Got in my car 15 minutes after parking and the battery light comes on when I hit the gas and the 'check charging system' message come on the display. Then the air bag light keeps blinking. Does that mean that my alternator is bad?

What... do what?

Its the "dead alternator" light.

Get a good one, and probably a new battery too.

te
94
LM8
150k miles

Mine went at 99.5k miles

Where can I find a 'good' alternator? Preferably a 130w one but I still don't know if they fit in our marks.

Has anyone ever heard of people who have Soundsystems in their car frying their alternator? Looks like I'll need one anyhow.

I'm prob going to go to Orielly's and get one read quick b/c I cant go a week without my car.

What... do what?

Before replacing the alt. I did a voltage test on the battery and while the car was running it was 11.5v and with it not running it was 12v. This means the alternator was working properly. I checked the battery connectors and tightened them down A LOT. The batt light doesnt come on when I run the car at 3000rpm's for 20 sec. so I think that did it. The light did blink a couple times a couple sec's after I turned the car on but that might be because of the amp's.

What... do what?

"Normal" battery reading voltage, with all accessories off, would be:
Ignition off = 12.5~12.8V
Running (fast idle) = >13.5V, <16.0V

What are you reading with your new alternator?

I went through 4 remans before I fit a cobra one. So far so good, but this one has already beat the total life of two of the previous 4....

Scott

The alternator I got was from Hi-Low with a warrenty so If it goes in a year or so I'll take it back. I don't have time to go ordering an alternator from ford. Hmm maybe you mean go to the dealership? Would not the alternator be more expensive?

I havent put on the new alternator yet so I don't know what it reads.
I'll have to wait untill tomarrow.

What... do what?

Get rid of them cheap OEM battery terminals!

Loose connections will cause the alternator to overwork trying to maintain the voltage level.

2002 Ford F-250 Super-Duty Powerstroke Diesel Pickup
2000 Mercury Sable LS Premium
1993 Lincoln Mark VIII
1991 Lincoln Mark VII LSC

I don't have a charger for the battery. I only have a very small battery charger for charging batteries overnight. Could I hook it up to a seperate battery from another car and check this?

What... do what?

Wherever the demand for power is in your vehicle these hand crafted alternators will supply clean, consistent, competition quality power. Stinger has over 75 models available and while continuing R&D insures expanded applications. Output ratings range from 135 to 270 electrifying amps with many idle performance models also available.

http://www.stingerelectronics.com/

If the rest of their product line is like their battery terminals, this stuff is tops. I can only imagine the cost of their alternators though. BTW, they also have killer deep-cycle batteries.

2002 Ford F-250 Super-Duty Powerstroke Diesel Pickup
2000 Mercury Sable LS Premium
1993 Lincoln Mark VIII
1991 Lincoln Mark VII LSC

2002 Ford F-250 Super-Duty Powerstroke Diesel Pickup
2000 Mercury Sable LS Premium
1993 Lincoln Mark VIII
1991 Lincoln Mark VII LSC

I have a clogged cat. Does anyone thing that the cat could be causing the problem?

What... do what?

What... do what?

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Testing your charging system quickly with a digital voltmeter (assuming charged battery):

1. Test battery voltage with engine off. Check at battery terminals at clean terminal or clamp, not the bolt or nut. Record voltage. This is your battery's standing voltage.

2. Start engine & run at 1500 RPM. With no other load (doors closed? Underhood light off? Auto headlights off?) - record voltage. Voltage should be higher but not by more than 2 volts. This is your charging voltage without load.

3. Turn on heater or AC to MAX along with turning on highbeam headlamps. Increase RPMs to 2000 RPM. Voltage should be a minimum of 0.5 volts above your standing battery voltage. This is your charging voltage with load.

My numbers were 13.30, 14.01 and 13.85 when I replaced my alternator the last go around. Still going and going and ...
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In your case I would add turning on stereo(max) to step 3 and see what the voltage level is.

Besides the alternator and battery, bad grounds and battery terminals are major causes for charging system problems. Loose and otherwise inefficient connections will cause the charging system to work harder, unnoticed, 'till either the alternator, internal regulator or battery have finally been taxed out.

If you get a 'Check Charging System' warning, and think you fixed it by tightening up a battery terminal - be wary... the charging system has been working doubletime for an undetermined amount of time to compensate for this. It would not be suprising to replace a major component in a short period of time following.

Did you know?
From the manual - the 'Check Charging System' warning will only be displayed when the voltage is between 8 and 9 volts or 18 to 21 volts. Below 8 volts or over 21 volts there will be no display. Normal(as far as the message center is concerned) is considered to be between 9 volts and 18 volts! Let me tell you something, the charging system is far from normal long before it gets down to 9 volts and way before it gets up to 18 volts. Rounding to whole numbers, 12 volts to 15 volts is normal, under 12 or over 15 is definitely trouble.

2002 Ford F-250 Super-Duty Powerstroke Diesel Pickup
2000 Mercury Sable LS Premium
1993 Lincoln Mark VIII
1991 Lincoln Mark VII LSC

I agree with those numbers, even though a "normal" system can go slightly outside that scale momentarily. Ford really did screw us up with that extreme "normal" range built into the system diagnostics. As you said earlier, why didn't they just show owners what the actual voltage reading was on the MC? It's not as if it would have cost them anything much, since the digital readouts and connections were already there. They also could have done true oil pressure for the cost of a real sending unit, in addition to the 7-PSI idiot light switch.