CMcNam

Well I deployed two months ago so my car has been in the garage. I added fuel stabilizer (I let it run for a bit to get it throughout the system) and put it on jack stands. I forgot to disconnect the battery though. Before I left I was getting the "Check Charging System" message but figured I'd take care of it when I get back. My roommate went to start the car and let it warm up but it didn't even tick. The electronics still lit up, so I plan on replacing the alternator (with a PA Performance one) and battery when I get back. My question is, will the car be fine to sit there for another four months?

Ford_Dude

It'll likely be fine, but if you're worried you could get a battery tender and get your friend to hook it up.

Though I don't know how much you want your friend messing with your car while you're away.

And I don't know if a tender would be able to rechange the battery over time, so it might have to be charged first.

If you trust him enough you could have him do the battery/alt swap, (its really easy)

hootie_john

I'd have him throw a charger on it and see what happens.

Nuke

It's probably better that it didn't start. Unless you get it out for a good heat-up on the highway for a good 10-20 miles or more, starting it and letting it idle, even up to operating temperature, does more harm than good. As long as the car is sitting with relatively fresh oil and HAD been given a good heat-up before storage, along with the fuel stabilizer, the engine is fine. It's that darned S197 charging system that's the weak link. The PA alternator is a great choice but I'd also have the battery load tested, too. A Deltran Battery Tender Jr. (about $25 on ebay) is the ticket for over 1 month storage on these cars.

CMcNam

Thanks for the replies. The oil is new and everything else has been taken care of, so I'm not going to worry about it.

My roommate jokingly offered to replace the alternator but I don't think she even knows what a torque wrench is, and no one touches my baby but me (unless I'm there to supervise).

Ford_Dude

You don't need a torque wrench for the alt swap, but a breaker bar is useful.

I changed mine out recently, taking off the TB makes it much easier.

1. remove air-intake (IE CAI or factory tubing)
2. use breaker bar to release the tension on the belt (1/2in drive, theres a square hole on the tensioner), then remove the belt from teh alt
3. disconnect the TB, and unscrew
4. remove the 2 outer screws on the bracet thats over the top of the alt.
5. lossen (or remove) the 2 nuts near the bottom of the alt.
6. disconnect alt (wiring harness and positive lead) (at some point in there you should have disconnected the neg battery cable, unless its dead)
7. remove the 2 inter screws from the bracket on the alt (removing them any earlier is a PITA)
8. connect the cables, and bracket to the new alt
9. reverse the steps to put the new alt inplace

personally I went with the 200amp PA alt if you do too then add in a step of replacing the cable from alt to pos terminal as you'll need something thicker than stock. (I went witht eh 4ga wire that AM sells made by PA

This combined with a optima red top has made my electrical system awesome.

BTW when doing this I'd check to see if the TB could use some cleaning and have some TB cleaner ready.

FrostByte

Why do you think you need an alt? The alt dosnt keep car charged when its not running. I would keep the person who suggested it as far away from tools & your car as possible.

JFitz

The check charging system is usually a sign for a bad alt/and or batt. I know this because I had to replace my alternator twice when this exact thing happened. (Bad alt the second time)

Alt replacement is pretty easy. Did it in a NAPA parking lot in about 45 minutes a few months ago.

CMcNam

Because when I typed "check charging system" into the search button the most likely problem was the alternator. As I stated in my OP, this message was being relayed to me BEFORE I left, i.e. while I was driving it. The battery is fine (well it was anyways), I checked all the lines, and the research here all points to a bad alternator, which from what I understand is a common issue with my car. Not to mention every other piece of advice I've received in this thread alone says it's the alternator, and while the collective intelligence of the internet is usually negligible, I tend to believe the folks on this forum when they all give the same answer. If, however, you have a different idea, I'm more than willing to hear it and give it a shot.

And just for kicks:

FrostByte

Sorry, missed the part that u were having prob before u left,not just upon return. GL

I'm on my 3rd alt BTW, one reman was bad "out of the box".