Is the Alternator Dead?
 

Here we go again with one more problem for me ..

20 days ago the battery died all of a sudden (was put in 5 months ago).
So I went to Sams and they changed the battery, now today the battery died again.
I took a jump and the car started, when I got inside the car and tried to change gear the gear won't change, and a red light with a lock on top of the car started blinking

Another jump and this time I drove the car for say 200 yards and all sorts of lights started coming up and all of a sudden the steering locked and the car died, another jump for 3 minutes and I parked the car in the parking lot.

The mirrors wont go up, passenger airbag switch started blinking, low battery engine light came on, fuel shows zero, the distance meter shows nothing. **** am doomed.

Per my assumption the alternator is a dead bird. Just wanted to confirm with you guys before I come to any conclusion.

Below are videos of how it behaves:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=zBlrCdHx7AY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=r9sh0uOaBP4

Also, if the alternator is gone from where do I get a new reliable one, was reading and they have re-manufactured alternators, what are these.

Also, is it easy to change the alternator on my own, reading through the ford official pdf looks pretty easy.

When its running did you connect a meter and see if its pushing at least 14.2?

I did go to a mechanic when the first battery died and he said it was but battery died again after 15 days of being changed and now all the symptoms point to a dead alternator ..... also I could see it go because with every thump on of bass on my Shaker 500 I could see head unit lights go dim and then come back but it was too late ..right now it's parked in the parking lot ....:(

Munchy, Just take it to a reputable repair shop and let them check it out and replace the alternator, if necessary. You posted this same info on StangsofSouthFlorida.com and many responded with very helpful advice, including me. :screwy:

yo Steve , sorry bud, but this is my first car and when something goes wrong with it I get pretty nervous and the only think I can think of is to fix it ASAP ....so right now am looking for where to buy the alternator from and give it a try on my own ...

Do you have any mechanical experience? Do you know how to measure voltage? Did you check to make sure you had good connection on the terminals? Sounds like alternator or bad ground

No mechanical experience, but I did go to a mechanic when the battery failed first time and he did the alternator 14 volt voltmeter check, how do I check bad ground? connections to the terminals to the battery were good.

If you have no mechanical background then I wouldn't rich the alternator.
1) I can see you hurting yourself trying to get the tension of the drive belt.
2) you can get a multimeter and check resistance through each ground. But I would put my money on the alternator.

Thanks man, lemme think about what to do and what not to do ...I am kinda confused, all symptoms point to the alternator, a friend of mine had the same symptoms on his Mazda 6 and it was the alternator , lemme see if I can get the alternator out with the tools I have and the videos I have watched, if I can take it off, I'll get a new one from ford and put it in and also put in a new battery, from what I have read on other forums a battery with a dead cell can overload the alternator and cause it to go bad over a period of time, that's what I think happened, the first new battery went bad after 5 months and f*****ked up the alternator and now the new battery , even though it maybe fine, but the alternator is already bad so now it's dead ....


Thanks for all the advice dude, appreciate your patience with a n00b.

Don't hurt yourself on that tensioner. There is a square hole on it that fits a 1/2? inch drive I think. Fit it in that hole and push either down or towards the drivers side to loosen it. It's easy with 2 people. Also it's easier to get at the back alternator mounting bracket bolts if you take off the throttle body. Just make sure you get a new gasket for it.