1996 Ford Thunderbird keeps losing power

Tiny
VEGITAGOJITA
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 FORD THUNDERBIRD
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 78,000 MILES
A while back my battery kept dying so I took it in and the mechanic said that it needed a new alternator. They put it in and it ran well for a couple of months and then it died again. This time I checked the battery and found that it was old and wouldn't hold a charge. So I replaced the battery and again it ran fine for a couple of months. Last week my voltage gauge has been showing a slow drop in power until finally it died again. Is the alternator bad or is it something else?
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 AT 6:53 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
What I can tell you is if you put a new alternator in a Ford with a weak battery, you can kill the new alternator, most come with a tag that tell you this, so when you replace an alt, either have a fully charged battery in it, or a new one! It's not impossible for a rebuilt alternator to go bad! Have it tested.
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Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 AT 7:27 AM

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