Battery dead...Alt at 13.4?

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guinnessman

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Hey guys, today i go out to my car, and it didn't turn over. I hooked up my portable jumper, started up after 3 attempts. I went to autozone got a duralast gold battery, all done it was a quick install. Car fired right up, then i asked to have the alt tested. The guy tested it with the car running obviously with that wheel out machine they use, at first he said it looked fine. He then tested again and it kept on coming back with a 13.4-13.7 voltage reading.

He said that it is sufficient to charge the battery, but it is going to crap out eventually. I'm just wondering how long this baby will last? Any suggestions?

PS the old battery was a 4 year old Bosch. I'm just thinking of either changing it now for good measure, or maybe this will last 6 months, a year? Car has 62k miles.

PSS he didn't have me rev the engine while testing, doesn't that make the car hit peak voltage? Or at idle should it be over 14 volts?
 
Yeah i'm gonna do it, i'm going with their lifetime alt, hell they last like 1 year haha but they only take 10 minutes to change. Thanks.
 
guinnessman said:
Yeah i'm gonna do it, i'm going with their lifetime alt, hell they last like 1 year haha but they only take 10 minutes to change. Thanks.
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Lifetime means you will be spending your life walking back to autozone to get another alternator.
Its not how hard it is to install....but were will you be when it strands you.

Get one from max.
 
ford nut said:
Lifetime means you will be spending your life walking back to autozone to get another alternator.
Its not how hard it is to install....but were will you be when it strands you.

Get one from max.
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+1 Autozone sux. Dont buy from them unless you absolutly have to.
 
at autozone they made me rev to 2k to test fully on their machine. Alternator is an easy job just remove the belt first!
 
The alternator is so easy to change I wouldn't hesitate to use a Duralast. In fact I used a Duralast in my old 94 for 40k miles with no problems, then my friend got a new one (turned in the dead factory alt as a core) for his 97, then I got another new one for my 93 (also turned in dead factory alt as a core.) My friend has probably 35k on his with no problems, and I'm at maybe 7k on mine with no problems.

So the lifetime warranty sure paid off there...
 
The starters on my SHO were a joke...

Stranded once at my buddy's place - pushed the car 2 miles to a precision tune to get it replaced
Stranded at my place in 10 degree weather....
Stranded at the gas station - the hammer trick got me home...

In fact that was one of the reasons I sold the car...

When this alt goes on my Lincoln (from O'Reilly's) I'm buying one from Max - PERIOD!
 
wood_e said:
When this alt goes on my Lincoln (from O'Reilly's) I'm buying one from Max - PERIOD!
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Got mine from O'Reilly's too with lifetime 130 amp. Ultima I think is the name of it? I'm on my 2nd one but I do have a rather large system in my trunk. My two caps in the trunk read 14.6 and the other has a 4 digit readout and shows 14.64 at idle.
 
ford nut said:
Yep go get one with a lifetime warranty....it sure pays off :rolleyes:
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Lets see, I got free alternators on 2 extra cars and haven't had any problem in a collective 80+k miles. Yeah, paid off for me. And if I ever do have a problem, I'll just head to the nearest Autozone, borrow the loaner tools and change it in 10 minutes.

Whereas the OEM Ford alternators tend to crap out at 100-120k, and if you have a problem you're just :q:q:q:q outta luck...


I don't really know about the other parts stores, but Autozone doesn't JUST sell crap anymore like they did a decade ago, there are plenty of good quality items. Like Duralast Gold alternators and batteries, for instance. There are still plenty of things I wouldn't buy there like AC compressors, IACs , fuel pumps (although the Airtexs are way better than the old Masters they used to carry, ) anything that says Valucraft, etc - but they have some quality parts these days whether you care to pay attention to that fact or not...
 
MediumD said:
Lets see, I got free alternators on 2 extra cars and haven't had any problem in a collective 80+k miles. Yeah, paid off for me. And if I ever do have a problem, I'll just head to the nearest Autozone, borrow the loaner tools and change it in 10 minutes.

Whereas the OEM Ford alternators tend to crap out at 100-120k, and if you have a problem you're just :q:q:q:q outta luck...


I don't really know about the other parts stores, but Autozone doesn't JUST sell crap anymore like they did a decade ago, there are plenty of good quality items. Like Duralast Gold alternators and batteries, for instance. There are still plenty of things I wouldn't buy there like AC compressors, IACs , fuel pumps (although the Airtexs are way better than the old Masters they used to carry, ) anything that says Valucraft, etc - but they have some quality parts these days whether you care to pay attention to that fact or not...
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There is Duralast and there is Duralast Gold right?

In your first post you just said Duralast.
If one is better I think you would point it out.


Anyhow I would go with a search and see what is said about box store alternators.
The true cost is when one craps out, and you need a tow.

It's what I did.
I won't have to change mine in a parking lot with loaner tools.
 
You're right, my mistake I do mean Duralast Gold. For alternators Golds are a new part, regular Duralast is a reman. And for me at least, I have AAA plus with a 100mi free tow (not too expensive since they're my car insurance company,) so I have less to worry about. But I do have to question why you won't have to change yours in a parking lot...
 
ford nut said:
Because I got one from Max :)
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So if the one from Max goes bad, does he come to where you're stuck at and change it out for you. I'm not bad mouthing Max btw. I know he just sells the parts but what I don't understand is what makes the alternator he has better than the alternator that my local Ford parts place would have? Again, I'm not trying to start a war here over an alternator, I'm just wanting to know what makes the alternators from where Max works at so magical? Are they guaranteed for life? What amps do they put out,,, 120? If one were to fail, what do you do?
 
Max is a good guy that helps us with Motorcraft parts and
will even look for discontinued parts.
His prices and shipping are much better than your local
stealership.
True, you can't just buy a part from him at the drop of hat
but, being a Mark owner you need to plan ahead for preventive
maintenance anyway.

Speaking of alternators, just checked mine at idle, it's showing
14.23, guess it's good for now.

David
 
As far as I know, the standard for a good working alternator 14.1 volts. My '89 Town Car has a pretty crazy stereo in it, and the previous owner put an autozone alternator in it, and I bought the car 4-5 years ago and put 50k+ miles on it with NO problems. If it breaks it breaks, it doesn't matter who you bought it from you will be getting towed or fixing it on the side of the road. It's all about preference, and if you'd rather deal with a person on a 1-on-1 basis it sounds like Max is a good guy.
 
Huh. This thread got me curious so I just went to check mine. I am the third owner and the car still has its factory alt. It did 14.10 at idle and didnt change at all when reved to 2500 rpm. I loaded it by putting on the headlights, cranked the stereo (large Xtant amp) and put the AC on max.
Car gave 13.00 at idle and 13.7 at 2500 rpm. Seems like its still pretty healthy.
thumb.jpg
 
davidm said:
Max is a good guy that helps us with Motorcraft parts and
will even look for discontinued parts.
His prices and shipping are much better than your local
stealership.
True, you can't just buy a part from him at the drop of hat
but, being a Mark owner you need to plan ahead for preventive
maintenance anyway.

David
Click to expand...

I have never priced a Motorcraft alternator from my local Ford parts and can't say that I ever will. Again, just for the record, I'm in no way trying to bash Max. I'm sure he is a good person and does provide good deals but what i was mainly saying is that when one needs a part right then, we need it right then. If and when mine goes bad again, I'm looking at a 45 min ordeal with driving there, taking mine off, swapping for a new one, installing it and driving back home. 5 years from now if it goes bad, I can still do that. Not calling my alternator better, just easier to deal with if it goes bad. Maybe I'll get smart one day and buy a Motorcraft alternator. :)
 
ford nut said:
Because I got one from Max :)
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Right, yours will last until winter so you'll be stuck somewhere in the mountains in a blizzard until you can finally make it to a hotel so you can wait a week for your new $300 Motorcraft alternator to show up. :D
 
nolimit94VIII said:
So if the one from Max goes bad, does he come to where you're stuck at and change it out for you. I'm not bad mouthing Max btw. I know he just sells the parts but what I don't understand is what makes the alternator he has better than the alternator that my local Ford parts place would have? Again, I'm not trying to start a war here over an alternator, I'm just wanting to know what makes the alternators from where Max works at so magical? Are they guaranteed for life? What amps do they put out,,, 120? If one were to fail, what do you do?
Click to expand...

My stock alternator went almost 100K.

I don't doubt the one I got from Max will give me the same life that the stock one did.
Its not magic its called motorcraft.
I bought the cobra 130amp.
Your on the alternator number two....someday you will get smart ;)

nolimit94VIII said:
I have never priced a Motorcraft alternator from my local Ford parts and can't say that I ever will. Again, just for the record, I'm in no way trying to bash Max. I'm sure he is a good person and does provide good deals but what i was mainly saying is that when one needs a part right then, we need it right then. If and when mine goes bad again, I'm looking at a 45 min ordeal with driving there, taking mine off, swapping for a new one, installing it and driving back home. 5 years from now if it goes bad, I can still do that. Not calling my alternator better, just easier to deal with if it goes bad. Maybe I'll get smart one day and buy a Motorcraft alternator. :)
Click to expand...
Max is a member here.
He gives members a price break.

Plus he is great to deal with and goes out of his way to help members of LVC.

mrzeee said:
Thank you all for the kind words and the referrals.....

Now that the dust has settled.......
Just for future info......
cobra 130amp (must ext the harness a bit) retail $235.92 gold=$176.94
lvc regular = $184.02

mark8 120amp plug and play retail $209.07 gold=$156.80
lvc regular = $163.07

Add 60.00 each for the core plus shipping.
Gold gets 3day shipping for the price of reg ground as well.

12mo/12000 warranty on the alt. In the 8 years selling on the I-net sites I have replaced 2. In 25+years selling at the dealers Maybe 6 or 8 and some were for brg noise.
Click to expand...
It pays to be a gold member. :)
 
MediumD said:
Right, yours will last until winter so you'll be stuck somewhere in the mountains in a blizzard until you can finally make it to a hotel so you can wait a week for your new $300 Motorcraft alternator to show up. :D
Click to expand...

A week in the mountains in a blizzard.... I hope I have my skis. :)

I could use a week in the mountains.
 
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