Ford

Hi, i have a 1995 ford windstar. there was a newer alternator and battery when i purchased it. it drove home fine. when i started it 2 days later the battery was dead. i jumped it and it did nothing so than i had new battery put in and drove it a short distance and back home. next day battery dead again. had freind look at it and said alternator was bad. replaced alternator and put in another brand new battery. ran fine for a day or two now dead again. air went out 1st..than windshield wipers than dead. took to shop they confirmed alterantor dead again as well as new battery. i have appointment thursday with another shop to look at it and they couldnt give me price (comprehend ably) cause the problem sounded "very complicated". hoping someone else may have had similsr problem that could save me either a boat load of money daignosing and than repairing problem or atleast save money with diagnosis. they stated it would probably take several hours running tests....gulp! ! .

You definetly have a draw on the battery. the alternator on your vehicle is not designed to charge a completely dead battery and supply power to the vehicle at the same time, it will overheat and burn out, as you have discovered. finding the draw is easy enough, a test light between the battery cable end and the battery post will light up, until the source of the draw is found. pull the fuses one at a time in the underhood fuse box, until the light goes out. then simply see what the fuse supplies. most times, that fuse will supply the interior fuse box, thus the process is repeated until the light again goes out. likely as not, it will be the fuse that powers the interior lights, but that is what needs to found out. a glove box light or a visor light staying on will do it. once the cause is found and repaired, fully charge the battery and test it, replace it if needed, and then put a new alternator on. the rebuilt alternator is simply the last one you turned in and was patched up and resold. not the way to go, if you can afford new it is worth the coin. no reason this repair is " complicated", as you can see, the steps are fairly simple. it can take a certain amount of time to pinpoint, but this is something you can do in your driveway with a 2 dollar test light and an afternoon....good luck!