Big electrical problem!

[zxrtd]

Did you get your car fixed? i have the same problem. My alt, and battery are 2 days old since the alt died last week. My car batt light flickered and rmp needles and guages resets once in a while. Now the battery is dead. It discharged over night while the car is off sitting in the garage. Im thinking its the alt might be defective or a short in the electrical system somewhere.

[JAMallott]

It's stopped resetting the gauges constantly (only happenes about 2 times in a row, every other day), so I havn't taken any action on it yet.

[virtualko]

As of Friday night, I now have the same issue. As long as I'm driving under 25(ish) MPH, the guages stay on. If I go above, the guages die and go dark. Have you found the solution yet? I know in your prior post you said it wasn't causing you enough of an issue to look further into it, but I'm just wondering how long I can drive the car like this... or will my car eventually die somewhere on the highway.

I found another thread here that suggests that this could be a blown fuse Help - 99 Cougar Gages. Anyone have success with this?

I've checked my battery connection and it's good. Where can I find the engine ground so that I can check that out? (99 v6 auto)

thx for the help.

[B3NN3TT]

Originally Posted by virtualko

As of Friday night, I now have the same issue. As long as I'm driving under 25(ish) MPH, the guages stay on. If I go above, the guages die and go dark.

That sounds very much like an alternator that is rotting from the inside out. I would get a replacement lined up, sharpish...

[virtualko]

Thanks... if I do it myself, what's the level of difficulty? I've replaced a couple in the past, but never on my Cougar. I've had the Cougar one replaced before by Ford and they charged me an arm and a leg for a refurb'd alt. (hmm, i wonder if it's within my year warranty still, but I doubt it).

Thanks again for the help!

[B3NN3TT]

Yeah; the alternator is one of the most head-bangingly nasty jobs on this car, and it just happens to be the part than breaks the most.

Buy one from Advanced Auto; theirs are new, not remans, and they have a lifetime guarantee.

Go to CougarDB.com - Online Cougar Database '99-'02 and check the how-tos. There's one for the alternator on there.

[virtualko]

Thanks again for the help B3NN3TT!

[JChaseDead]

I have to go with the first few posts. I would say either its your alt failing or a lose connection. Check your connections going from the alternator. It sounds like it is not charging and failing to supply enough power to the car.

[Professor Nimnul]

The charging system indicator is connected DIRECTLY to the generator. And eliminates when voltage is low. So I'd say that your alt is dead. Maybe only VR is dead.

It was my history:
Wild Cougar Revenge. Urgently need help!

[virtualko]

Just an update. I checked the system and all the fuses and wiring looked good. Figuring that the alt was the problem, I dropped it off to a reputable place to have them replace it. After $350ish (almost half of what ford wanted), it's back up and running now. They said that the previous alternator was over charging. When they hooked their equipment up to it to test, they said that the reading was off the scale. Anyway, they replaced it with a new alt this time around and it seems to be driving as well as it ever has. I hope this one lasts me for a very long time.

Since the new alt though, I've noticed that the digital readouts kind of pulsate. I wonder if this is just due to my battery being in a weakened state. /shrug. I won't let it bother me too much unless you guys think that it could be a sign of trouble.

thx again everyone for the help