Battery light came on under hard accelleration...

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ENDEE666

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Here's a wacky one, I was getting on the highway today, accellerating hard & I saw an idiot light come on out of the corner of my eye... It was the Battery light.. Only came on above like 5500-6k rpm & only for a second...

Any ideas? Maybe I need a grounding kit or to re-do the wires for the alternator?

Thanks!
Nick
 

MilTownSHO

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You are going to need a new alternator. Start saving because they aren't cheap if your going to pay a shop to do it.
 

ENDEE666

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Is that a definite? Other than that the electrical of the car seems ok. And why would I only get that under hard acceleration & above 5500 rpm or so?

I think I may beef up some of the grounding wires & maybe even some of the larger wires & terminals for the alternator. I know when I installed one of those "grounding/earth kits" in my other car it made a huge improvement in the whole electrical system. Less dimming from bass, less power loss from a/c, lights brighter, etc. Definitely a cheaper option than an alternator...
 

3.8Lwagon

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make sure the bolt that holds the power cable to the alt hasn't back out. my 3.8 did that and it was driving me nuts tryung to figure out the problem
 

ENDEE666

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I will add that to the list of connections & such that I check tomorrow in the daylight. Thanks for the tip!
 

Mr Anonymous

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It's probably because you have a Windstar alternator that someone replaced at some point. Most auto parts chains list the 3.8L Windstar and SHO alternators as interchangeable, and while about 90% of the parts are they are not really a direct replacement.

Just live with it.
 

ENDEE666

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If the problem is nothing beyond an idiot light when I am over 5500-6k rpm, I can certainly deal with that. If its a sign of an alternator about to take a **** on me, that just sucks...
 

ENDEE666

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Just inspected the main wiring.

The ground consists of one old looking 8 ga wire going from the batt to the fire wall & one going somewhere else, also 8 ga & old looking. The firewall connection is shared with the hood pin switch & a few other things, including washers, all stacked on the one bolt. The grounding kit I put in my other car made an improvement. Added 6 or 7 grounding spots & beefed up the main battery one to 4 ga. Gonna do the same on this car, I have wire left. Need to know what points to do tho. Like where various sensor grounds & computer grounds are.

On the positive side, it was again two 8 ga wires. One going to the starter & one going to that main fuse that then leads to the alternator. The cable going from that fuse to the alternator was also 8ga & they all looked old too. Definitely going to replace the fuse-to-batt one with a 4 ga & some decent terminals. The fuse-to-alternator one looks hard to reach on the alternator end, but this was in the dark with a drop light. If I can get to it, I will also upgrade that to 4 ga. At minimum I will clean up & replace the terminal on the fuse end & clean off all the areas of contact.

So where can I run additional ground wires to? Where are the main sensor grounds? Such as Knock Sensor, Crank Angle Sensor, Throttle Position Sensor, the main ground for the Ignition Coils.... Etc.

Thanks for the help fellas!
Nick
 

ES_8CH_OH

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I had a 99 Cougar and the battery light came on everytime I took the RPM's to redline and the headlights would dim. I wonder if the alternator has a safety and stops producing power to keep it from flying apart at high RPM's. BTW- the car was stick and had the 2.5L in it.
 

SHO#7

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ES_8CH_OH said:
I had a 99 Cougar and the battery light came on everytime I took the RPM's to redline and the headlights would dim. I wonder if the alternator has a safety and stops producing power to keep it from flying apart at high RPM's. BTW- the car was stick and had the 2.5L in it.

Once again it has to do with the reman alternator. I am not sure if it is something inside that they change, or if pulley is slightly different. But alot of aftermarket alternators have this issue. Espically on higher revving motors.

Mike
 

Mr Anonymous

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ENDEE666 said:
Is there a way I can visibly tell which alternator I have?
I just told you above. I've worked on hundreds of these cars. The cases are the same, so there's no way other than disassembling the unit.
 

ENDEE666

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Oh well. I definitely appreciate all the help Mr Anonymous!

I'm gonna beef up the cables & terminals & add some grounds. Certainly won't make matters worse. If it only happens when I'm accellerating hard, then I can deal.

Thanks again!
 

Sagabu

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Like the others said, it will pop eventualy.
I`ll add don`t drive far from town.
When it finally gives out, don`t buy a cheap Auto-Zone or Advance Auto replacement unless you like replacing them.
I see you just bought the car. I bet it has cheepo reman in it already and the previouse owner has been through the BS they can cause.
I have had the best luck w/Car-Quest alts (Westling).
If you have the $$$, buy the Ford reman and have them install it. At least if it failes, you`ll save on double/tripple labor.
 
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