The alternator on my 97 F150 XLT Supercab gave out the ghost last week. Well, after 7 years of service these kind of failures are to be expected, or are they? My question is: Besides wear, faulty componentes, what else will cause an alternator to fail? The reason I ask is I remember reading a while ago that the wrong kind of battery will lead to premature alternator failure, is this correct?

Thanks,

Tony

 

I wouldn't spend too much time trying to figure out why it failed. The items you listed could be possible causes, but I woud hesitate to say that a (7) year old alternator has too many faulty components. A bad battery doesn't help the aleternator. Mine in my 97 Lariat 4.6 also lasted 7 years, and 115,000 miles. I didn't complain about replacing it or wonder why.

 

Don't jinx me.
Mine is 7 years old and has 120K miles under it's belt. (pun intended)
I had an alternator go in my old '87 Bornco II because of a bad battery. The regulator kept it running at full output which fried several circuits and blew out bulbs all over the place.

 

Hmmm... I already replaced the thing and I'm not complaining... much... (unespected $200 at Xmas hurts...), I had the battery checked and it checked good, but it looks small, and I also noticed that I've been loosing lamp bulbs on the dash, so I'm asking around just to make sure.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Years!!:santa:

 

If the charge system had been running the voltage on the high side, this shortens the bulb life.
A dark grey film on the inside of the bulb is tungsten filiment metal that has vaporised on the glass from burning at a higher temp than normal.
Change out all of them once, and have it done with.