Cdalton08

Hey everyone, I'm not sure if this is the right place for this type of question so sorry in advance!

2005 Mustang GT, 100% stock, 81k miles

Okay so last weekend my engine light came on and as I was driving to Pepboys by car died. They said it was the alternator and that the battery was fine and just needed to be charged while I was driving. So Basically all they did was replace the alternator. About 8 hours later as I am heading out the battery light turns on and in the LED display it says "Check charging system". The battery meter looks about right (About 60% full like usual). My drive is about 30 minutes, and within that 30 minutes the battery light and LED warning turn on and off every 5 minutes. So I take it to Pepboys they test the battery and said it's fine and that I just need to drive it to charge the battery. For the next few days I drive it about 200 miles over a 4-5 hour span. The Battery light and "Check Charging System" warning now turns on about 1 minute after I turn on the car and stays on until I turn it off. The battery meter looks fine as well. I also read somewhere that it could be the wrong alternator that was put in and the on-board computer isn't recognizing it, could that be the problem? Like I said I went to Pepboys and I would assume a big company like that knows what they are doing. The car runs perfectly fine except for those warnings but I am afraid it will die on me again. Any reason why this is happening?

Thanks in advance guys!

hiboostwoody

I can't believe they didn't charge your battery before they turned you loose. Overworking an alternator like that, new or not, will kill it. I would take the car back and tell them to warranty that alternator and charge the damn battery up before they send you down the road with the car. Either way, get it done quick. A malfunctioning charging system can do a lot of damage in a late model car including destroying an automatic transmission.

capri man

" Like I said I went to Pepboys and I would assume a big company like that knows what they are doing." errrr ummmm NO!!!

woody is 100% correct. never put an new alt. on a weak battery.

hiboostwoody

Large companies like Pep Boys get to be that big because they hire as cheap of labor as they can possibly get. Therefore, they hire technicians that are "shadetree" mechanics at best. It's not the mechanic's fault, they just don't know any better. You will hardly ever see anyone in those places that is ASE Certified because they won't pay what it takes to get someone with the qualifications and tens of thousands of dollars worth tools. You are far better off taking your car to a shop that charges a bit higher labor rate because they usually have mechanics with more skill.

Cdalton08

So just get a new battery than?

JohnTN

Buy a battery maintainer (trickle charger) at Sears or Harbor Freight or Pep Boys for $10-20 and let the battery charge overnight. Also, buy a digital meter while you are at it (usually less than $10) and check the battery voltage before and after the overnight charging.

A fully charged battery should show about 12.7 volts across the positive and negative terminals (car not running). Weak battery might be only around 12 volts.

John

a_penquin

+1 The Auto Zone down here is horrible. They sold me the temp sensor for the CPU twice instead of the gauge one after telling them the exact part I need, hence probably why my dash gauge fully failed in the end. Then when I went in for a temp gauge to replace it they didnt even know what Autometer was..... They hire cheep *** labor with no vehicle qualifications, some without even opening the hood on they're car......

TimmyGt

the first problem with your car is that you went to Pepboys. I would take a close look at the alt. to see if you can see any wires that look like they aren't hooked up to anything. there is a good chance they forgot something putting it back together (like a sensor or something dumb). one of my friends dads took his car to pepboys to get an oil change. they left the air intake disassembled which cause lots of problems for him. he took the car to the dealership and they charged him for a bunch of work that didn't fix the problem. so I took a look at it and knew what was wrong right away because I could see the air box wasn't attached to the intake. that is why I do all the work on my cars myself so I know whats being done is right. also pick up a trickle charger like the others where saying and let it run over night. let us know if that fixes the problem before you get a new battery.

Cdalton08

Alright I'm going to pick up that charger for sure, I remember they gave me a readout of my battery and it was 12.7V and the guy said if it is above 12.4V than it would charge. I also looked at the alternator and from what I can see it looks installed, no wires hanging out, but than again I cannot see the whole thing. I would fix it myself but I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm just getting into cars and stuff. Just started doing my own oil change earlier this year, haha. So if I need something major fixed, just go to the dealership?

I'll let you know how it goes guys!

hiboostwoody

Nooooo, don't take it to the dealership unless you want to pay a lot of money for an *** raping. Ask around and find a good local independent shop to take it to. Make sure it's one that stands behind their work.