Red battery light came on, Ford E150.

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Battery light came on today on my way home from work, I started thinking bad alternator so turned off the AC and radio and opened the windows waiting for the engine to die but luckily I made it home, ( I've been stranded by bad alternators twice before, not fun ). What do you guys think? Thanks.
 
Originally Posted by laserred96gt
Battery light came on today on my way home from work, I started thinking bad alternator so turned off the AC and radio and opened the windows waiting for the engine to die but luckily I made it home, ( I've been stranded by bad alternators twice before, not fun ). What do you guys think? Thanks.


Could be Battery or Alternator, have it checked
 
How old is the truck and how old is the battery?

I would try to get both the alternator and battery load tested.

Are the terminal posts clean? What about battery level (if it's the type of battery that can have water added I'd check that too).
 
same thing happened to my 02 f150. To trouble shoot the first thing I did was get my son in the drivers seat watching the light, I tapped on the alternator with a hammer. The light went away but after a two mile test drive it came back. So, a reman alternator went on and to this day 60k later my brother in law is driving the truck today with no charging issues. Lots of f series among my friends and family, around 200k is when they begin failing. If I remember correctly, mine failed around 218k.
 
Battery is platinum from a from advance Auto parts, 3.5 year old, I just pulled the alternator out to get it tested , it's a motorcraft so I'm assuming it's the original.
 
It probably needs an alternator, but do get the battery tested too.

The alternator in my 2002 Ranger went out just before 200K miles. Same symptom...battery light came on while driving and I could see on the Scangauge that it wasn't charging.
 
Originally Posted by CT8
Bob is my battery light is on guy.

Haha yeah, it was the a bad alternator, got the new one in.
I was waiting for it to fail and I was hoping to not get stranded. Thanks for the replies guys.
 
Originally Posted by JLTD
Sudden failure I'd check the belts first, then alt and battery.


Yes. Belt snap, alternator stops charging, battery light comes on. That is the most common cause, battery light indicates charging system problem, and the car will run fine until the battery goes dead.

The RC number on your battery is supposed to indicate how long in minutes this will be, given alternator failure, to get your vehicle to safety where it can be serviced by an automotive professional.
 
so how about a follow up returning from the alt test, would like closure.
when I replaced mine I went shopping online to find one locally since I couldent wait to order one. I found pepboys to be the least expensive using their online coupon code. I think it was about 69 bucks, everyone else was over 100, and that was for a reman. Opening the box I was shocked at that price it even came with the pulley
 
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