HELP!! Battery draining whilr driving

[Wet197]

Hey guys im stuck on this one. I have a 2008 mustang gt. I drive my car pretty much every day and i have not had any problems from her in the year and a half ive had her. Yesterday afternoon i pulled my car out of the garage to head out to a car meet and my "check charging system" light came on. I drove the car 2 minutes down the road, shut it off, and it started right back up. I let it run for a few minutes, drove it another 10 minutes down the road, and my A/C, radio, interior and exterior lights, and my cluster all lost power. I shut the car off and it wouldnt start. I replaced the alternator and drove the car to the meet. While driving i lost everything again. So i replaced the battery. I cruised back home and literally watched my battery guage go from the middle, all the way to the L and lost my lights 10 minutes from my house. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!!

 

[Wes06]

umm, alternator?

 

[Marble]

I would have the new alternator tested. Sounds like you got a remanufactured factgory alt whch generally suck and fail. Pull it and have it tested.

Check the charge on the battery. If it is low, put it on a charger and get it up to temp. Don't use your alternator.

Report back.

 

[07 Boss]

I've had bad alternators right out of the box before. Not really all that uncommon as any oem one you buy now is re-manufactured one.

 

[KatoS197]

umm, alternator?

This.

 

[Marble]

I've had bad alternators right out of the box before. Not really all that uncommon as any oem one you buy now is re-manufactured one.

I'm on my third aftermarket. It only takes 10 minutes for me to swap, but a few days of down time to get the new part. I wish I would have bought the PA or the other one that people recommended when my OEM unit went out.

 

[JerseyCity07GT]

A battery that drains while driving is a fire way of knowing that the alternator has went bad.

 

[thump_rrr]

I have a Saleen blower on my car.
The alternator is flipped around which means it runs backwards.
This causes the alternator to overheat and fail.
Because of this I bought one with a lifetime warranty.
I had the same issue as you waiting for a few days to get a new one so I bought one off eBay for $100.00
The eBay alternator is always my backup.

I've had 2 alternators fail on long trips so I always carry a spare.

 

[Fullboogie]

umm, alternator?

LOL - I read the post then said to myself "Ummm, alternator?" - then scrolled down. Smartasses think alike.

 

[AutoXRacer]

I'm on my third aftermarket. It only takes 10 minutes for me to swap, but a few days of down time to get the new part. I wish I would have bought the PA or the other one that people recommended when my OEM unit went out.

Do not waste your time on a PA... Those are junk!!

Get a hold of GMitch or get one from Performance Distributors (call them up).
I have a Performance Distributor and its flawless...even at 7500 RPM.

 

[Phil1098]

It's real easy with a volt/ohm meter. Car not running the battery will be something less than 12.5 but should at least be 11 volts. Running the voltage at the battery posts should be between 14 and 14.8. Just put the meter on volts DC and put the leads on each post of the battery. If it's not putting out 14+ volts running the alternator isn't working.

 

[eighty6gt]

I've had good luck with my new Ford alternator. I would investigate if a 2010 version would go... I think they do.

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

I would investigate if a 2010 version would go... I think they do.

I believe it's a direct fit and it's definitely more reliable than the '05-'09 OEM version.

 

[eighty6gt]

IIRC.. There's some trimming and finagling involved with the connectors. Shouldn't be too bad. Of course I can't hunt down the info on here.

 

[cbass]

umm, tekkkk?

ftfy

 

[eighty6gt]

car is broken, check
owner is working on it, check

 

[cbass]

No, car has an issue, guy is probing for possible causes with no diagnostic work done. A high school student in Auto 101 should be able to point to the alternator with the info given, and know to grab a multimeter to check if it's right. This is tech in the same way that Full House was kiddie porn. The only people that see it that was are sick in the head and probably need to see a shrink.

 

[eighty6gt]

I'm never impressed when the people on this site start waving their dicks around.