Alternator issue
 

Hi all!

Just bought a 2003 Windstar a few months ago and already having issues. I have pinned it down to the alternator. I saw one online for a decent price but it stated 2001... does it make a difference if it is 2001 or 2003? Can I use this alternator?

Any input would be great :)

I know we are always talking costs, but your best bet would be to get a replacement alternator from Ford. MANY aftermarket alternators come with problems. What kind of problem did the vehicle have that you narrowed down to the alt?

I replaced my alternator with a re-manufactured one from O'Reilly's, 2 years ago, no problems. I have read on this forum that Auto Zone's are not reliable.
If you have to replace the alternator test the battery as well. Charge the battery with a charger so you won't overload the new alternator.

Bluewind brought up a good point. Some of today's vehicles have insufficient gauge wires from the alternator to carry a heavy charging output and therefore overheat the alt and wiring if the battery is in a very low state of charge. If no battery charger is available it might be wise to let the vehicle run for a short period of time several times until the state of charge comes up.

Sorry for the waylaid response and thans for the replies. I replaced a bad battery which did not fix the problem, then I replaced what was meant to be a bad alternator... again no luck. Would the wiring be my next step?

Tell us exactly what the symptoms are that you experience. We will take it from there.

Basically the car needs to be jumped to start, from that point certain things stop working (dash, lights dim etc). Also noticed that the brake is super firm when in park... it is normally responsive.

Paul , Have you had an opportunity to check the battery cables. They can be corroded under the insulation and look fine but have high resistance because of internal corrosion.
If it starts with a jump and then goes nuts once the jumper cables are disconnected that may be because the extra voltage available from the additional battery is sufficient to overcome the high resistance. You need to cut the insulation at the battery end of the positive cable especially and if you see corrosion there, if so you found a possible source of the problem.

Thanks Hanky for the input. Cut back the sheath at the battery end and the cables seem sound. As much I I like pottering away to figure out what is happening i may just have to bite the bullet and take it to a garage. The wife needs the car and my time for working on it is limited. Hopefully it is not a costly fix as much as i love the car it is at 210,000 miles! Any other ideas that could be thrown at it would be great I will give it a couple more days before giving up :)

Since you have checked just about all the possible causes except this one, it may solve the problem.
Your vehicle has a PCM controlled alternator. That means the voltage regulation/output of the alt is controlled by the car's computer. A good quality scan tool is required to run these tests, although they can be done without the tool, it is much quicker to verify with the tool.