• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

4th alternator dead

C

cvkillacontour98

CEG'er
Joined
Dec 21, 2002
Messages
142
Location
kissimmee, florida
what is it with this car? i swear it must be cursed. i dont know what to do anymore. 4th alternator dead at 96,000 miles. why do these things keep going out? if it rains tommorow i think im going to wrap it around a tree.

i got off work and i started the car up and it sounded funny i guess it was the valves since it was a cold start. i turn on my headlights wich are hid and i noticed one bulb was out. so i turned the lighst out waited than turned it back on and it was still dead. so i shu toff the car started it back up than turned the lights on a few seconds after and still only one light working. i drove home about 10 miles with no problem but the battery light was on. i noticed that it wasnt on at idle while driving. after a while the tach died bu the speedo kept on working. since there wasnt enough power the hid's wouldnt start up. so i drove with the parking lights and plashers.

i dont know what to do anymore ive had it. why does somethign as simple as an alternator wich on most cars can last for a decade not even last a year on this car. i even removed my amp and subs just to avoid this problem.
 
Are you using a Ford OEM unit? I know I've had issues with Autozone, etc. alt's in other Fords I've owned. In my T-bird SC I went through 3 Autozone alt's then decided to go Ford OEM. No issues alt. related since.
 
what is the megafuse ? well i checked the acid in my battery it looks like its bad. im going to take it to tire kingdom and see about getting a exchang since it has a 60 month warranty.
 
well the question should be was the alternator bad right when you put it in or was it after some time? the megafuse is in the middle of the main cable off the alternator to the battery ... but I second everyone else, get a new OEM and you should be good to go ...
 
i had the alternator put in september of 05 with a new battery. it has run ok untill last night. i guessing it must be the battery. cause after i starte dmy car up last night only the ballast close to the battery got enough juice to fire up the lowbeam. at first i was mad cause only one headlight was running than ias i drove off thats when i noticed the battry light comming on as i accelerated and off at idle. last time my alternator died the engine ran liek crap and kept sputtering. this time i had no engien problem and i drove home 10 miles no problem, just that it was night and i had no headlights with just flashers on. i hope its just the battry and i pray the alternator doesnt go out again if its just teh battery.
 
well i got the battery checked and they said it just needed a charge. so i put it back in. i let the car run for a while with the headlights on. after about a half hour i looked ou tthe window and the headlights were dead but the car was still running. im going to pick up a megafuse tommorow on my day off and install it and see if that does any good.
 
You should check the fuse. It should always be checked before replaing the alternator since a fuse failure can keep the alternator from working.

However, it would be extremely rare for a blown fuse to fix itself or for it to work intermittantly. It is either blown or it isn't.

If it is blown, the battery light would be on all the time the engine is running. If the light is on only part of the time, it is highly unlikely that the fuse is bad.
 
i removed my coilpack and got to the fuse and used an ohm meter on both posts that the fuse mount to and i have no continuity. i do have continuity from the battery post to one side of the fuse post but not across the fuse. so im guessing the fuse is bad.
 
cvkillacontour98 said:
i removed my coilpack and got to the fuse and used an ohm meter on both posts that the fuse mount to and i have no continuity. i do have continuity from the battery post to one side of the fuse post but not across the fuse. so im guessing the fuse is bad.
Click to expand...


you might not be able to test it right ... I just had to replace a high voltage, low amp fuse in my TV and I check the new ones and I couldn't get a reading but it was good ...


also your meter might have two input, a low voltage one and a high voltage one, try the high voltage connection ... again on the tv the standard plug would make the set click when jumping the fuse, but I have to move the lead to the 300 volt input and then the TV turned on ... so i am not sure if this is somethign similar ... again if the fuse is bad the light would be on all the time ...


I could check that you have battery voltage on the main power wire at the alternator, if you do then the fuse is working correctly ...
 
i changed the fuse out and the old one is bad. my meter beeps when there is continuity. the new fuse beeps when i put one lead on each side and the old fuse doesnt so its bad. i also checked continuity from the battry post to both posts on the fuse and they are ok now. i also checked other wiring around the battry and one saw exposed and i changed it out. im going to get a new battery later on today just to be safe.
 
It may have been a weak fuse, weakened by prior alternator failures. If you are lucky that's all it is. There is still a very strong chance that you have an alternator problem. Test the alternator output and make sure that there is no voltage draw through the alternator when the engine is off (shorted diodes).
 
Test the alternator by reading the voltage at the battery cables with the engine at about 2000 RPM with no electrical accessories running (lights, heater, AC, radio, etc).

You should read about 14.0 to 14.6 volts. The higher reading if the battery is well charged. If the battery is not well charged the reading may be less.

If the reading is less than 14.0 volts here are some guidlines to better help determine the problem. With the engine off, turn of the headlights for 30 to 60 seconds to remove any battery surface charge. Read the battery voltage. If anything less than 12.5 volts, charge the battery and test again. How long to charge the battery depends on how far it has discharged. When in doubt, do a slow charge (2 amps) overnight (8 to 12 hours). Remove the surface charge and test again. If still in doube, take the battery to a parts store or shop and have it tested.

Once you know the battery is OK, retest the charging system. Depending on the level of charge in the battery, you should have an increase (from the battery only voltage after surface charge removal) of between .5 and 2.0 volts. It is way better to have a well charged battery for this testing unless you have shop grade testing equipment that allows you to read the amp output as well as the volts.

To test for electrical drains or draw, remove the negative cable from the battery. Put a test light between the battery terminal and the battery cable. If the light lights up, there is an electrical draw. Sometimes it is necessary to touch the cable to the battery post for a moment for some accessories to initialize so you don't have a false reading. If the light comes on, disconnect the wire that goes to the alternator and see if the light goes off. If the light stays on, there is a short in the alternator. Some alternator shorts are intermittant and you may need to test after alolowing things to sit a while to make sure. Having such a short usually also keeps the charging voltage from being as high as it should, but again, sometimes this is intermittant and you may have no drain with reasonable charging and a problem later when temperatures or other factors change.

A voltmeter can be used instead of the test light, but you must ignore any reading below 12 volts.
 
im actually chargin gthe battery now. its a "smart charger" . it started at 20amp and gradually stepped down and is at 2.5 amps now. i just hope the fuse and wire replacement will solve my problem. if its an alternator im going to change it out and probaly sell the car. its been having alternator problems since the day i baught it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top