New alternator, oil, tires and a big story

[Roughstock]

Well I'm getting a new alternator.

My local tire guy couldn't balance 37 inch tires so I went to the dealer. Our closet dealer is two hours away. Not the same dealer as the Pro Cal tune and the catch cans.

Got five new tires and an oil change. When I hopped in my vehicle there was a Faulty Charging System warning. I wheeled back to the mechanic bays and the mechanic who worked put the new tires said oh that will reset itself. Don't worry about it and if it doesn't reset come back and we will clear the code. (I do not have any issues with this dealership or the mechanic - no one is perfect). Also red battery light was on.

I drove away and about a half hour the first fault was 4 Wheel Drive Fault. Figured I would go back another day, they were closed and it was late. Then every fault you can imagine...Steering Assist Fault, Drive Control Fault, Camera, Service vehicle and whatever. Light blinking then SHUT DOWN.

Shut down. I boosted vehicle with my battery booster good for up to an 8.6 litre. I've boosted my 520 HP 8.7 litre engine with it. Drove a few miles. Can't remember if I boosted it again.....anyway...more codes I went to turn around as I was five miles outside a small town on a very dark highway by the Mexican Border. Started to turn around and engine shut down. I was sideways on a very dark highway in a black vehicle no lights and cars coming at me. It happened real quick. Got my phone flashlight on and started to shine it and the cars stopped.

I got out boosted it and I could barely get it off the road...steering was hard and that was it. I will forgo the details.

Road side assistance...two hours waiting for a tow back to the dealership. Remote. Had to pay the guy too as it was too far. Got back to dealership about 11 pm. Thought I would sleep in the truck Hotels were a half hour walk. By 1:30 pm I was freezing. Found a hotel just around the corner got a couple hours sleep.

The dealership was very helpful and totally on it. After a battery test and wiring check it was determined to be the alternator. I am currently waiting for the call. They were overnighting it from Detroit. AWESOME. Call just came in now....I mean as I type now.....part is in. It's a two hour job and we are two hours away. Plan was they were going to call when part is in and we were heading there.

I will update once done. Plus I've go a picture of my tires painted before install.

 

[Roughstock]

One more pic as I wait for my wife to feed the horse.

 

[JohnGalt]

Well I'm getting a new alternator.

My local tire guy couldn't balance 37 inch tires so I went to the dealer. Our closet dealer is two hours away. Not the same dealer as the Pro Cal tune and the catch cans.

Got five new tires and an oil change. When I hopped in my vehicle there was a Faulty Charging System warning. I wheeled back to the mechanic bays and the mechanic who worked put the new tires said oh that will reset itself. Don't worry about it and if it doesn't reset come back and we will clear the code. (I do not have any issues with this dealership or the mechanic - no one is perfect). Also red battery light was on.

I drove away and about a half hour the first fault was 4 Wheel Drive Fault. Figured I would go back another day, they were closed and it was late. Then every fault you can imagine...Steering Assist Fault, Drive Control Fault, Camera, Service vehicle and whatever. Light blinking then SHUT DOWN.
View attachment 14543
Shut down. I boosted vehicle with my battery booster good for up to an 8.6 litre. I've boosted my 520 HP 8.7 litre engine with it. Drove a few miles. Can't remember if I boosted it again.....anyway...more codes I went to turn around as I was five miles outside a small town on a very dark highway by the Mexican Border. Started to turn around and engine shut down. I was sideways on a very dark highway in a black vehicle no lights and cars coming at me. It happened real quick. Got my phone flashlight on and started to shine it and the cars stopped.

I got out boosted it and I could barely get it off the road...steering was hard and that was it. I will forgo the details.

Road side assistance...two hours waiting for a tow back to the dealership. Remote. Had to pay the guy too as it was too far. Got back to dealership about 11 pm. Thought I would sleep in the truck Hotels were a half hour walk. By 1:30 pm I was freezing. Found a hotel just around the corner got a couple hours sleep.

The dealership was very helpful and totally on it. After a battery test and wiring check it was determined to be the alternator. I am currently waiting for the call. They were overnighting it from Detroit. AWESOME. Call just came in now....I mean as I type now.....part is in. It's a two hour job and we are two hours away. Plan was they were going to call when part is in and we were heading there.

I will update once done. Plus I've go a picture of my tires painted before install.

Yep. That happened to me at the end of the last trail I did in Moab last year. Thank god Moab has a Ford dealer. The guy working drive thru at McDonalds there can fix your jeep, but the dealer was the only place in town that would look at a (new) Bronco. After initially saying they were stocked out nationally, they air freighted one from Chattanooga several days later. Warranty covered the alternator, hotel room and rental car for my extended holiday. No problems since.

 

[pk9394]

Damn, stay safe bro

 

[Bschurr]

Ugh - that sucks @Roughstock we have all “been there” and I certainly appreciate your pain & angst!

My most recent Oh $hit moment came about a month ago in the urban jungle of NYC in my Range Rover Sport. Wife (she doesn’t drink) was driving us home after a great night of food and drink with friends in the city. All of a sudden, a warning light on dash illuminates “Charging System Error” and she freaks out. I tell her it’s fine, let’s just go home - I need to go nap time. She is skeptical but continues to drive home all the while concerned and very vocal about the error message and what’s going on.

Long story short, we continue driving and more error messages appear and less than a minute later, the car dies on the West Side Highway, no power, no lights, nothing! Thankfully, she was able to pull over at the end of an on ramp so we were out of the Indy 500 traffic of Saturday night. She is now hating me and super pissed because I am pretty oiled up and told her don’t worry about the warning to just “go and we’ll be fine”.

I called AAA and they dispatched NYPD who showed up in 5 minutes & a private tow truck that took an hour to arrive. While still in the vehicle he loaded us up onto the flatbed and drove off the highway and onto a surface street where he unloaded us and advised that we needed to call AAA again for a standard tow because AAA can’t service NYC highways. I offered copious cash to simply take us home since it was now 1am and my wife’s hatred of me was growing by the minute. He was a super nice guy and even called his supervisor to ask about the additional distance but was unsuccessful is convincing him that he should continue on our journey together. I paid his $150 bill for a 300 yard tow and he was gone.

Another call to AAA and an hour later tow truck #2 arrives. I provide the address for my favorite mechanic to drop off the vehicle but he informed me that he can’t perform an unaccompanied tow so I have to go with him however, he only has 1 additional seat so the wife can’t join us. I summon an Uber to take her home and it arrives within 5 minutes and she leaves (and my berating from her finally comes to an end).

Tow driver #2 and I finally make it to my mechanic and drop off the Rover. It’s now almost 3am and my buzz is gone! I walked 10 minutes to my office and grabbed a company car & drove 30 minutes home. Thankfully, my wife was asleep at at least faking it when I got to the bedroom so I didnt have to be subjected to more insults and accusations of why I told her it would all be OK when the vehicle clearly illustrated a warning.

Tl:dr My alternator was toast and needed to be replaced however, all was well the following day. Good times, near death experience, busted vehicle, great memories - just another day in the life… just like you @Roughstock

 

[Roughstock]

Yep. That happened to me at the end of the last trail I did in Moab last year. Thank god Moab has a Ford dealer. The guy working drive thru at McDonalds there can fix your jeep, but the dealer was the only place in town that would look at a (new) Bronco. After initially saying they were stocked out nationally, they air freighted one from Chattanooga several days later. Warranty covered the alternator, hotel room and rental car for my extended holiday. No problems since.

Well it's still not home with me yet. With the new alternator it still isn't charging the battery correctly. I've made a great relationship with the service manager. We were talking wars and all things of current interest.

It is either the wiring or a computer module. They will get on it tomorrow with fresh eyes the shop foreman (who is also a great guy and the mechanic who put in the alternator (I like him a lot also). They will get their lap tops out and give it a go over. All good. At least it is getting great attention.

 

[Roughstock]

Ugh - that sucks @Roughstock we have all “been there” and I certainly appreciate your pain & angst!

My most recent Oh $hit moment came about a month ago in the urban jungle of NYC in my Range Rover Sport. Wife (she doesn’t drink) was driving us home after a great night of food and drink with friends in the city. All of a sudden, a warning light on dash illuminates “Charging System Error” and she freaks out. I tell her it’s fine, let’s just go home - I need to go nap time. She is skeptical but continues to drive home all the while concerned and very vocal about the error message and what’s going on.

Long story short, we continue driving and more error messages appear and less than a minute later, the car dies on the West Side Highway, no power, no lights, nothing! Thankfully, she was able to pull over at the end of an on ramp so we were out of the Indy 500 traffic of Saturday night. She is now hating me and super pissed because I am pretty oiled up and told her don’t worry about the warning to just “go and we’ll be fine”.

I called AAA and they dispatched NYPD who showed up in 5 minutes & a private tow truck that took an hour to arrive. While still in the vehicle he loaded us up onto the flatbed and drove off the highway and onto a surface street where he unloaded us and advised that we needed to call AAA again for a standard tow because AAA can’t service NYC highways. I offered copious cash to simply take us home since it was now 1am and my wife’s hatred of me was growing by the minute. He was a super nice guy and even called his supervisor to ask about the additional distance but was unsuccessful is convincing him that he should continue on our journey together. I paid his $150 bill for a 300 yard tow and he was gone.

Another call to AAA and an hour later tow truck #2 arrives. I provide the address for my favorite mechanic to drop off the vehicle but he informed me that he can’t perform an unaccompanied tow so I have to go with him however, he only has 1 additional seat so the wife can’t join us. I summon an Uber to take her home and it arrives within 5 minutes and she leaves (and my berating from her finally comes to an end).

Tow driver #2 and I finally make it to my mechanic and drop off the Rover. It’s now almost 3am and my buzz is gone! I walked 10 minutes to my office and grabbed a company car & drove 30 minutes home. Thankfully, my wife was asleep at at least faking it when I got to the bedroom so I didnt have to be subjected to more insults and accusations of why I told her it would all be OK when the vehicle clearly illustrated a warning.

Tl:dr My alternator was toast and needed to be replaced however, all was well the following day. Good times, near death experience, busted vehicle, great memories - just another day in the life… just like you @Roughstock

All good my friend. It seems I have good acceptance with it all. Hopefully tomorrow they get it fixed. I've got a trail and overnight (camping) with a few of us planned for the 18th near Tucson.

I like your story.

I don't know why but you reminded me about a joke.

Police pulls over a couple. Sir you were speeding. Guy. No I wasn't. Wife: yes your were. Guy. Be quiet. I'm talking. Officer. You were also not wearing you seat belt. Guy. Yes I was. Wife. No officer he wasn't. Guy. I told you to be quiet. I'll deal with you when I get home. Officer. Does he always speak with you that way? Wife: Only when he has been drinking.

 

[JohnGalt]

Well it's still not home with me yet. With the new alternator it still isn't charging the battery correctly. I've made a great relationship with the service manager. We were talking wars and all things of current interest.

It is either the wiring or a computer module. They will get on it tomorrow with fresh eyes the shop foreman (who is also a great guy and the mechanic who put in the alternator (I like him a lot also). They will get their lap tops out and give it a go over. All good. At least it is getting great attention.

What I didn’t mention was I drove from Moab to CA in a rental car to get my brother-in-law home when it was supposedly out of stock. Then they said it was “fixed” two days later, so I grabbed my wife and another rental car and drove back to Moab. Picked up my Bronco immediately went to drop the rental and the System not Charging error popped up a Half mile from the dealership. After a quick trip back to the dealer they got serious, some calls to Ford got them to find an alternator and the wife and I spent the next three days playing typical tourist in the national parks. I took a slightly longer route home that minimized the miles I was from a ford dealer at any point and haven’t had a problem since. It all worked out in the end, I maintained marital bliss and haven’t had an issue since the second fix.

 

[Roughstock]

What I didn’t mention was I drove from Moab to CA in a rental car to get my brother-in-law home when it was supposedly out of stock. Then they said it was “fixed” two days later, so I grabbed my wife and another rental car and drove back to Moab. Picked up my Bronco immediately went to drop the rental and the System not Charging error popped up a Half mile from the dealership. After a quick trip back to the dealer they got serious, some calls to Ford got them to find an alternator and the wife and I spent the next three days playing typical tourist in the national parks. I took a slightly longer route home that minimized the miles I was from a ford dealer at any point and haven’t had a problem since. It all worked out in the end, I maintained marital bliss and haven’t had an issue since the second fix.

Always a good story involved with these issues. I am expecting an update by noon. They are getting close. One way or another it will get fixed. We had a good day yesterday even though we drove two hours there and back and didn't get the truck. We got my wife some art supplies and I bought a new Yeti travel mug. It said on the side Good for Bucking Broncos...a sucker is born every minute.

 

[Roughstock]

It was a 300 amp fuse. They are fixing it today.