1999 Ford Windstar something drawing on alternator

BREEBA

MEMBER
1999 FORD WINDSTAR
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
69,000 MILES

I have replaced the alternator in my windstar three times. The first two times, something drew down the alternator and killed it. The most recent time, I have not had it die completely, but my volt meter indicated that after about 3 hours of being in the car, the alternator was already losing power. I believe there is a draw somewhere. The problem began when the weather got cold, particularly when I am running all of my electrical (defroster, rear defroster, headlights, wipers and radio). I am wondering if the problem could be from the back defroster, or if there is a chance that the started could be causing some type of prblem. I also noticed that the interior dome light seems to stay on for a particularly long time (not sure how long it should remain on after the car is turned off and the door is opened and shut.)

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

1 Reply

FLEXY5

MECHANIC
512 POSTS

Have you had someone check the battery? If it has a bad cell or a short in the battery itself, it will damage the alternator. As far as the dome lights staying on I believe they have a 60 second delay on them. Without running several other tests, it would be hard to accurately give an answer as to what could be wrong. But it really does sound like you have a bad battery.