the way back to the dealer.

First step get new battery, then test volts as my above post. You are trapped at work now, would not drive more than a block even if car is still starting.

If the generator light came on (bat/alt/volt/etc light) The alternator is not charging.

The reason the car is starting & running is because of the batteries reserve time. It's just a matter of time before it leaves you stranded.

Time for a new alternator or maybe just putting in a new voltage regulator (still have to R&R the alternator) If you have a good deal of miles an alternator would be a better choice. (brushes, bearings, bushing, etc)

I also would have the battery tested. It will need to be fully charged in order to be tested (12.65 volts) It's probably a bit low from running on reserve time.
Age plays a large part in the batteries ability to recover. If it's a stock Motorcraft over 3 years old it's probably ready to die anyway.

I experianced the same set of events which lead me to change my alternator, twice. With the car running, the voltage should be 13.5 volts. Testing this across the battery terminals should read 13.5 volts no matter how bad the battery is, since you are measuring the output of the alternator. Join the dead alternator club... If that $200 is to install a high quality alternator, then when you are sure that the alternator is the culprit, jump all over that, providing the alternator is motorcraft. The job will take the average person 3-4 hours with a lift. Talk to HoosierContour if you want to find out how "fun" it is to change it on jackstands (I just helped him through his repair) PM me and I can give you some info (I can be a pretty good help if you decide to do it yourself too...) -Nick

Hi:

When the car is running, the voltage comes from the alternator directly. If the alternator is not working correctly, the power comes from battery and this will make the battery drain in a big hurry especially with your lights on.

With parked car idling,
put on your headlights, if they are dim, alternator is toast.

I would not drive car in this condition since it can die any time. IF you have to, don't use any accessories.

Hugues -

Thanks for all the help guys...brought to my local shop and the alternator is definitely toast!! This shop wants 170 for labor and 330 for the part...I found another alternator for about 200 w/o labor so around 370 all together. 1st part I found the guy didn't give me the right info, sucks...going to shop around a bit for the part see what i find...if i do it myself i will be back for more HELP!!!for now its parked and not moving for teh weekend.
thanks again.

$170 for alternator replacement? Get that in writing! I doubt they've ever swapped an alternator in a Duratec before. Certainly more than a 3 hour job from what I hear. I hope I never have to do it.