Bad battery or alternator? Please don't say both!
#1
Bad battery or alternator? Please don't say both!
1991 5.0. After 5 days of not being started, I fired her up no problem. As I drove off it started to loose rpm's and the battery light came on. It eventually died while idling. Started back up and finished the two mile drive no problem. From Friday to Monday it sat. Today (Monday) it did not start. It will start with a jump but dies after a minute. I had cleaned the battery posts off two weeks ago. Just replaced the terminals. Autozone said the battery tested with a bad cell. I don't know how old the battery is. Is that all the problem may be? Or should I have the alternator tested? Thanks for reading this novel.
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CliffH (07-02-2013)
#3
Springer Spaniels Rule
Check for voltage at the battery with the truck running, if it has 14v+ the alt is good, if there is less than 13v the alternator is bad, and if there is 11v or less the battery is bad.
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CliffH (07-02-2013)
#4
Senior Member
If the battery tested with a bad cell then the battery is bad. And, with it running you should be able to disconnect both battery cables and it should still run fine off the alternator, if it doesn't then the alt is bad. There's a good chance that the bad battery caused the alt to go out also, seen it many times.
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CliffH (07-02-2013)
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CliffH (07-02-2013)
#6
Replaced the battery. I'll check voltage when I return the core. This was not a foreseen issue, but she deserved a new battery after 22 years of service. An alternator won't cost much more if it becomes necessary. Thanks for all the help.
#7
Check engine light came on before I made it the 2.5 miles to work.
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#8
Senior Member
I've done it a million times. It won't hurt anything. I jump started a car with no battery and made an hour drive, it was fine. The vehicle runs off the alternator anyway and just uses the battery to get it started.
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CliffH (07-03-2013)
#9
Also...just putting this here..
http://www.troubleshooters.com/dont_...ct_battery.htm
And this
http://www.batteriesnorthwest.com/batteryschool.cfm
Last edited by Forge-World-FORD; 07-03-2013 at 01:23 AM.
The following users liked this post:
CliffH (07-03-2013)