Albizo66

alright guys, here it goes...i brought the car to the shop to have my headlights put in and a new relay installed for my fog lgihths..they call my this morning telling me i need a new alternator, thats why my headlights were dim. they said that since i had all the gauges, and since i had a MSD ignition system, it was taking too much power from the alternator, and the alternator couldn't handle it...so i pick it up around 530, and drive it, all is fine, there is a chirping sound, but it seems to just be some wd-40 or some kind of lube burning off of the new belt. oh, by the way..it cost me 550 bucks for the alternator, new relay, and labor...

i go to my uncle's for a BBQ, i leave and decide to go for a cruise, my lights are still dim as all hell, so i'm pissed about it, and the chirping is pissing me off more and more....so i go to honk my horn at a bad driver, and no noise comes out, and all the interior stuff gets really really dim...so i try it 2 or 3 more times, and still nothing, gets more and more dim...i come to a light, and the car stalls out on me...i go to start it up, and nothing, totally totally dead...i call my buddy, and he calls through the dispatch and out comes a cop...we try to get the rolling jump going, and btw the ******* used his car to push me and now i have paint chipped off of my back bumper...so it the roll jump worked for a little bit, then my car died again a ltitle down the road, the cop set up flares, then left me once i told him my dad was coming...my 3 buddies come, and we undo the case that holds my battery in the trunk, and had to jump it like 3 times to get it to hold, and on the third time we started it and just took off

but, one of my buddies found a plug on the new alternator barely plugged in/ not plugged in at all...so we think that the alternator wasn't functioning properly, and that the car was running solely, or majorly, off of the battery, and obviously the battery can't handle that...are we right?

creekrat

Sounds quite possible! That will cause all of the symptoms you described, but may not be a definate. Run it for a while and see if it is better with the wire hooked up. I don't know why the guy at the garage says you need a bigger alt for guages and an MSD box tho. Not sure why the belt would be squeaking either, especially if the alt was just along for the ride.

mavillarreay

you know what bro the symptoms do match to a messed up alt, but like creekrat said drive it with the wire properly connected for a while. and i would honestly consider the bigger alt. the msd box and other mods you have do inderectly effect it. i mean either way its to your advantage you can always use the extra amps. but yeah it should be that. or check all the wires around your engine. (oh and auto zone can test your alternator for free) good luck man. hope you get to burnin that rubber again. duece bro

Albizo66

well currently it's back at the shop that did the work for me. we drove it there once we got it started last night. we parked it, and then turned it off. then tried to start it again, and it wouldn't start...if it is the battery, they are fixing it for free, and im tempted to make them put in a heavy duty one for free

last time i get work done there..

r.barn

Your alternator was just not charging for some reason
and ignition system was running off battery.

Find out why new alternator was not charging, hook your battery
to a charger over night and you're good to go

stang8689

when its running check the voltage on the battery, also was it a stock alt or a 130 upgrade

onetrickpony

Not to be a dick but..... You paid someone $550.00 to put in a fukking alternator? That is hwy robery. New lights and a relay is a pretty simple job along with the alternator. That sucks bro, I would be camped at their door for that much money.

FivePointOhh

sounds like the alt isnt working well enough. and if you have the batt relocated do you have a sufficient gorund?

badtzmaru

Make sure they do the job right and do not sign anything until it is completed and up to your satisfaction.

Albizo66

thanks for all the input guys, i am letting my dad loose tomorrow morning and he is going down there and handling everything while i am at work, then when i get off work, i am going down there and putting my 2 cents in......a buddy of mine told me that alternators from auto parts store have a very high percent failure rate..and the work was done on saturday so i don't see how they could have gotten it through ford, so could the alternator thats on there just be crap?