[misspoop]

Last wednesday I was driving home in the fog and my air bag light went on, then my controls all died (no dials - speedometer, fuels etc) and then the car died. My boyfriend tried to jump it with his Ford Focus and now he needs a new alternator. I had my car towed to Ford and they had it for two days and said it was a weak battery. I paid my $15.00 and drove off.

Tonight, I was driving home - in the dark again - my car stalled a few times, the same air bag light came on, the dial died, and the car coasted to a dead stop and will not start.

I asked Ford to make sure it was not the alternator and they said no - just a weak battery.

Any feedback - any similiar expereinces?

And why did my boy friends alternator die? They say he needs some hard to get wire that leads to the alterantor and Ford doesn't have it.[???]

 

[oldschool]

If you don't properly ground the jumper cables you can cook the alternator.

Depending on the age of the battery it very well could be weak. Make sure your terminals aren't dirty. Autozone also does this type of testing and it is probably free.

 

[focus]

Go to another dealer and see what they say or just go get a new battery and see. If it's not the battery then make the Ford dealer pay for the cost of the battery

 

[oracleguy]

Yeah, auto zone will test it for free.

 

[misspoop]

We did ground the battery cables properly - trust me - we even took out the instruction book!

I had my car towed to Ford tonight - should i just let them bumble around or resuce the poor car? I have an extended warrenty - will that cover the alternator?

Thanks for the feed back.

Miriam

 

[oldschool]

read your extended warranty booklet. Unfortunately, you have already paid for the tow. I would try a new battery. Ford is going to charge you megabucks for one. Since tomorrow is Sunday, go get yourself a battery. If they have already told you that it is weak, you can bet that the dealer will want to replace it.

 

[misspoop]

Thank you. They already told me the battery would be $80, plus I want them to replace the mirror I tore off while backing down a dangerous road last night in the pitch dark since the problem was not fixed. Additionally, I want my $14.50 to be used towards the new battery.

Wish me luck!

MissPoop

 

[Kicknzx3]

i got a quick ?...how much is the car driven?

 

[misspoop]

About 320 miles a week. It has 47000k on it now.

 

[Kicknzx3]

oh ok...because i was going to suggest that maybe with lack of driving the charging system can't really charge the battery...

find a digital multimeter...and test the battery when you jump start it...if its under 9.6v get rid of it...if its not, its something else in your charging system, if you want somehow get it to a local mechanic...have him grab a jump box and do some testing...should only take about 10 minutes to diagnose it.

 

[goodlookinfoci4aguy]

i poop on you and your birthday miss poop.
happy birthday!

 

[penguin]

"I had my car towed to Ford and they had it for two days and said it was a weak battery. I paid my $15.00 and drove off."

Why didn't you replace the battery?

If it is the original battery, it is 4-5 years old and likely going bad. I myself replace my battery every 4 years, simply to avoid the potential problems of non-starting, tows, and jumps.

Replacing the battery is one of the easiest things to do, and trying to get the last 1-2 years out of a battery is, IMHO, false economy.

Many places will test your battery for free; however, if I had a car I planned to keep, the battery was 4-5 years old, and a mechanic told me the battery was weak after having electrical problems, I'd just replace it without even bothering to test it, as it's time for a new battery anyway.
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"They say he needs some hard to get wire that leads to the alterantor "

Sounds like he burned out a fusible link.