Battery/alternator

[Bessie]

2003 Ford Expedition, 135k

My battery was sluggish when starting, so the mechanic checked the connections & corrosion and said I needed a new battery, it wasn't a simple fix of dusting off corrosion. Ok, so I bought one.

Then he says that he determined my alternator was "low charging" or something like that. He figured this out after he put the new battery in. Meaning my alternator was not working properly and was going to go out. he said I needed a new one. I told him I was going out of town over the weekend and he said I better not wait & get stuck out of town with a dead alternator.

Does this sound right? I am supposed to go in at 8am in the morning for him to fix my alternator. I have never had any indication of a bad alternator, assuming that indicators are battery going dead, clock cutting off, that kind of thing. ???

 

[toms89]

You need to check voltage at battery while the vehicle is running. If you have 14 + volts the alternator is ok. 13 or less and alternator is not charging properly. Somewhere in between is questionable depending on your electrical load at the time.

 

[GAINMOB]

he is correct...i thought my battery was going out too...got the battery checked a couple of times and it read good...then found out my alt was going bad...so i tried to wait till after i came back from a trip to texas to fix it...about 3 days after i found out it was bad...it went out...and when it goes out you cant do anything...it wont start...nothing...a bad alt will drain your battery...so get it fixed...luckily i was stuck at work...i got it jump'd and it didnt have enough juice to do anything...couldnt put it in gear roll the windows up/down...couldnt use the electronic door lock/keypad...couldnt turn the steering wheel...

so get it fixed and you should be good to go.

 

[toms89]

If you are questioning the mechanics integrity... just ask him politely to show you and explain the readings he is getting. But it would not be at all uncommon for a dead battery to have been cause by bad alternator. In fact the previous battery may have been ok and it was the alternator all along. Not something I would worry about it though if it had more than a few years on it.

 

[Bessie]

Ok thanks everyone, sounds as if things are on the up & up. This is a new mechanic at a shop I go to fairly often. The owner knows me, but not this particular mechanic (the owner wasn't there today). So I just wasn't sure.
Thanks for your help, love coming to this forum!