My mar dies and leaves me stranded !!!

M

maxmk8

Registered
Sigh! On the way back home, my system charging light started to come on whenever the car is going at slow rpms and my lights started to dim. 10 Miles down, my car went crazy, everything started shutting off intermediatly, first the HVAC then the Speedometer, then the ABS light when on as well as all the others. And at last the messege center died, thats when my car went out as well and i got stranded in the middle of the intersection my mark.!!! Had to get a cop to push me out of it with his interceptor SIGH!!!
I know its most likely the alternator that went out. Surprising because i have 85k on my car. I had an appointment with that dealer on tuesday in regards to something else and my warranty expires on the 19ths. I guess its a good thing but still sigh!!! I was never stranded in my mark!!!
 
RE: My mar dies and leaves me stranded !!!

One thing that went "right" ~ you were in Santa Cruz and NOT the East Coast! Last night we allready had 5 inches of snow on the ground at 10PM - Snowing now, more deliveries coming! Another 8-9 inches ! (Don't give me that "What's Snow"? thing) ;) Just imagine adding the inconvenience of snow to that situation! :(
 
RE: My mar dies and leaves me stranded !!!

I knew the answer from only reading the subject line!LOL!

I know it's not funny, but it is amazing to me the utter failure of the instrumentation in scenarios like this.
 
RE: My mar dies and leaves me stranded !!!

You may want to check for loose ground cables. Possibly a bad battery. Usually when an alternator goes you'll get some type of indication because the voltage and amperage will be lower. The voltage and amperage will be lower because it's running on the battery alone. Has your car been doing this, or acting strange for a while or was this all the sudden?
 
RE: My car dies and leaves me stranded !!!

RE: My car dies and leaves me stranded !!!

The Mark VIII has two instrumentation systems for monitoring the charging system and both can fail miserably. First the Message Center:

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Charging System Warning (CHECK CHARGING SYSTEM)

Normal Operations

The message center senses the voltage level on Circuit 797 (LG/P) (Pin 27 to message center) and Circuit 296 (W/P) (Pin 10 to message center)... This input is filtered by the message center. There will be a few seconds delay before the warning is displayed or removed.

----------------------

Greater than 21 volts, there will be no display on the message center.

Between 18 volts and 21 volts, "CHECK CHARGING SYSTEM" is displayed on the message center.

Between 18 volts and 9 volts, Message Center Status is 'normal operations'.

Between 9 volts and 8 volts, "CHECK CHARGING SYSTEM" is displayed on the message center.

Less than 8 volts, there will be no display on the message center.

Then there is the Charge Indicator Lamp.

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Charge Indicator

With the Ignition Switch in RUN, battery voltage is present at the Charge Indicator through Fuse 15.

If the Alternator is not generating power, the IC Regulator inside the Alternator grounds the Charge Indicator through circuit 904 (LG/R).

Current flows through Fuse 15, the Charge Indicator, and the IC Regulator to ground; the Charge Indicator illuminates.

When the Alternator is generating power, the IC Regulator inside the Alternator applies battery voltage to the Charge Indicator through circuit 904 (LG/R). With battery voltage present at both ends of the Charge Indicator, there is no current flow and the Charge Indicator does not illuminate.

-------------------------------

Most typical of a failure, the alternator is still generating sufficient power to keep the Charge Indicator circuit happy, matching the battery voltage but not enough to recharge the battery. In this instance, no warning will be given until the voltage is below 9 volts! Considering most systems operate normally 13-14 volts, the descent from 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 and finally 9 volts can be suprisingly stealth and without warning. Depending on the current draw and battery capacity, final demise may be mere minutes.

At least in your case the system tried to warn you with the Charge Indicator lamp, indicating the battery was not being charged.
 
RE: My car dies and leaves me stranded !!!

RE: My car dies and leaves me stranded !!!

Well i got both warnings, that latter (check charging system) came on 2 min before my car died. The Charge indicator came on 10 min before it happened. I'm almoust sure its the alternator, because i had to hook up an alternative battery to get my car going again and clear the intersection. I can start the car but it dies within a min because the battery runs out i'm guessing.
 
RE: My mar dies and leaves me stranded !!!

One thing that went "right" ~ you were in Santa Cruz and NOT the East Coast! Last night we allready had 5 inches of snow on the ground at 10PM - Snowing now, more deliveries coming! Another 8-9 inches ! (Don't give me that "What's Snow"? thing) ;) Just imagine adding the inconvenience of snow to that situation! :(
Click to expand...

yea i was actually about to get home from school and it died in the intersection before turning into my street, quite odd.
 
RE: My car dies and leaves me stranded !!!

RE: My car dies and leaves me stranded !!!

Mine did the same thing. Alternator was 228$, battery was 68$. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT install a cheap autozone type alternator - buy Motorcraft ONLY.
 
RE: My car dies and leaves me stranded !!!

RE: My car dies and leaves me stranded !!!

I'll second that on the Autozone alternator. I've worked part-time at Autozone for about 2.5 years. I'm pretty sure I've seen every alternator that we have sold come back to us. I know that they don't intentionally sell items that break, but this is one item that breaks all the time. Also, their starters are rebuilt/built at the same plant. On the other hand, if you don't mind changing them when you change your oil, they have a lifetime warranty!
 
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