I have experienced my share of faulty Ford alternators from the chain stores. I now get OEM from Ford. Yes, they are expensive but I have better things to do than replace month old alternators constantly.
Did they put in an OEM ford alternator? Fords switched to their “smart charging” system and its a little more complicated than your average alternator diagnosis.
The Taurus alternator and 2 speed e-fan come to mind as the two most common parts that people pickup from junkyards and slap them on to their cars.
Had the same issue with my -07 Volvo v50 (it has a ford engine). Swapped the alternator and the problem was gone.
I replaced the alternator on my Windstar last month. Disconnect the wires, remove 3 bolts and lift it out. Takes like 10 minutes or less.
The alternator I have on my 3.0 Ford Ranger does over 130 at idle and 300 at 2,000 engine RPM. It's the same size as factory, just custom built for $550 for the truck since I use it for car audio competition.
Just sold mine to a friend... owned this one for 5 years, put 40+ thousand miles on it, and it needed nothing except for an alternator, and battery. It was a great car for me. Never let me down, drove, and sounded great...
Newer ford alternators essentially “talk” to the pcm. Cheap aftermarket alternators do not do well on these cars. Replace the alternator with a better quality alternator
I had one during college... For a V6 it wasn't particularly quick and handled a lot bigger than it was. In three years it ate five alternators and the intake runner control box was notorious for failing (killing what little power it had).
I had a Cougar (same underpinnings) and mine went through alternators like candy. I'm sure a better-designed aftermarket version would probably take care of it though.
Write your review
Help others - share your experience with this part.
Voted AGAINST engine oil RAVENOL on the rating page
The brake pads OEM Alfa Romeo got the first review!
The brake caliper OEM BMW got the first review!
The brake pads OEM Infiniti got the first review!
For wiper blades PIAA already 100 reviews.
For battery Energizer already 25 reviews.
In the rating best water pump already 12 brands participate!
In the rating best timing belt already 13 brands participate!
In the rating best head gasket already 3 brands participate!
In the auto rating oil filter for Volkswagen Passat already 5 brands participate!
In the auto rating brake pads for Mazda 5 already 10 brands participate!
In the auto rating tires for Subaru Outback already 50 brands participate!
For cabin filter Fram already 25 reviews.
Voted AGAINST engine oil RED LINE on the rating page
Voted AGAINST engine oil PENNZOIL on the rating page
