Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

So I'm driving down the road today, listening to an mp3 compilation I just burned, when all of the sudden my radio stops working....I push buttons, remove/replace the faceplate, and even pound on the dash in case it's a loose connection....I then notice my clock (on the dash) is all weird looking, like faded out on the right side of it....next my car starts sputtering when I give her gas, almost like I'm running out of gas, but I wasn't, I was just under a half a tank

I then pull over at a store, turn her off and go in for a bit, knowing it probably wasnt going to start back up, but happy I made it off the road

I come back out and she won't turn over, like a dead battery

common sense tells me its my alternator that just went out

I got a jump, and as soon as the cables come off, so does the power

so i get her towed to the house, and on the way, I'm talking to the tow driver who tells me it may also be a voltage regulator?

anybody ever experience a similar situation? IS it my alternator more than likely? Is there an upgrade (thats not super expensive)I should look into, since I'll be replacing it...any help or advice is greatly appreciated

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

sounds like an alternator. To be sure, take it off the car and take it to your local auto parts store and have them test it.

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

Sounds like your alternator let go and you were in effect running off the battery until it died as well.
I believe the regulator is built into the alternator on these cars, but not sure.

Take the alternator off and bring it to an Autozone like place so they can test it for you.
Better still, if you have a rebuild shop that is local to you, bring it there instead as Autozones
tend to be variable in the technical ability of the employees.

The one by me happens to be very good though FWIW.

If you have a battery charger, trickle charge the battery before installing the alternator so there is less strain
on the alternator to pump current into a flat dead battery.

It should cost between $100-$150 or so and is easy to do.
Replace the serp belt as well if you haven't done it in a while.


Good luck!

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

If your can start your car, say with another battery if your's is dead or something, you can remove the battery (while its running) and see if the car cuts off. If the car cuts off, this means that your alternator is bad and the car was running off the battery.

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

Hello again everybody. After writing this post I had my alternator tested, and replaced it. Even after replacing it (with a fully charged battery), I took it for a test run, and the battery guage still wasn't straight up like normal. So I went to the junkyard and bought a new alternator wiring harness off a new model Stang, and replaced those too. I thought my problems were behind me then. All of a sudden, a couple of weeks ago, the SAME THING happened, and my car broke down in the SAME PLACE (what luck?) with the same problem. This time I took everything apart right there in the parking lot, and put it back together, got a jump and no luck, the alternator (brand new one)just would not do it's job. I put a tester on it and it wasn't putting out any power from the top of it. All of the sudden it came to life, out of nowhere. Luckily I had bought an alternator with a lifetime guarantee, so I had it replaced again. A couple days later, I was at a red light and noticed the battery guage had dipped again. This time not to zero, but about half way between zero and normal operating range. I got to my destination, got out, did what I had to do, and when I started her up again, everything was normal. I then had no problems for about a week and a half until this weekend. I started to notice the guage fluctuating between normal, and zero.I had to push start my car a couple times due to my battery being drained, and then went out and got a new battery, figuring that HAD to be it. Well it wasn't. I'm still having trouble. Does anyone know of anything betwen the altenator and battery I need to check out? It almost seems theres a short, or a loose connection somewhere. Sometimes everythings fine, then sometimes its acting crazy. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a 1996 4.6L GT SOHC. Thanks in advance.

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

check the batt cables for corosion

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

lol i went into an autozone to buy some oil. some mexican lady who barley could speak english was running the front. i forgot how many quarts of oil i needed for a GT so i asked her. i told her MUSTANG GT. of coarse she confuses a GT with a V6 so i get 5quarts instead of 6. pissed me off.

anyway it sounds like either:

A) theres a connection problem with your battery....buy one of those electrical thingies that light up where theres a current and dont light up where there isnt (forgot what they are called) basically to find where the connection is cut. OR!!!!!

B) you have a flying saucer that follows you and discharges an EMP blast at you just to **** with you.

[sm=alien.gif][sm=alien.gif][sm=alien.gif][sm=alien.gif][sm=alien.gif]<----evil little ****ers aint they?

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

That is weird. The samething happened to me. So i took mine to a dealership and had my alternator replaced under warranty. Got it back monday and only drove it 3 times until this past saturday and I got in to go somewhere saturday and it wont even try to turn over. So now i have to figure out a way to get it back to the dealership without it being towed, i have no money. And jumping it wouldn't work either. If i find out what is goign on i'll let you know

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

Here's an update:

Still having problems.

I went out today, and disconnected everything. Inspected and cleaned all connections I could think of. At the alternator. At the battery. At the fuse box. And anything else I could find and unplug between the 3. Still nothing. When I start her up, I'm still just running off the battery. My tester reads about 12.3V at the battery, and the same at the alternator.Looks to melike it's the alternator again, but I am no expert which is why I'm here looking for input. I decided to google the alternator manufacturer (Palladium purchased from Advance Auto) and came up with links to other message boards and other people with that brand, with similar problems. (All of which were remedied by purchasing a different brand replacement) Anyone here ever have any problems with a Palladium alternator on their stangs?

RE: Electrical problem....PLEASE HELP
 

wow what luck, i'm experiencing the same exact problem[&:]. I can't test my altenator off the carso i replaced it anyways...turns out its not the problem because i killed another battery saturday. It's in a shop now, i gave up on it, and ill let u know if they find out what the problem is.