2004 ford expedition died on highway

[Arblargan]

Hello everyone. I've just got a few questions I was hoping someone could help me out with. I guess I'll just give a brief description of how my problem started.

My wife noticed that the battery light came on and would not go out, yesterday. I didn't find out about it until today, when I went to go drive it. I'd say the light was on for about 15 minutes, then the ABS light came on. About 20 seconds after the ABS light came on, everything on the dash shut off to include the radio, fuel gauge, and even the turn signals didn't work. About 1 minute after that, at a red light, the car shut down and would not start.

Initially, nothing electrical would work. I couldn't unlock the doors and the hazard lights wouldn't even come on. A generous bystander offered to chain my car to get it to the side of the road, and out of the middle of the highway. After the tow, we disconnected the battery and reconnected. After this, I was able to use my hazard lights and now my doors unlock.

My main question is, do you think it's the battery or the alternator.

 

[Stoned06]

Sounds like the battery, but no way to know for sure without testing it or the alt. Is it the original battery? If so, that's the likely culprit. Take the vehicle to Autozone or the like (if you can get it running) and they will test the alt to see if it's good or not. Try charging the battery and see if it will take a charge or not. You basically have to do a process of elimination to know for sure. Good luck.

 

[ELVATO]

My guess would have been alternator died/was dying, leaving all the electrical burden to the battery. Once the battery had no "juice" left, everything started to fail. Test the alternator. It might not be a bad idea to change out the battery, as deep discharges like that really shorten their lives.

 

[Arblargan]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone.

As for the recommended testing, the car is currently at the dealership. I was mostly curious because I have a warranty with the Expedition, and it covers the alternator in the event of a failure. However, the warranty doesn't cover the battery replacement, so I'm kind of hoping it's the alternator.

I really don't know much about cars, but I do know a lot about electronics/electrical theory. My main reason for thinking that it's the alternator is because the battery light was on on the dash for 2 entire days before anything happened. Also, after we disconnected and reconnected the battery, I had enough juice in the battery to do everything but start the car. If I try to start the car, all I hear is a clicking noise, but the engine won't even try to turn over.

I'm mainly asking this question because I want to know if I'm going to have to pay for this repair or not. As for the age of the battery, I'm not aware. I bought the car in April and haven't had any problems ever since then.

 

[ELVATO]

If you have a chance to look in your hood, the battery should have a sticker with the date it was manufactured. If it's 4-5 years old (or older), I'd really consider changing it, especially because of the deep discharge. It sucks coming to a dead battery.

 

[Arblargan]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Thankfully, it did turn out to be the alternator. My battery still has some charge on it, but as soon as I get payed I'll be going out and getting another one.