Windstar 2000 SEL alternator problems wont go away
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Ford WindstarIntroduced in the mid-1990s, the front-wheel-drive Ford Windstar minivan campaigned with an emphasis on, and reputation for, safety. And in the hotly contested family minivan market of the time, that was an especially solid piece of ground to be on. As long as buyers didn't need to haul adults in back on a regular basis, the Windstar served a family's needs just fine.
Windstar 2000 SEL alternator problems wont go away
Hi folks,
A couple of weeks back check charging system error came on so I took it to a mechanic who replaced the alternator twice but the error wont go away. He then put in ford rebuilt 110amp alternator and it worked fine for few days. today again the same check charging system error is back. can anyone know what is going on... i have a brand new red top optima battery installed.
thanks
Arif
Since I never received any reply, I thought I post update on my van. My first mechanic gave up after replacing three alterntors. I had him put ford alternator but the problem remain. The other day while driving the lock/unlock noise start coming. I took the van to another mechanic. Evidently, he had a Windstar 2002 SEL (like mine) with exactly the same problem with the alternator... what are the odds! To cut the story short, he has isolated the problem to the computer. He is replacing the computer on the other van and will test on mine if that will fix the problem. Its been frustrating few weeks.
ARIFAA,
Sorry you didn't get a reply. I don't check this forum too often, and I don't recall seeing your post/request for help.
This is the gist of your post. You have a problem, you took it to a prof mech, who couldn't figure it out, and you want to know if any one knows the answer. You gave us no additional information (that which was gleaned from the mech who failed to diagnose your problem.) You are not being fair.
Could it be a bad PCM sending unwarrented codes? sure.
Could it be a bad ground? Yep.
Does your battery get charged in spite of the code?
I picked up my van yesterday. Th mechanic found a ground wire broken which he fixed. He didnt find any problem with the computer. I have been driving it since yesterday and uptill now everything seems ok.
Hate to say it, but the mech may have left the ground wire off while working on the car the first time. I once did that on our '86 Sable. It was a hidden wire, and as long as it was touching the engine, it was ok.
check ignition modulke and work your way from there then have alt tested and batt tested and run a volt meter on the batt when off should be 12.5 if not bad bat running should be at 14.2 to 14.66 over this is ok under 14.2 bad alt get test if good alt bad ignition module some winstar are equiped with this or the diod thats on top of your coil pack is bad
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