FocusCanada Forums

about a month ago i posted about a problem i was having. i thouhgt my alternator was about to crap out on me. well anyways, i took my car to canadian tire (where i work) and then mechanic said to test the battery. so i put it on the machine and and it came back good battery, but it took forever to complete the test. the mechanic said that usually means the battery was bad. so i replaced the battery. everything seemed to be fine.

fast forward to monday- go out to start the car, nothing. at that point i new it was the alternator. i called my friend and he went to canadian tire and picked up the battery/alternator diagnosis tester. hook it up to the battery and as suspected it read "dead".
so we jump the car to get it started. when he disconected the jumper cables, my car died instantly confirming that the alternator was shot. so i call Canadian tire and we dont have any in stock, then we called a local parts place and he said he had one. so we go pick it up, but we didnt have time to change it right away(he had an exam and i had to work) so we gonna do it after dinner. we put the battery on a charger and left it.

go to remove the alternator and follow all the steps in the "how to", got all the bolts out and everything disconnected, but the thing barely moved. after about 45 mins of hammering and prying we were able to get the alternator free from the mounts. then came the part of getting the alternator our of the engine bay. there is basically no room to spare when pulling it out from behind the motor. we had to bend some brackets to get out.

then we get it out, and realize that we bought the wrong fricking alternator!!!! (im pretty sure it was for the SPI) i was pissed! Because now to get another one i would have to order it tuesday and probly wouldnt be in til wednesday.

this is where my dad starts getting on my case case because we both work 1/2 hour away from home (at the same place) and we only have 2 cars (his and mine, my mom dont drive) and i was just restarting full time at my job for the summer. either way i was able to get rides into work or he was and i kept the car.

so tuesday morning i bring both alternators to the parts place and he says hes sorry and rechecks his book, he read the description out loud to me and i can understand how he made the mistake. anyways, he checks his other suppliers and nobody has it in stock and says he will try to get one by the afternoon. then he mentions that he could probly get mine rebuilt for cheaper by about 1:30 that afternoon. so im like ok sounds good and have him do that. then i head to work.

calls me in the afternoon and says i have some good news for you, the alternator didnt need to be rebuilt only regulator needed to be changed, other then being really dirty, it was fine. so he cleaned it and replaced the regulator. cost me $180 instead of $280 for a rebuilt one. go to install and it goes in nice and easy, but then we couldnt get the belt on. took us 30 mins to get the belt back on. starts fine and runs fine with the "cold engine high idle" turn it off and let it sit. clean up all the tools and everything then go to take it for a spin. start driving and then the battery light comes on im like WTF!! pull over and check all the connections and everything seems tight and in place. go home and park it put it back on the charger and wait till the morning. read the manual and it says "battery not charging propperly" so im like the alternator was messed afterall and i was really pissed. take it for a spin in the morning and the light stays off if im above 3000 rpm. i figure theres gotta be somehtign else wrong, so i do the dreaded thing and bring it to the dealer. i drop it off and explain everything and they were like we can look at it this afternoon.

i leave and head to work. i get a call around 11 and the service lady says im looking at ove $1000 worht of work. im like what for?? she says the alternator and the positive battery cable. and im like how does that add to that price??

this was the quote she gave me:
Alternator--$280
2 hr labour-$164

battery cable--$457!!!1
2 hr labour--$164

how the helll can a battery cable cost that much???? im like dont order anything yet, especially the alternator since the day before i was told it was perfectly good.

the cable i can see as a problem because the end at the battery has a little burn mark on it and it would explain why the regulator went on the alternator. after calling most of the wreckers around nobody still has a focus wiht the motor in it, therefore the wire was cut. so i bite the bullet and tell them to order the cable but not the alternator, cause if theres a problem with that ill deal wiht the other place.

so i book and appointmetn for this morning to get the cable installed, and they cant give me a loaner cause im not 25. anyways they were like we can give you a ride home when our shuttle comes back and im like fine so i go sit in the waiting area. 20 mins later the service lady comes and says that they dont have the part and they dont know when its gonna come in and that she'll call when it comes in. i didnt say a word, i took my keys and wallked out. i was about to flip so this was hte best thing.

so now im stuck at home wiht no way to work cause i dont wanna drive the car and blow the regualtor and be stranded.

so this problem is gonna cost me over $1000 and it might be the final straw that pushes me away from ford. i cant really blame anyone for the problems other then the scheduling and the part not coming in, but whats gonna go next on the car and how much is it gonna cost??? i dunno what might have gotten messed up by not receiving the right current or amps from the alternator or recieving too much.

the car may be going back to stock when this work is done and im gonna see how much i can get for it on Cobalt SS/SC.

Wow... pwned by a bad dealer.

That's too bad, man. What about getting some cable and rewiring it yourself?

A replacement alternator isn't all that out of the ordinary, although you should fight with them over it after they told you it was good the other day. Talk with the service manager.

Take your car else where, or get it fixed where you work. I just had a problem with my alternator but all that it was, was the harness going into the back of it one of the wires came out and I wasn't getting a proper charge. Also the price you quote for a rebuilt was WAY WAY too much. I took mine to a starter and alternator place and the rebuilt cost $150 with taxes maybe less but it wasn't more. As for that cable I have no idea how or why they can charge that much for it? I don't see why you can't just take some AMP wire and make your own??


either way best of luck and hope things don't get too costly for you.

The battery cable has a fusible link. and is connected through the harness....

Now may be the time to do the big 3 and use an upgraded power cable from your alternator to the battery

Sounds like the alternator is toast anyway. But... check that harness on the back that nass was talking about..

the harness was broken on both my cars. and that would definatley cause a charging light.

Wow 457$ for some wire. Get some 1guage amp wire and run it yourself.

Made it to work, they said the car was driveable so if it craps out they are paying for the tow.
Unfortunately as steve said, its not just a wire runing to the battery, so reiwirng it myself is out of the question.

As for the alternator, if there's anything wrong with it, the parts place I got it from will be replacing for free. I'm gonna check that harness when I get out of here. O and to top it of there is 25% restocking fee on the cable!!!

Dont do the cable mang

run a seperate strand of 4ga+ and see if that fixes the problem.

Do what scooba said, I did that and my car runs awsome.

wasn't there a battery cable recall on the focus? can't you pin it on that?

not sure if it applies to 02's. Dont think so, thinking ford worked out their problems by then.

Then again, it is Ford.

I went through the same scenario....battery passed at CT, and again, and again. Took my ST170's off and double checked all of my joints at the Local stereo shop in Pet. Nothing wrong there. Had the battery load anc charge tested at the stereo shop, it failed. So....I got a 800amp battery, the biggest one I could get for the stock battery tray and cover. Solved the problem.

Later I had a trickle discharge issue, and that was from my stereo discharging the battery slowly while parked for long periods of time. I unplug my fuseable link and remove the box completely now when it sits when I'm away.

I had a similar problem with my old car, I traced it down to the capacitor draining my battery when it sat for too long :(

updates mang?

did you do the big3?

Should have fixed it yourself. Battery cable, even 1/0 is cheap, ends are cheap, and running them takes about 10 minutes. You got just plain hosed.

Check to see on your car (find a wiring diagram) if there is a fuse for the alternator's voltage regulator. On my Ranger there is a 15A fuse that, if popped, the alternator stops charging the battery.

That's what this sounds like, when you have a fully charged battery is won't trip the battery light but as it drains it will activate the low voltage light. I bought a new alternator, new wiring, new pigtail and never even though to see if the fuse had blown. Ended up costing me $1.40 for a pack of 15A fuses to fix.

s*** totally forgot about this thread

turns out alternator was pooched afterall. found this out after sending to the smae guy twice to take a look at and him telling me it was fine. after putting it in for the second time i tested it again under load and still came back "bad". the parts store had brought in a "rebuilt" one for theyre stock after they realized they never had one. installed that one and no more problems. i only had to pay the diff. anyways, i can probly change an alternator on a focus in 25 mins now, depends how easily it comes out. the dealer wants 2 hrs of labor for an alternator.

as for the cable, the dumbass service advisor lady at the dealer quoted me the wrong cable, she quoted the main control harness not the battery cable. battery cable is $140, anyways i was stupid and thinking it was the problem, i had them change it, when now i know was the alternator all along. lesson learned. and im never going back to that dealer for service if i keep my car.

so total cost for this problem
battery--$100
Battery cable +labor- $300
Alternator--$340

ZX5focused,May 14 2006, 07:18 PM Wrote:s*** totally forgot about this thread

turns out alternator was pooched afterall. found this out after sending to the smae guy twice to take a look at and him telling me it was fine. after putting it in for the second time i tested it again under load and still came back "bad".  the parts store had brought in a "rebuilt" one for theyre stock after they realized they never had one.  installed that one and no more problems. i only had to pay the diff.  anyways, i can probly change an alternator on a focus in 25 mins now, depends how easily it comes out. the dealer wants 2 hrs of labor for an alternator.

as for the cable, the dumbass service advisor lady at the dealer quoted me the wrong cable, she quoted the main control harness not the battery cable. battery cable is $140, anyways i was stupid and thinking it was the problem, i had them change it, when now i know was the alternator all along. lesson learned.  and im never going back to that dealer for service if i keep my car.

so total cost for this problem
battery--$100
Battery cable +labor- $300
Alternator--$340
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Bending over and getting raped up the ass by a ford dealership priceless

There are somethings money just can't buy..... for everything else there's your ass :D


Just kidding. Glad to hear you got your problem fixed. To bad you had not needed work done.