Is my 93 Mark dying?

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ausylo

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Had the battery tested, tested out fine. just put an alternator in a year or so ago and the car has no problem starting. First, the high beams wont turn on anymore, the heater turns off completely, not even saying OFF, and tonight my whole dash went out, radio, and computer panel went super dim and gets bright and dim when it wants. the windows power up and down really fast and the light above your head when opening the door is super bright. also, the air ride will come on and run faster than normal and shut off without completely leveling the car out. what do you guys think?

Its a 93 Mark VIII with 175k on it, i know the car isnt supposed to last forever. I thought it was either the alternator again, or the computer system is dying in it.
 
Im going to say its the alternator, its simple to test, use a volt meter and test the output voltage out of the alt, if its under 12.5v change the alt.
 
The mark is very very sensitive to low voltage, check out what kind of volts you are getting to the battery and make sure all the connections are clean and report back.
 
ausylo said:
just put an alternator in a year or so ago and the car has no problem starting.

Its a 93 Mark VIII with 175k on it, i know the car isnt supposed to last forever. I thought it was either the alternator again, or the computer system is dying in it.
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If it starts ok, that tells you that your batter is OK {for the moment)

The fact that you put an alternator on the car tells me right away that you probably need to explore the warranty/return policy on the alternator.

Aftermarket replacement alternators put out 10 AMPs less than the OEM alternator.. so a brand new alternator is "behind from day 1".

At KK mentioned, check all your connections.. and more than likely I would say replace the OEM battery cable ends...because they just suck in general.

99% chance it's gonna be your alternator that you already replaced.

My 95 went to 400,000 miles and the "computer system" never "gave up"
 
On my first 8 if you put a used alt on the car its going to die. I found out the hard way that you had to put a brand new one on.
 
Have had several mechanics over the years say that they either go bad very quickly or last a long time. I experienced that after my O.E.M. alt. finally went south. Put in a remanufac. from Autozone, lasted 2 days. Next one is still running strong. That was before I learned of Max and this website.
 
okay. reason i got the the alt from there was i dont have alot of cash to throw down on a new alternator, as I do not this time around either. I dont have a voltage meter to check the alt either but I might be able to get help on that. Anyone know where I can get a good alternator for a good price for this car?

UPDATE - I notice a pattern of stuff turning off/on inside the car. After I start it up, the air ride wont kick on until i put the car in reverse or drive. The heater shuts on and off by itself. The ABS and traction control are both disabled automatically and the air bag light blinks after i step on the gas. The windows move very fast up and down and the light inside the car above your head is super bright if a door is opened while the car is running. The dash goes out after a minute of driving. I am now calling the car Christine. :)
 
All I have to say is that if my car were doing all of those things I would be driving to a church to have an exorcism performed instead of turning wrenches...
 
something funny......

I have 2 excessive amperage 390 Amp alternators and they die faster then my back up Vato-Zone alternator.

The internals on the HO Alts. are fine, I just keep seizing the freaking bearings on them, my engine bay is too freaking hot.
 
Not to make further light of the situation, but KK- that was a pretty funny response. Do hope you get it resolved Ausylo.
 
ausylo said:
The windows move very fast up and down and the light inside the car above your head is super bright if a door is opened while the car is running.
I am now calling the car Christine. :)
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This is bad, you need to stop driving the car until you get a good alternator on there.
your alternator is probably overcharging and putting AC current into a system designed for DC current.

If you cant afford an alternator you danged sure aren't going to be able to afford "all the other stuff" that gets melted by having AC current running thru your system.

you wont be calling it christine for long, shortly you'll be calling the fire dept.
 
ausylo said:
okay. reason i got the the alt from there was i dont have alot of cash to throw down on a new alternator, as I do not this time around either
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These cars are not "cheap" to repair, if you cant afford an alternator.. this might not be the best choice of car for you.

no offence intended, this is merely a "reality check".
 
It is true that there are some expensive issues with Mark VIII's as in most Luxury cars. The parts that makes them Luxury are the parts that will most often cause you problems (as in wearing out your alt.).

You may be able to find someone who has a used on that they'd sell you cheap. You might find one at a junk yard. But these are not the best solutions. I'm lucky that I happen to have a spare that I keep on my shelf.. Having 3 Mark VIII's I've learned my lesson...

But if you are having so many problems right now I'd park the car before you have to spend more on it.

Mark VIIIs are great cars. They are old and have things that will be wearing out. You will need to keep up with the things going wrong. The sooner you catch the flaws the cheaper and longer your Mark VIII may last.

They will run for 100's of Thousands of miles if you take good care of them.

They will also be cheaper than car payments if you stay ahead of the real problems.
 
mespock said:
You may be able to find someone who has a used on that they'd sell you cheap.

They will run for 100's of Thousands of miles if you take good care of them.

They will also be cheaper than car payments if you stay ahead of the real problems.
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There are two alternators on ebay for less than 80.00..

and +1 for these cars running for 100's of thousands of miles..

Mine would be close to 500K today, had it not been stolen.
 
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