[Black-Mustang69]

Today I got the "check charging system" alert from the computer. I just changed the battery like 2 months ago (Duralast) cuz the factory battery went belly up. I've put over 70,000 wonderful miles on my baby. I had noticed an odd kind of whining sound from the engine when I left the house. Then the alert came up. I pulled over as soon as I could and could smell an electrical burning kind of smell. I noticed nothing odd when I checked under the hood and looked over the battery and alternator. I got her home and shut it off then restarted. After a minute the message popped up again. I assume this means my ALT is dying. Autozone got a new one for $220. I am on a real tight budget this is gonna kill me to death but I gotta get her repaired. Any idea how much FORD service would charge to fix this? Yes, I plan to drive it to Autozone tomorrow to have them test the ALT for free. Please help me out with any info/advice guys!

[stlwagon]

Welcome aboard... The OEM alternators aren't the best.

[Apoc]

your alt lasted longer than mine did. it sounds to me like it took a crap, but get it tested just to be on the safe side. Good luck!

[amustangrocks]

welcome to the forums. 64,000 here and knockin on wood it doesnt sound good for your alt. did you clean the cables really good when you put the new battery in?

[Black-Mustang69]

Yeah, I cleaned the cables up pretty good when I changed out the battery. So, I drove it up to Autozone today and had the ALT tested. The voltmeter was jumping between 12-13 and the guy said, yep, it's gone. So I bought the replacement and headed home wondering how much hassel this was gonna be. SItting at a red light, smoke started coming from under the hood. That darn thing was gonna burn up on me! I struggled home and got to work on it. By like 8:30 I was finally done. $250 later she's up and running again. I'm pretty proud of myself never replaced an ALT b4. I'm sure the dealership would have charged me like $500 for the whole deal.

[old coot]

Didn't you have an alternator,starter repair shop near you?? It would have probably cost you about 75-80 dollars to have rebuilt. I personally do not trust any of the parts places with rebuilt alternators or starters. I had the starter repaired last week on MY Buick at a cost of $50.00. A far better cry than $250.00 they wanted at a part store, plus I still got a guarantee and got the original starter back. Just a thought