Brian Speight

So my 2007 Mustang GT just died. First, the dash touchscreen/radio suddenly went out. It kept turning off/on. Then I noticed the ABS light on the dashboard. And then I noticed my battery meter was dead! That's when I pulled into a parking lot. The turning indicator wouldn't turn off. Turned off the car, and now it won't start back up. The car alarm kept going off whenever I tried to start it. The headlights aren't dim at all and full beams work fine. Does this sound like a battery issue or something else?

SpectreH

Alternator might have gone out, taking the battery with it.

Brian Speight

Really appreciate the quick reply. Hopefully it's something fairly simple like that. That shouldn't cost too much right?

SpectreH

I don't know. I haven't had to price one yet. I hope it is something that simple. Another thought - make sure there is no corrosion at the battery terminals.

2k7gtcs

When the battery is dying the alarm and electronics can act weird. I've had the same thing happen from a dead battery and from a battery with a bad cell. Especially the alarm thing. Also like mentioned above corrosion on the battery terminals will make it act like its bad. It gets partial voltage but not full and the cluster acts screwy.

Start with the battery

Brian Speight

I did check for corrosion and it was clean. It'll be nice if it's just the battery! I read that if the headlights aren't dull then it usually isn't the battery. Is that true? I checked and they were perfectly bright. High beams worked normally too.

2k7gtcs

It's not impossible
I've had a bad cell that the headlights were fine but the rest was all screwed up.

Battery them alternator

That's about it

Of course the alternator can cause some screwy stuff too. More so than just dim lights.

Brian Speight

Okay, thanks guys. Will take it in tomorrow and hope for the best Cheers

stupidgenius36

Sounds like alternator to me. If you bring it to AutoZone or another parts store, they can test the alternator and battery for you. I have to change mine pretty frequently and If I remember right, it's about $200. Only takes about 5 minutes to change it.

Mine is a V6, so your price and difficulty may vary.

Glenn

What Sabastian said. If it won't start take the battery out and take it to autozone. Replace if needed then drive right back to autozone and have them check the charging system. Brian where are you located?

Brian Speight

I'm in Victoria BC, Canada. It's the alternator. They want to charge me $670CDN to replace it.... seems pretty steep doesn't it?

stupidgenius36

That sounds completely ridiculous to me. How much of that is labor? It really is very simple to change yourself...I just looked up a video to see if a GT is as easy to change as a V6, and it is. It should only take 5 minutes if you know what you're doing, and maybe 30 minutes if you don't.

Here in Texas, I can get that alternator for just under $200.

Brian Speight

Definitely considering doing it myself... I believe he said the part was $450 - so $220 labor. I've never worked on a car but I'm generally pretty good when it comes to fixing things. Would you go with an aftermarket alternator or a Ford one?

Rather B.Blown

Is this at a dealership?

2k7gtcs

At this point I'd go with just a good alternator

PA performance makes a good one but would need shipping. American muscle seeks their alternators.

From a parts store you should get credit for a core charge when you return your bad one.

Usually at a place like Advance Auto Parts they will even replace the alternator for you then and there.

ford4v429

if you can wait, you can buy the brushes, diode block and regulator and relace all the stuff that might normally fail all for 30-40 bucks on ebay... could still have a bad commutator ring, but not that common. I spent 12 bucks for brushes/brushholder for a starter on our rusty old windstar- took 5 minutes to swap, think the regulator for my merc alternator was 20 bucks... i'm cheep

Brian Speight

It is.

Thanks, good info.

Unfortuntely I can't wait that long to order parts online

Rather B.Blown

Figures.

Autozone here in the US shows $179 for a re-manufactured one and $229 for a new one.

houtex

$220 to replace an *alternator*?!

Good grief, that's completely highway robbery. I am floored, seriously.

It takes me, no kidding, all of 30 minutes to do the swap out on my GT. Pull the snorkel off, two band clamps. Or one, and take the top off the airbox. Pull the throttle body (clean it if you want to while yer there, but if you're doing that, then I suggest also pulling the negative terminal for the duration.) You pull the belt off, no big deal when you have Aminal, the big breaker bar. Then you pull off the two top bolts on the alternator bracket, take off the two bottom nuts on the alternator studs, take it out, flip it over to the passenger side, take off the connector, spin off the nut, bam, alternator is free.

Installation is the reverse of the removal. Done.

Unless they're gettin' $225 an hour, they shouldn't be charging you that much to do this job. It's dead freakin' simple on a 4.6L V8 and has been for years now.

Disgusting.

---

And then $450 for an alternator. Man.

Go to O'Reilly and get a lifetime warranty alternator and be done with it. No more charges for swap outs, ever. I've had the unfortunate (until I did The Battery/Battery Cradle Clean Up and Corrosion Prevention System) task of doing this three times, and three free swaps later, I'm out 0 more dollars and a little more elbow grease and time.

Of course, now that I don't have the Motorcrap battery, and I have pristine and slathered terminals, the problem hasn't surfaced again except this last one, which was a bad clutch in the alternator. Didn't know they had 'em, but they do. So far *knocks wood* so good.

Anyway, do it yourself, is what I'm sayin'. Or sucker a friend with know-how and tools with some BBQ and beer, see? And get the lifetime warranty alternator elsewhere for cheaper, don't let Ford sucker you into that one shot, not warrantied part for double the cost.

That's just horrible, all the way around.

Brian Speight

It sounds easy enough to do and I'm sure I could do it no problem even without any experience working on cars. The problem is I won't be able to order an alternator online because I can't go without a vehicle for that long. I'm also in Canada which really limits to where I can order from. I'm going to give NAPA Auto Parts a call tomorrow and see if they have any there. If they do and they're a decent price, I'll get it there. Canadian Tire carries an aftermarket brand called Champion for $300. I looked it up though and it has some pretty terrible reviews Another Ford dealership is supposed to be calling me tomorrow morning with an alternator price. They wanted $117 for labor.