Altenator failed...but now ok? Help!

[Punkcrib]

Hello Everyone. I'm stuck and need some advice. I have a 2002 V6 2.5 Cougar...

The other night (Friday, actually) I drove about 55 miles going about 70mph for the majority of that trip. I thought a few times as I glanced down at my dash that the dash lights looked a bit dim, even though the dimmer was set to full. As I exited the highway, I ran my windshield wipers/water, and they went e x t r e m e l y s l o w. All of a sudden my radio cuts out a few times (turns off), my dash lights dim to almost nothing, etc. Luckily I was only about 3 blocks away from my destination, so I parked it and said I would worry about it in the morning. I figured it was my alternator, I know these cars have problems with them and I've had that problem on my old '99 cat.

So in the morning I take it to AutoZone to get a test on the alternator. This was in the ghetto (hey, nothing wrong with the ghetto) but they seemed really incompetent and after asking each other questions about the "machine" they told me it was bad. I did see the screen say "Bad Diode", but I also observed sever times that it lost my RPM reading altogether.

So I went to an actual repair shop, they checked it out and told me it would hold 13-14 volts with no load, but put a load and it drops to around 11-12. They were closing for the day though and told me it should be fine to drive back home 55 miles, just try not to turn much on.

So I did. And I haven't had a problem since. I've even driven it to work all this week (20 miles each way) with the radio and (but no A/C) on, without it ever hiccuping. I took it to Autozone here and the guy definitely knew what he was doing, and it still said bad this time. I did notice the volts drop as a load was simulated. But the car is still running fine....at least nothing is apparent. If I didnt witness the car lose power like that, I wouldn't ever suspect anything to be wrong otherwise now.


So my question is what should I do? I have already bought (and received) a remanufactured alternator ($140 ebay shipped), and talked to a local mechanic who said he would put it in for $150 (he knows how much of a PITA it is). This means it will cost just under $300 to get replaced (which is still better than the ~$500 goodyear et al wanted). But if I can get away with not having to do this that would be great.

So you guys think there is harm in just keep on driving?

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to be as detailed as possible. Thanks!

[skater]

How is your accessory belt?

The alt could be intermittently failing. Mine has been giving me the red light at high RPMs for quite a while now, but I noticed last night that it didn't do it.

But check your accessory belt first - if it was slipping, it would explain what you saw. If the belt is okay, I'd keep an eye on the alt - it's probably going south on you. The good news about these alts is that they normally give plenty of warning before they fail, so it's not something that will strand you somewhere without warning, most of the time.