Cut Out @6k Rpm

[j-keezy]

When I Run It At 5k The Radio Turns Off Andt Then At6 It Turns Off Or It Wont Shift Right At All But Under Normal Driving It Does Fine
Anybody Know Whats Up

[B3NN3TT]

Sounds like your alternator is crap. Does the battery light on the cluster light up?

[Y2Kat]

Radio sounds like the alt. The cutting off problem could be the alt or the fuel pump. Does it do it worse when you're below 1/4 tank of gas?

[bubby]

Sounds like your alternator is crap. Does the battery light on the cluster light up?

+1

The same thing happened to me when my first alternator went out. The radio cut out under moderate acceleration around 4.5k. "That was weird...", I thought to myself....and then The car completely died.

[Desolator144]

just to make sure, bring it to an autozone, advance auto parts, probably Napa auto parts but maybe not, or an alternator specialist and get it tested for free with that big tester thingy. Specifically ask for the voltage it gives as you rev it higher. If it's above around 14.8V, stuff starts turning off. And yeah fuel pumps are electric and a LOT of parts have voltage sensors to keep safe. Hopefully you didn't blow the fuses on parts that don't. Then again a pack of like 20 various rating fuses are like $2, it's just a pain in the ass to check em all lol.

Btw your voltage can go waaaaaay up when it gets waaay colder so it might not actually be broken broken. That happens btw cuz cold wire reduces resistance and inside the alternator I think there's like well over a hundred feet of copper wire inside. If it's like just barely 14.9V at a pretty cold temperature then get a lower target voltage regulator chip installed for dirt cheap. The stock one is most likely set to keep it at 14.8 so a 14.6 set one lowers it by opening and closing the circuit super fast so that the effect is the voltage being lower. You might notice a tiny headlight flicker but at least your car will stay on and it's cheaper than a whole new alternator

[bubby]

just to make sure, bring it to an autozone, advance auto parts, probably Napa auto parts but maybe not, or an alternator specialist and get it tested for free with that big tester thingy. Specifically ask for the voltage it gives as you rev it higher. If it's above around 14.8V, stuff starts turning off. And yeah fuel pumps are electric and a LOT of parts have voltage sensors to keep safe. Hopefully you didn't blow the fuses on parts that don't. Then again a pack of like 20 various rating fuses are like $2, it's just a pain in the ass to check em all lol.

Btw your voltage can go waaaaaay up when it gets waaay colder so it might not actually be broken broken. That happens btw cuz cold wire reduces resistance and inside the alternator I think there's like well over a hundred feet of copper wire inside. If it's like just barely 14.9V at a pretty cold temperature then get a lower target voltage regulator chip installed for dirt cheap. The stock one is most likely set to keep it at 14.8 so a 14.6 set one lowers it by opening and closing the circuit super fast so that the effect is the voltage being lower. You might notice a tiny headlight flicker but at least your car will stay on and it's cheaper than a whole new alternator

Do not listen to this kid. Taking the alternator out and getting it tested at the above mentioned stores WILL NOT be accurate. They do not test our alternators when they are under load, so you're dealing with a false positive basically.

Desolator...:disgust:. Stop trying to give advice. Do your homework before you start TRYING to understand what you are talking about.

[Goldie]

not to mention, once you have the dang thing out, you may as well put a new one in. :rofl:

[Desolator144]

If you're gonna post at least know what you're talking about, jerk :mad:
At advance auto parts AND Autozone they bring out a cart with jumper cable-like cables for the battery terminals and a clamp that they put around either the alternator's line or the battery's line to measure current and they have you hold it at 2000 RPM and measure the amps and voltage over time. And you don't take out the alternator at all rofl. And the voltage regulator chip will fix the high voltage shutoff problem and is waaaaay cheaper than a new alternator. They're like $5 for the chip and $20 for the labor.
Don't listen to the rest of these guys, j-keezy, they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about at all and are more interesting in insulting others than helping

[bubby]

If you're gonna post at least know what you're talking about, jerk :mad:

:rofl: Coming from you, that's hilarious. Maybe you should do some more reading before you feel like giving your half-cooked, pea-brained opinions. Here's some reading about alternators for you that was found with a quick use of the SEARCH TOOL.

Thread 1 (http://www.newcougar.org/forums/problems/115754-wtf.html)

Search (http://www.newcougar.org/forums/search.php?searchid=407191)

[Desolator144]

oh so you're still gonna act like I'm wrong. Well I'm not so shut up

[whiteboy477]

Finally got my Coug fixed. FYI- if you are going to get your alternator tested by autozone, DO NOT have it tested on the car, make sure to pull the part, then get it tested. Turns out they just sold me a crappy alternator that tested fine while it was still on the car, but failed once I pulled it.

Like he said have the test done while the alt is on the car will not tell you for sure. when taken out of the car and tested the alt failed.

oh so you're still gonna act like I'm wrong. Well I'm not so shut up

How childish

Always have the alt tested before installing into the car. this goes double for the cougar and contours seeing as they are a mother ****er to replace.
(thanks Gateway member (tom steve and doug) for replaceing mine last year)

[B3NN3TT]

Well-said.

Desolator, until I see photographic evidence of you underneath a Cougar with busted knuckles and greasy forearms, holding an alternator, you need to stay out of topics you have no busines commenting on.

[ice992]

When I Run It At 5k The Radio Turns Off Andt Then At6 It Turns Off Or It Wont Shift Right At All But Under Normal Driving It Does Fine
Anybody Know Whats Up

As the others have mentioned, sounds like your alternator is on its way out. The reason behind it acting the way it does is actually quite simple, their are brushes that make contact with the brush ring, over time, as the brush ring heats and cools it can warp or develop irregularities in it. Under normal driving conditions these might not effect anything, however at 5k rpm, or even 6k, your alternator spins so fast the irregularities begin to make the brushes skip, thereby causing you to loose power, arcing and such then causes more damage, bringing total failure to your charging system that much sooner. With our engine being transversely mounted and the alt being located in such tight quarters and also damn near touching the firewall, its a great place for heat to build, which brings about these type of failures much sooner than many other vehicles, not to mention the overall crappy wiring job in our beloved cougar. That's just my $.02, I could be wrong :rofl:

I hope my, as well as the other members contributions have helped, if not please feel free to contact any of us, or hit the search button, their are many alternator threads already around.

And a :lock: to stop the madness! :rofl: