GT03 TJS

well i need to make sure itIS in fact the alternator in the first place...

and dont i need an impact gun or torque wrench to take off/put back on the pulley? I put the UDP's on at my friends garage but he's off at college and i dont have access to those things....

04BlueGT

You can take the alternator to a shop and have them swap the pulley for you. Throw the guy a $10 and most likely he'll do it.

BlackMustang02GT

alternator, or even battery, happened with my moms 2001 3.8 i was in a gas station car wash when it happened to me! batter was finished, changed the batt and the terminals and the alternator... all A ok!

GT03 TJS

well i just drove it in after charging the battery for a long *** time.

he said hes going to check the whole electrical system because hes seen a lot of 99-04s with the same issue.

that makes me feel better since its not fault of the UDP's or stereo I put in.

if it is the alternator and alternator alone, he suggested upping to 130amps over stock 95...just because of my stereo setup....said a brand new 95amp would work fine but 130 is like extra insurance....and its not too far a diffeence in price...

if its the wiring harness tho...thats gonna be the killer in terms of labor....
i'm waitin on the call...ill let everyone know whats up later today

P Zero

If its the harness, it should be a warranty deal, seeing as your car is only 3 years old. Check with your dealer. As far as the alternator is concerned, take it out and go to your local autozone or whatever parts store, have them throw it on their alternator machine. Most parts stores have a thing where they can mount your alt. throw a belt on it and check its output. Thatll verify that its toast.
-P.

ant02gt

The lights dimming and ABS light coming on sounds like the alternator for sure, but i have never heard of a starting issue like the car backfiring and the check engine light coming on

Js 99 GT

UMM, this and the backfiring, not related??? I dunno i guess they could be unrelated. They dont sound like they should be, but its conciendental enough to make me wonder. Did the motor die when you had all the problems?

Quick Shot xMLx

Sounds like it's your alternator. What kind of stereo do you have? Probably strained it too much.

GT03 TJS

i just talked to my mechanic and he said that i do in fact need a new alternator.

I'm upping it to 130amps from 95...mainly cuz of my stereo - rockford fosgate amp with two 10" subs. He said that he knows of many mustangs with alternator issues, and that it likely wasnt a result of the stereo.

however he still thinks it wont fix the start-up/backfire problem. He's getting the alternator in and installing it, calling me back and telling me whats up. The alternator is gonna run me 250+, this guy is a friend of the family and worked on family cars for the past 20 years....hes not gonna dick me over for money, so i'm leaving trust in his hands...and believe me, he has a very deep understanding of mustangs and ford GT's as he has a yellow GT and an oldschool Boss mustang...total ford muscle car/sports car guy...not just a regularmechanic.

GT03 TJS

just got in a 130amp AC Delco alternator

check engine light is off and its starting up fine....im happy, but still suspect theres something wrong....i guess just cuz im used to the CEL being on all the time haha

ill let you guys know if anything changes

thanks to everyone...