Chugging 1995 Aerostar

The bad battery is pulling most of the current from the electrical system. By running it with a bad battery you probably also overworked the alternator and damaged it. Replace the battery immediately and have the charging system checked. Tom

You might have a bad alternator. That would cause the low battery and also make the whine. I lost one once while driving home, not only did it howl like crazy, it also smelled awful. It's hard to mistake the smell of burning wiring.

On the same car, I found I could tell when the battery was failing before it died because the engine ran like hell. Most auto parts stores will check the alternator and the battery for you if you take them in.

Of course, the chugging problem might be totally unrelated to the battery problem.

Just my 2 cents. Paul

"Tom Adkins" wrote: > > Any help woul dbe appreciated... > > > > The bad battery is pulling most of the current from the > electrical system. By > running it with a bad battery you probably also overworked the > alternator and damaged > it. Replace the battery immediately and have the charging > system checked. >    Tom

Ok...so the fact that that battery is pretty much dead would cause me to have such problems? I know that sometimes it will hold charge (so the alternator must be good, I assume) while other times it won?t. Sometimes I could drive to a store, go inside for 3 hours, come out and it would start right up, while other times EVERYTHING is dead, even the dome light. I?ve been meaning to get a new battery anyway...so this should fix the problem?

EDIT: Oh...and I?ve been reading some websites about the alternator as well (since I?m not really a tech guy). They?re telling me that if the battery?s dead, and the alternator?s not working, I?ll experience these types of problems. Just to be safe, should I get a new battery and replace the alternator? (This shouldn?t be too big of a problem, because my father owns another Aerostar with virtually all the same parts that I believe blew a head gasket and is just there to take parts out of).

"Paul of Dayton" wrote: > You might have a bad alternator. That would cause the low > battery and also > make the whine. I lost one once while driving home, not only > did it howl > like crazy, it also smelled awful. It's hard to mistake the > smell of > burning wiring. > > On the same car, I found I could tell when the battery was > failing before it > died because the engine ran like hell. Most auto parts stores > will check > the alternator and the battery for you if you take them in. > > Of course, the chugging problem might be totally unrelated to > the battery > problem. > > Just my 2 cents. > Paul > > "thirdchildikari" AutoForumz.com> > wrote in message news:4227cf69$1 snipped-for-privacy@alt.athenanews.com... > > Well, I was given my father's old ride, a 1995 Ford Aerostar > that's in > > pretty good shape with about 127k miles on it, 4 Wheel > Drive, and the > > 3.5L engine. > >

> > Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report > abuse: > > Well, after I posted that last bit a little while ago, I continued to read the website that I was on. It talked about how if you take a voltmeter to the cable connections on the battery while it?s running, and you get around 14 or 14.5 DC Volts (and not less) then you probably don?t have an alternator problem. Well, since I had a votlmeter laying around, I tried that out and had about 14.7 Volts, so I assume the alternator is ok. Even though the alternator seems ok, could the bad battery be causing my problem, or is it something more serious?

> > Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report> > abuse:

You know you have a bad battery. Replacde the battery and see if everything is fine.

Jeff

> > Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report> > abuse:

Ok, you know the battery is toast, replace it and see what happens. The have the alternator tested.You have to do this before you do anything else. It is possible to get 14 volts from a bad alternator. The current capacity can still be low.You also need to check, clean and tighten all of the battery cable connections and the connections on the starter. Until you replace the battery you're just pissing into the wind.

"Tom Adkins" wrote: > thirdchildikari wrote: > > "Paul of Dayton" wrote: >  > > You might have a bad alternator. That would cause > the low >  > > battery and also >  > > make the whine. I lost one once while driving > home, not only >  > > did it howl >  > > like crazy, it also smelled awful. It's hard to > mistake the >  > > smell of >  > > burning wiring. >  > > >  > > On the same car, I found I could tell when the > battery was >  > > failing before it >  > > died because the engine ran like hell. Most auto > parts stores >  > > will check >  > > the alternator and the battery for you if you take > them in. >  > > >  > > Of course, the chugging problem might be totally > unrelated to >  > > the battery >  > > problem. >  > > >  > > Just my 2 cents. >  > > Paul >  > > >  > > "thirdchildikari" <UseLinkToEmail@New & Used > Cars Forums - >  > > AutoForumz.com> >  > > wrote in message > news:4227cf69$1 snipped-for-privacy@alt.athenanews.com... >   > > > Well, I was given my father's old ride, a > 1995 Ford Aerostar >  > > that's in >   > > > pretty good shape with about 127k miles on > it, 4 Wheel >  > > Drive, and the >   > > > 3.5L engine. >   > > >

>   > > > Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. > req'd). Report >  > > abuse: >   > > >

Well what do you know...got the battery replaced (it was still under warranty, thank you Sams Club) and everything?s running great. I never knew that having a dead battery would cause the engine to mess up. Definitely a learning experience for this kid...thank you guys...

thirdchildikari wrote:>

Great. Is that battery from Sams Club a Champion brand? If so, keep the receipt handy. Those have to be the lousiest batteries I've ever seen. I thought they were a pretty good deal at first. I had them in 3 cars, 1 pickup, and a garden tractor. They ALL failed in a litle more than a year and had to be replaced. After getting 2 replaced under warranty, I gave up and bought different ones. Yeah, they were still under warranty but...... I know other people who have had the same luck. To be fair, I've also seen a few outlast the warranty period, but I'll never take the chance again. Tom

"Tom Adkins" wrote: > thirdchildikari wrote:>

No...it?s not Champion...some Nascar XLT dealie...it was my own fault for letting the last one go dead. I have a Sirius Satellite Radio (the kind that suction cups to your windshield). And I just turned it off the unit by the button on the front, not knowing that while it was still plugged in to the cigarette lighter thing, it was drawing out power.

I should be good from now on...