[focus13]

this morning my car wouldn't start, boosted it and then no problem. then later that night it started but the lights where really dim, after giving it some gas everything seemed ok. do you guys think this is a battery issue or alternator or something else. I do have a udp but its been on for like a year and no prior issues. any input would be great. thanks guys

 

[fallacious_focus]

i would have the battery tested first as that is the cheaper fix and the battery can be tested for free at most auto parts stores. it sounds like the battery though cause if it was the alternator it would have died again soon after getting boosted.

 

[slo13zx3]

alt

my car did that to it was the alt my light on my dash was on to but if you take it to a auto parts store thay can test it for free at auto zone []

 

[focus13]

bump

 

[kenpokid]

how cold is it where you are? if it is cold and you let your car sit outside with a very used battery then it will die.

 

[focus13]

ya its pretty cold, but it never happened before and its been cold for months now
I just hope its not the alt. thanks guys

 

[kenpokid]

ya its pretty cold, but it never happened before and its been cold for months now
I just hope its not the alt. thanks guys

How long have you had the battery?

 

[tiresmoker]

do you have an udp on the alt? If it is not the stock size then you could be under-charging the battery. The alt is probibly working fine, but not putting back as much energy into the battery as the car is taking out, thus slowly killing your battery. Also, cold weather will kill a good battery, I know from personal experience.

Did you have any lights come on in the cluster? When my alternator started to go the battery light would iluminate when I was at idle at red lights. As soon as I would rev the engine the battery light would go out. As soon as the rpms would drop back to idle the battery light would come on.

When you started it later that night and noticed the lights were dim, you said you "gave it gas and everything seemed ok". When you reved the engine, did the lights, cluster, whatever was on get brighter? Did it go dimmer when you released the throttle? Did the lights stay bright for a little then go dim?

 

[focus13]

got the battery tested today and that was the problem. i just finished putting in a yellow top. everything seems to be good and the idle is much smoother. I was think about upgrading the ground. is it worth it? thanks for all the input guys

 

[kenpokid]

it is worth it if you have a large stereo system...I figured your battery pooped out[]

 

[goinloco1]

upgrading the ground is a very good idea. it solves alot of issues such as the dash lights flickering at idle and such. ford in all their money cutting wisdom designed the electrical wiring in the cars to be just above barely adequate. but as the car ages, so does the wiring and components to a point where the wiring becomes somewhat adequate for the purpose. seems the grounds are the worst part of the system.
main grounds to replace... batt to left fender, batt to engine, engine to right fender, right fender to intake(or run one from the main groung at the tranny to the intake.). 6ga. stranded stereo ground wire works excellent for this.

 

[kenpokid]

I havn't done grounds and my car is fine...it is personal preference and how anal you actually are about your dash lights dim when you put a load on the engine.[rolleyes]

 

[goinloco1]

guess theres quite a few of us here that are anal huh?

 

[kenpokid]

guess theres quite a few of us here that are anal huh?

I guess, I dont really care if you are or not though[]

 

[whynotthinkwhynot]

Also check under the back seat. There is a ground wire there that is not hooked up in some vehicles. It's part of something optional... but it's still a ground and won't hurt being connected. There is a place for the bolt in the back seat support on the driver's side, and another ground that is supposed to be connected on the passenger side.