[JAMallott]

my alternator burnt out today. it was sad seeing it on the tow truck. and its gonna cost me a lot more money than i have to get it replaced. lets hope my parents pitch in though. anyone know of any good places to get a cheep alternator? maybe its time for me and andy to take a trip to the junkyard......

 

[JohnnyRed]

wow that sucks son....I went to pep boys and had them install one....lifetime waranty, but it set me back about 300 bills. It took the Mech. 4 hours to install, ha ha

 

[JAMallott]

how much was it? and why did you call me son? your aweird kid john lol

 

[JohnnyRed]

lifetime warranty, but it set me back about 300 bills

aka, 300 dollars, the alternator it's self was 176 I think and then install was 70 I think....so that's closer to 250, but yea to much money....."the green guy" I forget his real name right now, said he replaced his but had to drop his y-pipe to do it .....anyway, I oped for the lifetime warranty judging by the fact that our alternators like to go....off the subject I now hate pep boys and am not going back unless it burns up, but it's your choice

 

[B3NN3TT]

I am on my 3rd alternator in less than a year. I can change Duratec alternators in my sleep. Zetecs are reportedly easier to swap than Duratecs, but I've never noted the location on a Zetec. Actually, Zetec alternators are pretty hardy compared to Duratec alternators.

Regardless, Aaron - DO NOT get another Motorcraft alternator. That is the Ford brand, and it's junk. I first had my Motorcraft rebuilt, and it died again in 4 months. I've had an Autozone brand "Duralast" since March, and it's perfect. I recommend those. Lifetime guarantee as well.

 

[JAMallott]

sweet, thanks andy. how much do they cost?

 

[B3NN3TT]

My Duratec alternator was $139 I think. Zetec should be less...

 

[Pyro81]

Something else you might want to think about. Since your running a stereo and if you still have your all your lights hooked up, maybe you should also think about buying an alternator that puts out more power.

My alternator burnt up while driving home from a movie one night after a storm. All the water had froze while i was in the theater and there was about an 1/8" thick sheet of ice on everything. About half way home my guages and everything started to fade. Eventually the power got so weak that my guages just flat out went dead. I had no idea how fast i was going and the roads were icy out to boot. I kept thinking to myself please just let me get home. Then i caught a patch of ice on RT. 250 and spun about 2 or 3 times. I didn't hit anybody. But when i stopped, i thought just get me to McDonald's in Avery (about 5 mins from that point) When i finally got into Avery i pulled in and parked. Then i called my dad to pick me up. The next day we went out and pulled the battery, charged it, then had it checked. It was fine. So we let it charge overnite then the next day we reinstalled it and drove the car to the dealership. Luckily i had the extended warrenty so it didn't cost me much to have it fixed. At the time i had no clue about neco and if i had known about how our alternators are junk i would of put a better one in.

 

[OSUStallion]

Dude if you got the tools, I can come over and do it with you. Save yourself tons of cash. I have a ford shop cd so I will look up how to change your alt out.


I didnt come to the columbus mod meet but I live on 270 and sawmill so I think I am fairly close to where you live.


Tony

 

[JAMallott]

thanks for all the input and all, and thanks for the offer tony. i just got my car back today, and all it was, was a blown main fuse! so it was only like $50. luckily. but i just dont know how it blew. oh well. the shop drove it around after replacing it, for a while, and nothiong went wrong, so i think it will be good now. thanks again everyone

 

[silverkat]

Well, guess I might as well chime in here. I can turn the car on but can't get it car to stay running. Diagnostic mode says the alternator is only charging at 10v. Yeah, so Tony and Slade I need to know if the plug that goes into the alternator was good. I really don't think you guys would put the plug back on if it was bad. The guy at CarQuest says that if it has a tendency to melt and if that's the case then I'll get an engine fire. So here's my question. Should I fix it or let the car catch on fire? I'm seriously thinking about not fixing it. I really really do not want to take it to a dealer. I have zero luck with dealers.

 

[B3NN3TT]

Well, diagnostic mode says 10 AMPS, which ain't volts. You need a volt meter to verify your VOLTAGE.

 

[silverkat]

Yeah, I meant amps. Sorry. Just a little frustrated

 

[Sled]

Well sorry, Its my fault acually. I called it amps. Heh, amp wise its waaaaaay over that. Anyway, her car is charging 10-11 volts only. I dont think this is the only problem but I do NOT wanna have to crawl under and mess with the alternator again. Ahhhhh, the neverending cougar problems...damn cars.

 

[silverkat]

OK so got my fuel and air filter changed today. I went to start the car and it wouldn't turn over. Everytime we tried to start it, it made like a sparking noise that did not sound good. So Slade's looking at the engine and noticed the negative battery cable was loose. He tightened it and it started no problem. Now it's charging at 15 whatever's. When I first had the alternator changed, my door chime was messed up along with my dome light and the rear defrost wouldn't work. Now, the chime, light and defrost work. These cars are so weird. But everything seems to work fabulous!

 

[JAMallott]

go slade, go slade! dont you love those quick and easy fixes? i do, unless i have to spend a day looking for something more complicated, just to find its something as simple as a loose wire :banghead:

 

[JohnnyRed]

Another of Slades finest :rofl:

 

[JAMallott]

holler

 

[silverkat]

Oooooh, not as easy as we thought. Even though Slade is the master of some things, the car is still broken. It just won't idle. Disconnected the throttle position sensor thingy and reved it by hand then reconnected it. It then idled no problem.

 

[JAMallott]

so its all good now?