Charging System and Alternator
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 2
From: Florida
Charging System and Alternator
For some background, about 8 months ago I was having trouble with the charging system in my 07 Mustang. I replaced both the alternator and the battery, but this turned out to not be the issue. Ended up having to get the ecm replaced.
A couple days ago the "check charging system" light came back on. I decided to just bring it straight to a mechanic today. The light didnt come back on during my drive there but my check engine was still on.
Basically what the mechanic told me was that the issue was I had a "low quality alternator"? I cant remember exactly what I put in there but I believe it's a motorcraft. He basically claimed he's seen this before when people get lower end part at places like autozone. His recommendation was to have him put in a higher end alternation and change out the ignition coil. I believe he also suggested changing out some of the wiring.
All of this is stuff I can just do myself, so I paid him for the check up and drove off. My main point of confusion here is this "low quality alternator" thing. Is this something people have heard before? Does anyone have any other ideas or recommendations? It feels kind of silly to replace an alternator that's less than a year old, but this shop is reputable and I guess the logic here makes sense, just wanted other opinions. Thanks!
A couple days ago the "check charging system" light came back on. I decided to just bring it straight to a mechanic today. The light didnt come back on during my drive there but my check engine was still on.
Basically what the mechanic told me was that the issue was I had a "low quality alternator"? I cant remember exactly what I put in there but I believe it's a motorcraft. He basically claimed he's seen this before when people get lower end part at places like autozone. His recommendation was to have him put in a higher end alternation and change out the ignition coil. I believe he also suggested changing out some of the wiring.
All of this is stuff I can just do myself, so I paid him for the check up and drove off. My main point of confusion here is this "low quality alternator" thing. Is this something people have heard before? Does anyone have any other ideas or recommendations? It feels kind of silly to replace an alternator that's less than a year old, but this shop is reputable and I guess the logic here makes sense, just wanted other opinions. Thanks!
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 8,882
From: Michigan again!
Welcome to the Forum, you will find it is better to post about your car in the sections for your particular year. Every generation has its own section (i.e. for you the S197 section)
It's possible that you have a bad alternator. If you do search in the S197 section you will find lots of threads about alternator issues and having to upgrade.
The mechanic though sounds like he isn't sure and is tossing parts at you with "replace coils" and wiring. You don't say if you have V6 or V8 and there are differences in the coil (V6 uses one single coil and the '07 GT has coil on plug set up). Unless you are getting codes for the ignition system and the coil or spark plugs, there isn't a need to replace them.
Get a new alternator - the threads in the S197 section will indicate what the upgraded one is.
It's possible that you have a bad alternator. If you do search in the S197 section you will find lots of threads about alternator issues and having to upgrade.
The mechanic though sounds like he isn't sure and is tossing parts at you with "replace coils" and wiring. You don't say if you have V6 or V8 and there are differences in the coil (V6 uses one single coil and the '07 GT has coil on plug set up). Unless you are getting codes for the ignition system and the coil or spark plugs, there isn't a need to replace them.
Get a new alternator - the threads in the S197 section will indicate what the upgraded one is.
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