BIG issues!

[86merccp]

ok so i went out of town this weekend,only an hour away from home.Car ran fine the whole way,with the exception of trying to drive in overdrive.car runs like garbage in that mode,but in regular d,will run just fine.Any who,thats anotha story.Well i get to my destination,stop at a gas station,come back out,car is completely dead.when i turned the key,all i heard was a clacking.I got it jumped off,she fired right up.I stopped again,this time i left it running.Whrn i came back out,it was off again.Im like WTF?I figured it was the alternator,as i had a 2005 Ford taurus that would behave in the same manner until i got it fixed.She sat for two days in front of a pep boys,where she died.My brother & I tried diligently to jump it off,but whenever we removed the cables she was dead as hell.Well, I made the decision to get a alternator at the Pep Boys, $209 later,she starts,gets all the way home,but now with the amp light glowing the whole time.Now i havent moved her since about this time yesterday,went out to go get gas,food,cigs and she is dead again,no lights nuthin????? I cannot take this anymore!!!!Everytime i turn around,there is sumthin wrong with this car.I do love the car but the headaches aint worth it.So, do u guysthink its a battery issue,or was the alternator never bad to begin with,or did i kill the battery by driving unknowingly on it?Because that amp light has neva come on until yesterday.TIA for any and all help fellows!!!!

[91grandmarquis]

I had same issue thought it was battery at first but ended up being battery, it would be worth the 90 bucks to get a battery and throw it in, that sounds like it could very well be your issue if its not taking a charge. My alternator was like 79 bucks too, but i got a referb and a core charge.

[86merccp]

yea i got my alternator for around the same as u,i would go get the battery but she is dead, and no ne else gets home till later.so it will be 2moro.so it probably was the battery all this time?

[91grandmarquis]

Yeah, it should run with a jump though, just not start if that is the problem, my problem was the alternator wasn't charging the battery, so I thought it was the battery, but it was not.

[86merccp]

So, altho i changed the alternator,the battery is still not getting the charge?Could it be a bad connection sumwhere?I mean it even sounded different when it was jumped,like quieter.When the tech put the jumpbox on,it sounded weak.But when the alternator was switched,she sounded more like herself.I really do hope i just need a new battery and not anotha alternator too.

[91grandmarquis]

Usually the battery is just shit, over time the chemicals used, mainly lead acid, degrade and won't hold a charge. How many miles does this battery have on it? Should have nothing to do with connections at this point, the battery is a much more common expected maintenance. Also it could be the alternator was week as well, so I would not say you would need another alternator if this one is new. The only connection points I have dealt with breaking are the lead clamps on the terminals of the battery, sometimes these crack if overtightened. I would say a new battery should do it, I have a 600 cold cranking amps battery and it works fine, no need for the extreme 1200 cca's only difference is the car starts a little harder in the cold, but Im talking -15*.

[86merccp]

Now that is a gud question.And to my knowledge,the battery is less than a year old.I will have to ask wifey when she gets home tho as i think it was replaced last year.BTW, how did u get ur signature pic that big? I like that and wanna do the same thing.

[87gtVIC]

Get your voltmeter out and check voltages out of the alt. charge cables as well as at starter solenoid and the battery once it is up and running (after another try at a jump). This will give you a good idea as to who is preforming as they should and who is dead. It could very well be a bad connection between everything on the starter solenoid (I had that happen to me). Best to diagnose things then throw parts at it.

[91grandmarquis]

Take the pic and post it to your photo album whatever size you want, then in edit your signature option you can click the insert image button that is a picture of mountains. Now open your picture from your album, right click and view image. this should bring you to a page with just the picture on it. copy the url from this page, then paste it into the box that says image url. that box should come up when you click the insert image button. Hope that was clear enough.

[91grandmarquis]

Get your voltmeter out and check voltages out of the alt. charge cables as well as at starter solenoid and the battery once it is up and running (after another try at a jump). This will give you a good idea as to who is preforming as they should and who is dead. It could very well be a bad connection between everything on the starter solenoid (I had that happen to me). Best to diagnose things then throw parts at it.

Yeah he is right about diagnosing things, Im just old fashioned. It wouldn't hurt to check it this way, but my money is still on the battery.

[86merccp]

I dont have a voltmeter.Wish i did,as i thought of doing that.I think my neighbor has one tho.

[87gtVIC]

analog or digital. either one will work. You just need some idea of where voltage is going and what level it is at.

[86merccp]

K,i rightclicked,copy and paste,saw the pic by itself but im lost now!!!

[86merccp]

Hey 87,would it do any harm to let my mechanic do a diagnostic?I wanted to do one yesterday at PB,but wifey insisted that we didnt need oe as she was sure it was the alternator.

[91grandmarquis]

K,i rightclicked,copy and paste,saw the pic by itself but im lost now!!!

Once you get the pic by itself, copy the URL in the web adress bar. should be like grandmar.net..... and some other stuff, copy the whole thing. Now go to edit signature, there will be a box to type in, in the toolbar of that box click the insert image button, should be mountains and a sun, then paste the URL into that and hit ok. that should work.

also autozone may rent voltmeters or be able to do it for you, I know they have services like reading codes ive never heard of until recently.