[Sunshine7810]

Hi Everyone! I am so glad I found this site! :biggrin: Ok, here's the scoop...I have a 99 Cougar stock with about 77K miles on it. Well, while I was driving, my gauges went berserk in the car and then all the sudden I lost all power in the car. So I pulled over, shut the car down, and tried to restart it, to no avail. Well, I got it towed to the dealership, and called them about it a day later, and they tell me its the alternator and also something called a "Max Fuse". And they also tell me its going to set me back over 600 bucks. So, I figure, how hard is it to get an alternator out?? (I have helped take them out before, but little did I know where this one was!) Now, Mercury tells me that I need a lift to get it off, and have to pull the engine up, etc. etc. And I am thinking sure....I don't really have 600 bucks to spend right now, so I tell them that I can have my brother take it out for me. Then they tell me something about that "Max Fuse". And that they hope my brother knows where that is because it's important to have that. So anyways, I get the car back to my house, get a rebuilt alt. for $125, takes my brother and myself almost a week to get it out, darn bolts!(and darn jobs!) And then another day to put it back in. Now its a week later, been driving the car fine, no battery light, nothing. And last night it dies again. No power at all. Tried to jump it, was getting a clicking noise the first few attempts, then nothing. I am hoping that the alt. is not dead now, am figuring that the battery is definitely dead, but here goes my questions....
1. What in the heck is a "Max Fuse" and where do I get one?
2. Where is it located?
3. Is my alt. going to be dead now? Do I need a new one?
4. What do you think the problem may be? Alt., battery, fuse, or something else? (read in other posts about fuse #2 and fuse #7, could that be it?)
5. What is my next step to get my poor Cougar up and running again?

Anything that anyone may have for an answer would be greatly appreciated!!! As I have read in the posts from previous days, I know, as well as you all know, how much of a pain it is with these alternators.....and I just want to be able to drive my baby again. Thanks again for your help everyone!


:biggrin::thumbsup: UPDATE!! Ok Guys! Everything is good now.....my father came by, and looked at the car....looked at all the fuses with a volt meter, they were all good! Checked the battery, can you believe it??? Still good! So then was wondering why this was happening....come to find out, my brother the "master mechanic", lol, forgot to tighten the battery cables and clean off the corrosion. Sooooooo, we cleaned off the corrosion, tightened the cables, and guess what?? It started RIGHT up! So, people, make sure you have everything tight and those connectors free of corrosion. Thank you ALL for your responses. I really appreciate it! I am sure I will have more things to come to you guys for. There are a lot of things I would like to know....(never got a manual with the car, bought it used) Thanks again!!!

 

[B3NN3TT]

Fuse sounds promising. Hopefully it's that easy. Not sure which one they are talking about, though...

Battery may be dead, having been stressed out so much only a short time ago. Test the battery with a voltage meter with the car running and NOT running. Running voltage should be 14 or 15 volts, and with the car off, it should be about 12.

It's doubtful the alternator is bad again, although it is possible. If so, don't EVER buy another Motorcraft alternator. Get ANY OTHER BRAND, you will be better off. I replaced my Motorcraft with a Duralast Gold from Autozone, and it's great.

Good luck, and sorry about your trouble.

 

[RhythmsDJs]

After many talks with a ford tech, there are only a few possible things.

1. Bad alt, which with a motorcraft rebuild that's entirely possible. (Get the duralast from autozone - sure it's a motorcraft shell, but they rebuild it and offer a lifetime warranty.)
2. Bad wire from the starter to maxi-fuse, or from the maxi-fuse to the alternator.
3. Bad fuse on #2 or #7 in the fuse box next to the battery.
4. Bad Maxi Fuse
5. Bad Battery (I'm guessing this is your problem)

If you have a multimeter and test your voltages - if you're not getting any charge to your battery from the alternator, you should be reading approximately 12.5 volts with the car off, 12.2 or so with it running and no accessories on, then down as low as 11.0 - 11.2 with the a/c, headlights, radio and stuff on.

The maxi fuse is a 175 amp fuse in the wire between the alternator and starter. It is accessible inside a black plastic enclosure with push tabs on each end directly under the coil pack, it'll be inline with the red major power wire. You can get to it from under the car fairly easily with the right sockets/universal joint/extension. You can also feel the plastic housing if you reach back towards the firewall under the coil pack.

I just went through all these problems and would be happy to help you trouble shoot it more. Catch me online on AIM: RhythmsDJs or on MSN: [email protected]