Last night I came home from work with the truck running fine... My wife went out to use the truck to go to the store and it was dead... No lights / nothing.. I tapped the battery terminal and the under hood light came on bright, but the very minute we turned the key on.. DEAD again.. I took off the battery terminals and cleaned them.. still dead.. We then jumpered the truck to another vehicle and it started right away and worked great until we shut it off.. then it was dead again... Again we jumpered the battery and started the truck.. We then removed a battery cable from the battery to see if the alternator was working.. the truck continued to work fine.. We reconnected the battery cable and shut the truck off.. dead again... We thought it was a bad battery (went bad quickly) but to make sure we took it to the Ford Dealer this morning...They told us that the Alternator was bad and it took out the battery.. Hummm!! and that it would cost $850 to fix it..
Before I invest in the Ford Dealer, I am thinking bad cable or just battery... Have to make a decision soon... Any thoughts about this problem? Ideas and comments would be GREATLY appreciated...

 

had kinda the same problem last month. truck would just go dead... couldn't figure out why. it didn't do it often, just like once every 2 weeks... i would check and clean the battery terminals and everything just couldn't figure it out....


ended up being a lose wire at my clamp..... go figure....

take the alternator to Auto Zone, they test them for free

 

Sounds like a bad electrical connection somewhere. Have seen cables corrode underneath the insulation, not visible. Bad battery - perhaps - it may not be able to deliver the load required. Not feeling real strongly at this point about a bad alternator.

Alternators and batteries can be tested by many of the local parts stores. If you're not inclined to do this, suggest to find a local garage that you trust.

A battery and alternator replacement should not be anywhere near $850, IMO.

 

That's the $tealer$hip trying to get'cha!

 

come to think of it, that had better be one He!!uva battery.. for that price? the optima's don't cost but $180 and alternator what $160 max?

 

Since your truck is now about 6 yrs old, I'd suspect the battery ground cable where it connects to the frame (or engine block - I haven't looked to see where mine connects).

Just the mere act of wiggling a cable with a bad (corroded, loose, etc) connection at ground is often enough to make it work again. The fact that your truck runs fine once started and the fact that you got the underhood light to come on (on battery power) tells me both the battery and the alternator are fine too.

I'd locate that connection, take it apart and clean it well, then reconnect and see what happens.

- Jack

 

Here are some things to think about.
It's not that expensive to replace the cables.
The battery could have a broken internal cell strap.
The alternator could have a fault allowing it to charge full on.
Test the battery capacity and the alternator performance so you know what you have.
A new 850 cca Motorcraft battery is less than $100.
Check the fuse link mounting studs for tightness.
BTW......do not test again by taking off a cable while the motor is running.

 

The problem after all was the battery.. It was shorted (bad cell).. The part that upsets me is the Ford Dealer who told me that I needed both a new battery and a new alternator.. I had the alternator tested at a local parts store and it tested good... When I confronted the dealer about this, they wouldn't talk to me since I had refused to let them work on my car. When they thought the car was under warranty, they wanted to soak FoMoCo for work that wasn't needed or required.. This is the second Ford service dept that has pushed work that wasn't needed or overcharged for labor (2 hrs for a job that took 20 minutes)... I'm sure that there are good ones, BUT.... Thanks for all of the thoughts and ideas.. I cleaned all of the cables and connections when re-installing the new battery..

 

Thats exactly why i run away from the dealers you will never see me there unless it's under waranty